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But despite her loss and increasing frailty the Queen “adored” taking part in June’s Platinum Jubilee sketch with Paddington Bear. The warm admission comes to light in the book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, by broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, which also reveals she suffered “post-natal side effects” after the birth of Prince Andrew.

The author says the Queen was determined to be with Philip, her beloved husband of 73 years, when he died, barely leaving his side in the last few weeks of his life.

But the end came suddenly while the sovereign was sleeping. However, the book says the Queen told a lady-in-waiting Philip would not have approved if she descended into self-pity after his death.

She saw it as her Christian duty to carry on working, a source of comfort for her and the Royal Family.

Elizabeth, who died in September aged 96, also consoled herself by watching television series such as gritty crime drama Line of Duty “to keep her spirits up”.

But she sometimes struggled to keep up with the plot and disliked “mumbled dialogue” on modern programmes.

Mr Brandreth, who was a confidant of Philip’s and is a good friend of Queen Camilla – who spoke to him for the book – describes how the late monarch’s health deteriorated in the autumn of last year and declined rapidly in the last few months of her life.

He writes: “The truth is that Her Majesty always knew that her remaining time was ­limited. She accepted this with all the good grace you’d expect.”

The monarch reluctantly accepted doctors’ advice to slow down, saying: “I’ve got to be sensible.”

But she embraced many joys in the last year of her life, including being invited to take tea with Paddington at the Palace.

The classic moment she plucked a marmalade sandwich from her iconic handbag was one of the highlights of festivities marking her 70 years on the throne.

She privately described it as “great fun” and was delighted “everyone kept the secret” until it was broadcast at the start of the jubilee concert. “That was lovely,” she said.

Meanwhile, in a move away from the usual protocols of the monarch’s health being kept private, news of the ­difficulties after Andrew’s birth is a revelation.

A lady-in-waiting tells Mr Brandreth the now-discredited form of childbirth known as Dammerschlaf or “twilight sleep” – during which patients are drugged into a semi-­conscious state during labour – left the Queen suffering “post-natal side effects”.

The method was used when she had Charles and Anne, but as a consequence of the issues with her third child, Edward was born naturally.

The book supports the accounts of others who said the monarch remained supportive of the Duke of York, inset, after his disgrace over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

But she did not hesitate to force him to step back from his official role to protect the Firm after his ­disastrous interview with Newsnight in 2019.

A courtier tells the author: “The Queen took a firm grip. To use military jargon, there were only a few days between flash and bang. Action was called for and she took it.”

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