REVEALED: The secret behind the Queen’s recovery

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The Queen spent her days watching TV after doctors told her to rest during the festive period

The Sunday Express has learned that Her Majesty cheered herself up while she was ill over Christmas by watching Laurel and Hardy films.

The 90-year-old monarch is understood to have tuned into old black and white films featuring the comedy double act while convalescing with a nasty cough and cold over Christmas.

An insider said the TV set at Sandringham has been switched to the archive fi lm channel Talking Pictures TV, which plays old movies and TV shows.

She normally doesn’t have much time to watch television

Source

The source said: “The Queen has really been enjoying some of the channel’s output, especially Laurel and Hardy and films starring Sid James and Dora Bryan.

“She normally doesn’t have much time to watch television but obviously when she was told to rest up by doctors, she was able to convalesce by watching some of the films she would have first enjoyed as a girl.”

Dora, who died in 2014 aged 91, went on to star in another of the Queen’s favourite programmes Last of the Summer Wine.

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The Queen spoke of her fondness for the show when awarding an OBE to its veteran star Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace in the animated Wallis and Gromit films, who said in 2010: “As she was sticking the medal on me, she said ‘I love Last Of The Summer Wine’.”

Last month Pointless quizmaster Alexander Armstrong revealed that the Queen was a fan of the BBC general knowledge show.

He said she settled down to watch the programme before catching the News At Six on BBC One.

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An insider said the TV set at Sandringham has been switched to the archive film channel

Armstrong said: “A Palace insider told us that she watches it.”

Channel 4’s Countdown is said to be another quiz favourite, coming after the horse-racing although now the contract has gone to ITV that might change.

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Old Laurel and Hardy films are said to be one of the Queen's choices

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Other programmes she is said to have enjoyed in the past include Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, the BBC comedy drama written by Meera Syal, Keeping Up Appearances starring Patricia Routledge as well as detective series Midsomer Murders, The Last Detective and New Tricks.

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