The beloved British sitcom, The Good Life, was widely rumored to be a favorite of the late Monarch, cherished across the nation for its witty satire and timeless charm.

In fact, the show was so well-received by the Queen that in June 1978, she requested a special, one-off episode, even though the series had officially concluded the previous year.

The Good Life, penned by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde, followed the adventures of the Good family as they left the corporate world behind to pursue a life of self-sufficiency, all while staying in their suburban home in Surbiton, London.

Although fictional, the sitcom’s storyline shares a striking similarity with a real-life neighborly dispute involving a notable royal connection—an old Etonian reportedly linked to Princess Kate during her brief separation from Prince William.

Sir Henry Ropner is currently embroiled in a neighborhood conflict in North Yorkshire. Local residents argue that his proposed 113-acre solar farm threatens their picturesque views and self-sufficient lifestyle, reminiscent of The Good Life.

For the Queen, her opulent life in the Palace stood in stark contrast to the simple, self-sustaining existence depicted in the iconic sitcom.

And yet it was perhaps this very contrast that so clearly captivated the late Queen and eventually prompted her to specially request the show did its first ever royal command performance, titled ‘When I’m 65’, to mark her Silver Jubilee.

Indicative of her incredible love for The Good Life, the Royal even visited the set, alongside her husband Prince Philip, to watch the filming of the episode before shaking hands with with some of the star-studded cast, including Felicity Kendal, Richard Briers and Penelope Keith.

While the series had ended the year before, the programme was intentionally commissioned in 1978 as the late Queen had been unable to attend a recording at the BBC’s television centre due to her hectic schedule during her Jubilee year.

Now, 50 years since The Good Life first graced our screens, Dame Penelope Keith, who famously brought the iconic Margo Leadbetter to life, has revisited the moment  the late Queen visited the iconic show’s set to witness that final episode.

Speaking in a new retrospective documentary, titled ‘The Good Life: Inside Out’, she poignantly described the atmosphere as ‘electric’ that day, adding: ‘The Queen had an awful lot of diamonds on and she was sitting in the middle. 

‘Around her, was spread the governors and their ladies who also had diamonds on. So when you looked out, all you saw was sparkle, sparkle, sparkle’.

Recalling how she had to curtsey for the Queen, she added: ‘It was huge fun, fascinating to have done. Felicity who was next to me, she curtsied. But was much shorter than me so I had to curtsey very low.’

Meanwhile, Paul Eddington, who played the role of Jerry Leadbetter in the show, also recalled in 1983 how there had been ‘quite an excited atmosphere’ and a ‘certain kind of tension’ as the cast anxiously prepared for the episode’s filming in the presence of the late Queen.

In a previous Channel 5 documentary titled The Good Life: Secrets and Scandals it was revealed by Gina Esmonde, widow of the show’s co-writer Mr Esmonde, that the show’s writers had been ‘terrified’ at the prospect of the Royal’s arrival.

‘They specifically wanted it to be just a normal programme, they didn’t want to mention things like corgis or make the Queen feel like things had been slotted in for cheap laughs. They just wanted it to be a normal show’, she added.

It was also revealed that a rather mucky incident had occurred just minutes before the Royal arrival that had put the entire high-anticipated event at risk.

Indeed, as the Queen and Prince Philip were coming up the driveway to the doors of the BBC’s iconic Television Centre, Simon Groom, the presenter of popular children’s show Blue Peter, was attempting to leave the building with the show’s new dog, named Goldie. 

But much to Mr Groom’s dismay, the young pup had left quite a mess on the floor’s of the BBC studio, resulting in several staff members, all donning their smartest outfits for the Queen’s arrival, to try and tidy up the so-called ‘dog piddle’. 

Luckily, the appearance was to go smoothly as the Queen, dressed in an impeccable pink gown with a sparkling diamond necklace, happily shook hands with a number of those involved in the show’s vast production – ranging from studio engineers to camera operators and even makeup artists.

But despite the Royal household having informed the show’s production team that the Queen was a huge fan of the long-standing sitcom, the late Monarch was reported to have made a slight faux pas during her visit, asking who leading actress Felicity was.

Ms Kendal later described how the command performance had been perceived as an ‘extraordinary thing’, adding that there was an element of surprise among the cast that that this potty little comedy series about self-sufficiency should be the one we recorded in front of the Queen’.

The late Monarch’s particular captivation by The Good Life could serve as a direct reflection of her love for the outdoors and idyllic countryside.

Seemingly in keeping with the self-sufficiency of The Good Life characters and in spite of her access to the world’s most exclusive chefs, the Queen was known for keeping a simple diet that consisted of local produce and meat with low food miles.

Throughout her historic 70-year reign, the Royal was also frugal, reusing wrapping paper, keeping furniture for decades, holidaying in Scotland and re-wearing outfits.

Speaking to Sky News, royal historian Professor Kate Williams explained how these habits stemmed back to her upbringing as a war baby.

At the time of the Queen’s historic Coronation in 1953, sugar, butter and cheese were among the foods that were still subject to rationing.

‘She wasn’t explicitly saying, “look at me, I’m so eco”,’ said Professor Williams. But the way the Queen lived was ‘very much the ways in which people lived in the 1940s and 1950s,’ she added.

Her love of nature was widely known, and she even teamed up with Sir David Attenborough for a nature documentary in 2018 entitled The Queen’s Green Planet.

Meanwhile in the year before her tragic passing, she expressed her frustration with climate change inaction ahead of the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow, remarking: ‘It’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.’

The late Queen and Philip were also famously known for their acute love of the outdoors, perhaps best exemplified by the couple’s long-standing love affair with the Scottish royal estate of Balmoral. 

Rather poignantly, the 50,000-acre Aberdeenshire estate was also where she spent her final days before her tragic passing and is still adored by the family.

The Queen’s memories of Balmoral, of course, were also so rich as they spanned her long lifetime. The secluded castle and estate, located just off the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, has always been in her family, having been purchased by Queen Victoria’s husband Albert in 1852.

The late Monarch traditionally travelled to the estate each July, staying until October. There she spent her time balancing work and play – reading diplomatic papers from the famous red boxes and hosting prime ministers, while also enjoying the solitude and nature.

And it was also the place she felt most at home, enabling her to swap pomp and ceremony for wellies, brisk walks and views of the Cairngorm mountains.

Her deep affection for Balmoral may also have been due to its close connection with her beloved Prince Philip – it was the very location that the Queen reportedly first laid eyes on him as a teenager, and it was also where he proposed to her in 1946.

Philip, meanwhile, also became known for planting several gardens – including a vegetable garden and water garden – and organising riverside picnics and informal barbecues.

In his later years, Prince Philip reportedly spent many hours fly-fishing, wearing chest-high protective waders and only breaking to join the Queen and guests for lunch.

The Queen, in turn, spent time riding on the estate, which is home to herds of deer, Highland cattle and ponies, or enjoying it from behind the wheel of a Land Rover.

In the biography, Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, author Sally Bedell Smith wrote of how the Queen and Prince Philip ‘loved having barbecues’ on the ‘massive estate, the most beautiful grounds’.

She added: ‘And afterwards the Queen does the washing up.’

This was backed-up by former prime minister Tony Blair, who told the Guardian: ‘You think I’m joking but I’m not.

‘The Queen asks if you’ve finished, she stacks the plates off and goes off to the sink.’

And it was not the first time the Firm had expressed a likeness for some of the nation’s most beloved programmes. 

Indeed, following her death in September 2022, it was revealed by Prince William and Prince Harry’s former press secretary Ed Perkins that the late Monarch ‘had a lot of boxsets’ and was an avid fan of ITV’s Coronation Street.

According to the show’s fictional history, the street was built in 1902 and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII. 

And the Queen even visited the Coronation Street set on a number of occasions.

Her first trip to the land of the serial drama, now based at Media City in Manchester, was in 1982 when it first moved production to a new outdoor set.

Then in 2021, as the show was celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Queen visited the set once again, branding the long-running show ‘remarkable’ before adding that the programme was ‘part of the fabric’ of society.

During the trip, she met stars Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, Barbara Knox, who plays Rita, and Helen Worth, who plays Gail.

Describing the ‘remarkable’ long-running show as ‘part of the fabric’ of society, in a rather lighthearted moment, the late monarch said: ‘The programme doesn’t do a lot of trouble does it? I suppose, life’s a trouble isn’t it?’

The Queen was presented with a series of gifts, including an original ‘Corrie Cobble’ from the set officially opened by the monarch, alongside the late Duke of Edinburgh, in 1982.

She was also given an early edition bottle of 60th Anniversary ‘Weatherfield Spirit’ gin with a pair of Meehart Manchester Skyline gin glasses and a bag of Corrie mementos including a signed anniversary book and some Newton & Ridley beer mats.

Another beloved British television show the Queen was said to love was The Kumars at No 42, being a particular fan of the grandmother in the show Meera Syal. 

The hit series, which was first broadcast to the nation in 2001, featured a British Indian family – with Sanjeev Bhaskar as the son, Indira Joshi and Vincent Ibrahim as his parents and Syal as the grandmother.

Providing a direct insight into the late monarch’s favourite programmes, former BBC journalist Phil Jones revealed that the monarch could ‘recite some of the one-liners’ from the grandma character in the Kumars at No. 42.

Meanwhile, it was previously claimed that she frequently tuned in to watch the BBC drama Line of Duty and would often chat to her close aide, Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, about the show’s never-ending twists and turns. 

‘The Queen was very into and enjoyed discussing the plotlines with Tony’, said a royal source.

In keeping with the late Queen’s love for the big screen, her beloved husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, was also said to be a fan of the British sitcom The Royale Family, according to a key star of the show, Ricky Tomlinson.

Rather humorously, the late monarch was previously said to have outed Philip when she told a charity fundraiser and Ricky lookalike Will Williams that her beloved husband was an avid viewer of the BBC comedy.

Mr Tomlinson – who played the loud mouthed father, Jim Royle, told the story to his former co-star Ralf Little as they filmed their Gold show, Ricky and Ralf’s Very Northern Road Trip.

Recalling the humorous moment the Queen exposed Philip’s love for the show, Mr Tomlinson explained: ‘I told you about my lookalike, his name’s Will and he’s from mid-Wales.

‘He does a lot of charity work and he got a medal in Caernarvon Castle off the Queen.

‘And as she’s putting the medal on his coat, she’s said to him, “I don’t watch your programme, but my husband loves it”.’