Queen ‘kept her spirits up’ as she grieved Prince Philip with this hit TV show - though she had a few critiques

The Queen reportedly “kept her spirits up” as she grieved Prince Philip with a hit TV show although she apparently had a few critiques.  

• Royal author Gyles Brandreth has claimed in his upcoming biography of the late Queen Elizabeth that she was a fan of Line of Duty.
• He is said to have been told that watching this hit BBC drama helped to “keep her spirits up” after Prince Philip’s death.
• This royal news comes as we revealed the Queen’s rare title she hadn’t used for decades and the significance behind it.

The loss of her beloved “strength and stay” Prince Philip in April 2021 was a hugely difficult time in the late Queen Elizabeth’s life. The Queen and Prince Philip were married for 73 years before he passed away and since his death his memory has been honored in many ways by his and the Queen’s children and grandchildren, whether it be on social media or in public speeches. Now it’s been suggested that the Queen “kept her spirits up” as she grieved her late husband by watching a long-running TV show - and you might have watched it! 

As reported by The Guardian, royal author and friend of Queen Consort Camilla, Gyles Brandreth, has revealed in his upcoming book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, that the Queen “kept her spirits up” with hit BBC show, Line of Duty.

From the moment it first landed in 2012 until the identity of H in Line of Duty was finally revealed in season 6 nine years later, Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty had audiences gripped. The show followed Anti Corruption Unit 12 as they worked tirelessly to unravel a complex web of corrupt police officers.

And it seems the Queen was quite the Line of Duty fan, with her Master of the Household, Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, said to have claimed to the author, “My principal duty with HM has been to keep her spirits up – so I’ve been watching Line of Duty with her – I’m ‘the Explainer’. It’s very funny.”

The publication added that the Queen had apparently sometimes found the fast-paced Line of Duty plot hard to keep up with. Meanwhile, Gyles himself is said to have suggested that the late monarch also had another critique. 

“It keeps me in touch – when I can understand what’s being said,” the Queen supposedly told the author before adding, “There’s an awful lot of mumbling on television now. It’s not my hearing.”

Throughout its time on TV, Line of Duty was one of the most-watched dramas and it’s amazing to think the Queen might’ve counted herself amongst the show’s fans - even if she did think the characters could’ve been a bit clearer! 

And this intriguing revelation about the Queen wasn’t the only one that is reportedly set to emerge in Gyles Brandreth’s new biography...

Gyles also remarked upon Her Majesty's own TV appearance in the iconic James Bond sketch shown at the London 2012 Olympics. The author claimed it was “the Queen’s own idea” to keep the spy “waiting a moment" as she signed off a letter before greeting him with the iconic line, "Good evening, Mr Bond." 

The Queen was well-known for her sense of humor and this sketch was a moment few fans will ever forget. Actor Daniel Craig even told The Late Show, as per The Independent, that Her Majesty made a hilarious quip about him during filming.

“We were having our photograph taken, and she just went, ‘Oh no, he’s the one that doesn’t smile’”, he good-naturedly recalled.