Queen Elizabeth II's longtime dressmaker and confidante has the blessing of Her Royal Highness to publish behind-the-scenes royal stories in her new book published on Oct. 29 by HarperCollins.

In "The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe," Royal dresser Angela Kelly shared breathtaking insights into what it is like working with royalty for over 25 years.

A Good Sense of Humor

Kelly told the funny story behind a toy bird that sits on a sofa in the Queen's sitting room at Windsor castle.

In 2006, the Queen was set to visit Sydney, and Kelly was there ahead of her waiting at the Governor's house. Kelly was looking intently at a bird perched in a little cage at the balcony of the Queen's room. It was never there before.

When the Queen returned to the palace, Kelly pointed out the strange sight saying, "Your Majesty, there is a funny-looking grey bird on your balcony."

The Queen gasped when she saw the bird knowing right away what it was - "A kookaburra!" -- a large carnivorous bird in Australia that preys on venomous snakes and laughs like humans.

Kelly had the courage to come up to the cage to set the bird free. She recalled how the Queen quickly hid behind her and loudly warned Kelly, "No, It will fly away!

But Kelly found the bird was dead and solemnly passed on the sad news and the bird to the Queen. As Her Majesty took the bird, she found then and there that Kelly had a trick up her sleeves the entire time!

The "dead kookaburra" was simply a stuffed animal Kelly bought and tried to pass as a live animal!

The Queen realised it was April Fools' Day and had a clever comeback: "You're sacked!"

However, Kelly was already laughing uncontrollably.

She later writes, "I had it in mind that the Queen would enjoy it." - the Royal did have a good laugh, too!

According to Kelly, the British monarch has a wicked sense of humour, too!. Her Majesty is known as a great mimic and can do all accents including Kelly's Liverpool accent.

More on the Book

For Angela Kelly, it is an extremely rare honour to be the first serving member of the Royal Household to have the Queen's official permission to publish the book as well as charming anecdotes and never-before-seen photographs.

Town and Country Mag reported that a spokesperson for HarperCollins said that they are "extremely proud" of Kelly who has captured the highlights of her career with The Queen to share with all of us.

"The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe" and an audio book version will be released on October 29.

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