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Belfast Live
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Jilly Beattie

Watch: The Queen's love of Labradors revealed, including one she called Garry

Think royal dogs and the Queen's gliding, compact and numerous Corgis spring to mind, but in truth her love of dogs was less discerning than just one breed.

In fact the Queen's beloved Scottish governess, Marion Crawford – affectionately dubbed 'Crawfie' - was ostracised from royal circles after she revealed in a memoir how the young princess revealed her dream life would not to be queen, but to marry a farmer and live in the country with her dogs and horses.

The Queen has had many breeds and none-breeds, including a Tibetan Lion Dog, Corgis, cross breeds and around 20 working Cockers and Labradors used on the estate, but also many of them living in royal quarters in Sandringham and Balmoral.

Read more: Wags to riches tale of rescue terriers heading to their new Buckingham Palace home

While she was more mobile the Queen was quite a master of directing these well drilled dogs too. In a 2002 documentary made by John Bridcut for her Golden Jubilee, he explains how The Queen can direct black Lab Sherry from as far as 800 yards away just using whistles and hand signals.

The Queen with Sandringham Salt, her Fox Red Labrador (The Royal Archive)

Though not a hunter herself, the monarch was passionate about the pursuit, especially the relationship between hunters and their dogs.

According to her former Highlands gamekeeper Bill Meldrum, her talent with the dogs is so prodigious that he felt she was "probably the best in the country".

A headstone at Sandringham Palace for Black Labrador, Slipper, adored by the Queen and memorialised in stone (Getty)
A headstone for Sherry, one of the Queen's beloved Black Labradors (Getty)

The Queen was said to always find time to walk with her hunting dogs whenever she made it back to Sandringham and footage from the documentary showing The Queen interacting with the dogs, also reveals her more playful side.

In the footage The Queen and Prince Philip are attending a demonstration, along with her gamekeepers, of the dogs ' retrieval skills as they find and return toy birds. Watching the dogs the Queen can be seen wearing her iconic shawl she often wore out and about in the countryside and throwing her head back laughing at their antics.

Queen Elizabeth II with two Black Labradors on leads returning from a holiday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland to King's Cross Station in London on 14th October 1963. (Getty)

Then as one of the Labradors starts trying to jump up and play with The Queen she says playfully: "Gray! You're not supposed to do that, I'm not here! Go way! I'm not here!"

This prompts laughs from all those standing watching before she continues: "Go and do your stuff. Gray! Go on, go on."

Eventually just a click of her fingers and flick of her wrist sends the cheeky dog running over to the other side of the field, showing her excellent control in action. You can watch the encounter here.

Queen Elizabeth II gazes at a yellow Lab during a polo match in 1981 (Getty)

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