The Queen is said to be left 'deeply upset' after the sudden death of one of her most loyal aides.
Royal reporter Rebecca English for the Daily Mail has said that Annette Wilkin, who served as housekeeper at Windsor Castle for four decades, passed away age 72 recently following a short illness.
It's also been said that the Queen will 'break royal protocol' to attend Annette's funeral. Ordinarly, the monarch only attends funerals of close friends and family members, but it's reported that she is keen to honour her late housekeeper by attending her funeral.
Annette was in charge of all housekeeping at Windsor Castle and Frogmore House, where Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan had their wedding reception last year. Frogmore House is just minutes away from Harry and Meghan's new home, Frogmore Cottage.
She took care of all cleaning, changing of bed linen, and was the one in charge of the rest of the maids within the royal buildings.
The Queen's housekeeper started work with the royal family over 45 years ago, as a teenager, meaning she's been with the monarch for a long time.
Annette was said to be so loved by the family that she was even given one of the royal corgis by the monarch.
She once even spoke on a documentary about her duties for the royals, describing the Queen as a "very good boss".
Of her role at Windsor Castle, she said, ‘I think first and foremost it’s a home, and whose home – that’s the most important to all of us, the Queen.
MORE:Inside Sandringham House, the Queen’s stunning Norfolk home
"It’s a bit like looking after your own home, but on this massive, massive scale. We have a very good boss, who will see everything. Nothing gets missed."
A source speaking to Rebecca English for the Daily Mail also revealed how treasured Miss Wilkin was, saying, "The Queen and all the royals absolutely adored her and she was almost part of the family."
Metro.co.uk reports that Annette retired as housekeeper in 2014, but later took up another position for the Queen as assistant dresser.
Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist, currently working as Life Channel Editor at womanandhome.com. She began as the magazine's features assistant before moving over to digital as a News and Features Writer, before becoming Senior Writer, and now a Channel Editor. She has worked on other women's lifestyle websites previously too—including Woman's Weekly, Goodto.com, Woman, and Woman's Own. In 2019, Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards, for her work on womanandhome.com.
She is obsessive about everything homes and interiors—whether she's sniffing out the very best deal on a KitchenAid stand mixer or keeping up the latest Dyson release. And when she isn't editing or writing articles on interior trends or the latest home gadgets, she's passionate about books—you'll usually find her with her nose in a gripping thriller at the end of the working day.
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