Queen Elizabeth was happiest when she was off-duty but loved royal tours in Australia, a former aide has revealed.
The late Queen found her official trips down under more relaxing as "there was less protocol" than in other countries including Britain, says one of her most loyal and senior staff members, Samantha Cohen.
Cohen was a Brisbane schoolgirl when she first saw the woman who would become her future boss during the head of state's visit to Australia in 1977 during her Silver Jubilee year.
She was "beyond excited" to see the then-Queen in the flesh, Cohen, 56, told the Sunday Times.
The former monarch also loved speeding around her country estates in Range Rovers and Land Rovers. (EPA PHOTO)
Cohen later got close to the Queen after joining the royal family press office around 25 years ago and was later promoted to the Queen's assistant private secretary.
During her role as a senior aide, Cohen saw the monarch nearly every day and accompanied her on her official trips to Australia in 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Cohen said her former employer, who died at her Balmoral estate aged 96 in 2022, also loved being at the wheel of Range Rovers and Land Rovers on her country estates but terrified passengers with her high-speed driving.
"(The Queen would) drive her cars fast around Balmoral … (leaving passengers) white-knuckled," Cohen said.
She was also a "gutsy" but "shy" woman who had "no ego", and despite being one of the world's most famous people, was the "antithesis of celebrity".
Cohen said rather than being a show-off who was intoxicated by her power, the Queen "took (her role in society) very seriously and performed it to perfection".
She added the late monarch was at her happiest when she was off-duty.