During her 70 years of service to the nation and Commonwealth, the Queen earned an unrivalled reputation for her forbearance, dignity and wisdom - but behind it all was a wonderful sense of humour and mischief.
The country's longest-serving monarch didn't always have the opportunity to show off her humour - particularly her eye for the ridiculous and her gentle teasing nature. However, there were occasions - sometimes in public and frequently in private - when it came to the fore to the delight of those who experienced it.
In her Christmas speech of 1991, she told the country, "Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.” That was, of course, the year before her “annus horribilis” when she needed a sense of humour to help her through the trials of her children’s marriage breakdowns and the fire at Windsor Castle.
