Pushed to think what the Queen might stick on the television on a drizzly Balmoral evening, something in a boxed set by David Attenborough comes to mind; a rerun of classic Morse perhaps.
But Her Royal Highness has shown she is more in touch with modern Britain than her detractors might give her credit for.
This summer the monarch has ordered a DVD series written by and starring Walsall-born comedian Meera Syal which chronicles the ups and downs in the lives of three Asian women. She has ordered courtiers to obtain recordings of BBC comedy drama Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee for her annual trip to her Scottish estate.
By tradition, broadcasters give members of the Royal family recordings of their favourite programmes before they are available in the shops on DVD. The Queen's other choices show a more characteristic taste for gentle British detection dramas. She has also ordered Midsomer Murders, the drama series starring John Nettles, and New Tricks, a light-hearted police drama.
Syal has been a link for the Queen to Britain's Asians since 1998 when she made the writer an MBE.
Syal was a guest at the Queen's reception to honour high-achieving women last year. She also attended the service of prayer and dedication at Windsor in April after the marriage of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. DVD choices by Prince Charles have included Ahead of the Class, a drama starring Julie Walters.
