The Queen is still "diffident and shy" in private - but has a playful side, a royal author says. Biographer Matthew Dennison has unveiled a side of Her Majesty the public doesn't often see, giving fans a glimpse of the woman beneath the crown.
He writes: "Modest and naturally shy - The Queen once confided to a friend, 'I'm absolutely terrified of sitting next to people in case they talk about things I've never heard of' - she does not crave celebrity for itself, instead seeing herself as the public face of the institution of monarchy." It is true that for millions across the world, Elizabeth II is the embodiment of monarchy.
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