His Majesty King Charles III’s first Christmas Day message televised throughout the Empire reminded us all that 2022 was of course dominated by the death of his mother and our most gracious and long-serving sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

Hers was a life devoted to service and was recorded by the many professional royal correspondents such as myself who chronicle the daily goings on within the royal family.

Because of such intense coverage over many years, the public thought they knew Her Majesty well, that she was someone who epitomised the British “stiff upper lip”.

Yes, she devoted her life to service but there were many occasions when Her Majesty was allowed to be herself and to indulge in some favourite pastimes.

Such is the professionalism of all royal correspondents, many such incidents were never given public exposure.

In the wake of her death in September I outlined just some of the little known facts about our beloved former sovereign that I had gleaned over my many years as an official royal correspondent based in the London bureau of The Bug.

For example, Her Majesty’s comic cameo appearance at the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics with Daniel Craig playing James Bond, and her more recent double act with Paddington Bear during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations belie the fact that as a child Her Majesty harboured dreams of becoming an actor.

Of course that never eventuated once her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated and her father took over the throne as King George VI.

But it’s not widely known that Her Majesty did manage to fulfill her dream in the later years of her reign when she appeared uncredited playing herself in the very first series of what would become the very popular Netflix series The Crown.

Although the program’s credits show British actor Claire Foy in the lead role, it was her Majesty playing the part for most of the series which had its advantages such as not requiring much make-up. (below)

The Queen stopped appearing in The Crown – not to be confused with “the” crown of course – before production began on its second series and, because she had been such a good actor, the series became a runaway success and Her Majesty thought it best to quite her role for fear of being exposed.

Not many people would be aware that Her Majesty was not a political conservative as they may have assumed. In fact she held rather radical views on political events in the UK and around the world and on political leaders, most of whom she had met.

A case in point was former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn whom Her Majesty adored, largely for his far-left policies. (below)

She was so supportive of him that she anonymously handed out how-to-vote cards for the UK Labour Party at the 2017 election.

It was also not well known that Her Majesty enjoyed riding her personal royal e-scooter around London, not even going incognito, (below) as well as more “high-adrenaline” sports such as bungee jumping (main picture), paintball, and in her earlier and more active years, parkour.

Aways one to support local community groups, the Queen herself was a longtime member of the Sandringham branch of the very British service group the Women’s Institute, which is a bit like our own Country Women’s Association.

It was Her Majesty who, in the late 1990s, proposed the idea of her WI branch members appearing naked in a calendar to help raise funds.

She appeared in every one of them up until just a few years before her passing.(below)

It was the branch’s very first nude calendar inspired the 2003 film Calendar Girls starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

Her Majesty was offered a role in the film but at the time could not fit it into her schedule.