Queen Elizabeth’s Longtime Dressmaker Reveals the Only Time the Royal Doesn’t Do Her Own Makeup

Her royal title may prevent her from living a normal life, but there are some aspects of Queen Elizabeth‘s daily routine that she just can’t seem to give up. The royal monarch’s longtime dressmaker, Angela Kelly, recently revealed some of the queen’s most shocking beauty secrets in her recently released book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe. 

Angela, 51, specifically opened up about how the 93-year-old royal doesn’t like when others do her makeup. In fact, the author —  who has been creating dresses for the queen for the last 25 years — even dished that the only time Elizabeth lets a makeup artist doll up her face is for her annually-televised Christmas speech.

“You might be surprised to know that this is the only occasion throughout the year when Her Majesty does not do her own makeup,” she wrote in the book, mentioning that the queen specially arranges for famed makeup artist Marilyn Widdess to be present for the day of filming. As for her other outings, Angela insisted Elizabeth does all her own makeup. How cool!

Wanting to be her own makeup artist isn’t the only thing about Elizabeth that gives her a sense of normalcy, Angela shared. The British fashion designer — who has served as a personal assistant and senior dresser to the royal since 2002 — dished that she also loves the idea of shopping at thrift stores!

In her book, which was released into stores on Tuesday, October 29, Angela explained that whenever she makes a trip to the thrift shop, she always checks the “bargain basket” in search of fabric for Elizabeth’s next ensemble. Although Her Majesty isn’t the one actually going to the consignment store, the dressmaker explained that she will typically pick up “a vibrant fabric, given her fondness for bright colors” and bring it back to Buckingham Palace.

Even though Elizabeth has an estimated net worth of around $500 million, this isn’t the first time she’s been known to be frugal. Earlier last month, a source close to the royal family told Closer Weekly that the queen is especially careful with her money when it comes to wasting things.

“She regularly wanders around the corridors of her homes switching off electric lights,” Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s former butler, exclusively told Closer in mid-October, adding that she doesn’t even like to waste “paper, ribbons and rubber bands.”

We can’t believe Elizabeth will be giving her annual Christmas speech in less than two months!