Queen Elizabeth has lived under rigid protocols and traditions all her life as the monarch but she actually has a fun and unimposing side, according to a novelist.
In an interview with Daily Star, author Sophia Bennett, who released the fiction The Windsor Knot, said that the people who work for Queen Elizabeth thinks she doesn't take herself too seriously. The Queen also doesn't expect that the people around her will drop everything whenever she's around.
Bennet's book is a work of fiction, which presents Queen Elizabeth in an alternate world as a secret crime-fighting spy who still has to perform her royal duties. The author, however, had to do tons of research for her book and talked to a lot of the royal staff.
She said that her father has personally met the Queen a dozen times as an NHS worker and his circle of friends has been employed in Her Majesty's castles. Bennet didn't ask for gossip about the royal family but instead wondered what she's really like when she's not in the public eye.
As the premier figure living in Buckingham Palace, Bennet came to learn that Queen Elizabeth isn't "formalistic" as some might think. The public, however, rarely sees her carefree side because has to observe traditions and protocols.
But there have been instances when Queen Elizabeth showed her wicked sense of humor in public. Her former protection officer, Richard Griffin, recalled the time the Queen fooled a few tourists in her Balmoral estate.
The group of visitors apparently didn't recognize the monarch when they asked if she's a local and if she has ever met Queen Elizabeth. She told them no but pointed at Griffin and said that he knows the monarch. The royal was wearing a basic headscarf and tweed coat at that time and didn't look majestic at all.
The Queen's grandson, Prince Harry, that his family has a wicked sense of humor. Despite looking prim and proper in public, the Windsors are quite wacky behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth will be commemorating her 69th year as the reigning monarch on Feb. 6. Five years ago, she surpassed her grandmother Queen Victoria's reign, who ruled England for 63 years.
Queen Elizabeth has sat on the throne and witnessed the inauguration of 14 U.S. presidents. In her homeland, she also lived to see through 14 prime ministers with Boris Johnson as the current U.K. leader.
