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Sophia Bennett portrays Her Majesty as a detective for her novel ‘The Windsor Knot’. The book sees the Queen investigate a murder at Windsor Castle alongside her royal duties.
As part of her research for the piece of fiction, the writer spoke to people who have worked in the Royal Household.
Ms Bennett told Yahoo: “They are very loyal, I don’t ask for gossip, for me getting it authentically right is important – what does the Queen call people and what does she do on her days off, what she likes.
“You might see her wandering around Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
“If staff see her they might give her a brief nod or curtsy but she does not expect them to drop everything they were doing.”
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Ms Bennett also claimed the Queen is not as formal as people expect her to be.
The author said: “I was able to speak to someone who could tell me about a private ceremony: just the recipient, the Queen and Princess Margaret.
“[The Queen] can play with protocol – she does not break it, but she is not nearly as formalistic as people might imagine.”
As well as speaking to royal staff, Ms Bennett read magazines such as Horse and Hound and Country Life to find out information about the monarch.
The author also used the Court Circular to check the Queen’s royal engagements.
The novel is the first in the ‘Her Majesty The Queen Investigates’ series.
The book, which is set in 2016, sees the monarch solve a crime while continuing her royal duties.
In the work of fiction, the Queen finds out a guest has been murdered in his room after a dinner party at Windsor Castle.
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The synopsis says: “When the police begin to suspect her loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they are looking in the wrong place.
“For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her coronation.
“Away from the public eye, she has a brilliant knack for solving crimes.
“With her household’s happiness on the line, her secret must not get out.
“Can the Queen and her trusted secretary Rozie catch the killer, without getting caught themselves?”
The book has been compared to Miss Marple and The Crown.
Ms Bennett has been a royal watcher for years.
She wrote books for teenagers before turning to adult crime novels.
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