The Queen’s ‘favourite film is Shirley Valentine’, the story of a bored, working-class housewife who runs off to Greece to find love, playwright claims
WE all love to curl up with a good movie – and the Queen, 93, is no different.
Her Majesty has even revealed her favourite film of choice, and it’s about a “bored housewife who escapes to Greece to find romance.”
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, Adam Helliker, author of a forthcoming book on the Royal Family, said the Queen’s film of choice is Shirley Valentine.
The 1989 comedy drama features Shirley, a 42-year-old housewife from Liverpool, who travels to Mykonos and has a steamy fling with Costas, the owner of a nearby taverna.
Adam said: “We already know that the Queen’s favourite TV series is Midsomer Murders (and until it ended, The Bill).
“Now it turns out the film she most enjoys is Shirley Valentine, the tale of a bored, working-class housewife who runs off to Greece to find true romance.
“That's according to its writer Willy Russell, who says: 'I was told it was Her Maj's favourite movie and the idea of her watching it really tickles me.
“‘I thought maybe she has thought about doing the same thing as Shirley!'”
Adam added that perhaps the Queen sees a little of her own husband, Corfu-born Prince Philip, in the figure of the film's lothario, played by Tom Conti.
Who knew the Queen was into flirty comedies?
The Queen is currently spending the summer at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and upon arrival will have found a collection of recordings of her favourite TV shows waiting for her.
These will have been in the form of DVDs neatly stacked in her private sitting room, and in the past has included her all-time favourite show – The Bill.
Each year the monarch’s private secretary sends a list of the shows she would like to see to the Special Services department at the BBC, which puts together a collection (both from its own output and from the independent channels).
“The Queen likes them in the form of separate discs, although of course it would be easier to transfer them digitally,” says an aide who used to work at the Highlands royal retreat.
“You might call that old-fashioned, but that’s the way she prefers to do her viewing.”
A senior courtier once asked the sovereign her favourite TV show and she promptly replied that it was The Bill.
She added the caveat that she didn't like "those episodes where policemen get hurt".
THE QUEEN'S SUMMER RETREAT AT BALMORAL
Balmoral Castle has been a Royal residence since 1852.
The estate and its original castle were purchased privately by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, and to this day remain the private property of the Royal Family.
The castle is classified by Historic Scotland as a category A listed building, and costs around £3 million annually to run.
Every summer, the Monarch returns to the Balmoral estate with her husband Prince Philip.
Throughout the summer, much of the royal family - including Charles, Camilla, William, and Kate - will join her and Prince Philip for their annual “summer break.”
The Royal residence has often been described as “the most beautiful place on Earth” and is often referred to as the Queen’s favourite home.
The Queen is often seen riding horses or driving her beloved Range Rover over the estate’s rugged terrain.
The castle gardens were first opened to the public in 1931.
They now open daily between April and the end of July, after which Queen Elizabeth arrives for her annual stay.
The courtier adds that Her Majesty was disappointed when ITV ended the series in 2010, after its ratings fell to three million viewers.
It ran for 26 years and was set in Sun Hill, a fictional police station in London's East End.
Actor Paul Nicholls confirms the series was a royal favourite, saying that he knew because he had once been shown the list sent from Buckingham Palace to the BBC.
“I saw that list,” he says. "Besides The Bill there was Keeping Up Appearances, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Last Of The Summer Wine and the complete Doctor Who."
The royal viewing selection is one of the traditions of the Queen’s summer break at Balmoral, along with a much older one - started by Queen Victoria - of having a bagpiper play for 15 minutes under HM’s window at 9am every morning.
MORE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY
The Queen puts little presents at the foot of Prince George’s bed when he stays over at Buckingham Palace, royal expert claims.
We shared how Kate Middleton dressed Prince George in an England footie shirt for birthday photo ‘to show he’s a normal boy.