Queen Mum's comedy faves revealed

The Queen Mother's favourite comedies have been revealed.

Amid the saturation media coverage of her death at the age of 101 yesterday is a revealing insight into her TV tastes.

According to former confidant Lord Charteris, the Royal was a great fan of comedies.

Her favourites were said to be Only Fools And Horses, Dad's Army and All Gas And Gaiters.

The latter was a gentle sitcom set in a cathedral, which ran from 1966 to 1971 and starred Derek Nimmo as the bumbling Rev Mervyn Noote.

Dad's Army actor Bill Pertwee told the Daily Telegraph that he once met the Queen Mother. "As she passed, she smiled at me and whispered, 'I've got all the videos' ," he said.

An courtier told him: "If she's tired and she wants to sit down with a cup of tea, she always says, 'Let's put Dad's Army on.' "

Lord Chateris, a former royal adviser and Provost of Eton, reminisced about the Queen Mother before his death in December 1999, but his comments have been revived for the royal obituaries.

The Queen Mother's liking of comedy was also evident in a previous award of her Fellowship - and annual award for reviews of subjects which were believed to be of particular interest to her.

In 1999, it was presented to Sir Kenneth Calman for his study of Storytelling, Humour and Learning in Medicine.

Published: 31 Mar 2002