Queen Elizabeth II Didn't Hesitate To Name Her Favorite TV Show

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reigned over the U.K. for more than 70 years. During this vast passage of time, British popular culture expanded across many platforms and eras. From the rise of popular music and television to new forms and movements in film, there have been remarkable changes in media since 1952. Queen Elizabeth's death at the age of 96 (via The Hollywood Reporter) will likely coalesce in moments of reflection in nearly every field of the arts and entertainment thanks to her longevity as head of state. In modern times, Netflix's "The Crown" has provided unique insights into her life and duties as monarch, and although Her Majesty rarely spoke about her personal likes and dislikes, she did occasionally drop hints and clues about media that she enjoyed.

While "The Crown" did get some things wrong about Queen Elizabeth for the sake of creative liberties, the actual queen was a fan of British comedy shows. The Sovereign even amusingly named her favorite TV series to a journalist.

According to the BBC, Queen Elizabeth II was said to have a prominent sense of humor, which included a penchant for finding comedy in the everyday absurdities of life. Many of these humorous qualities can be found in situational comedy, including "The Kumars at No. 42," which ran on the BBC from 2001-2006, and again in 2014 for a revival. The series maintained a chat show format where Sanjeev Kumar (Sanjeev Bhaskar), along with his eccentric family, interviewed real celebrity guests, which eventually led to wacky hijinks based on the mood of the discussion (per IMDb).

In an article for The New Statesman, veteran BBC 2 radio host Phil Jones recalled a meeting he had with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2001. Jones asked Queen Elizabeth what her favorite TV program was and recounted, "Straightaway, she said, 'The Kumars at No. 42' and, even more astonishingly, proceeded to recite some of the one-liners from the grandma character, played by the brilliant Meera Syal." The journalist was taken aback by her choice and added, "But why was I really surprised? Her favourite programme was about a family of Asian immigrants settled in the UK. Maybe the Queen genuinely supports multiculturalism, loves BBC sitcoms and has a wicked sense of humour."

That sense of humor along with her tireless charitable work across the decades and commitment to her duties as head of state will always be remembered.