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A Queen's Quiet Comfort: Prince Philip's Passing Led Elizabeth II to Find Joy Again in Unlikely TV Show That 'Kept Her Spirits Up'

Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021, after serving as Queen Elizabeth II's consort for over 73 years. Although his loss was "immeasurable" for Her late Majesty, who also passed away 1.5 years later, the monarch did find joy again in a popular TV show weeks after his death.

In his 2022 book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, former Member of Parliament Gyles Brandreth interviewed numerous individuals close to the monarch, as well as members of her staff, and found that Britain's longest-reigning sovereign found solace in the police procedural drama Line of Duty.

He wrote, "In the immediate aftermath of Prince Philip's death, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, the cheery Master of the Household, told me: 'My principal duty with HM has been to keep her spirits up — so I've been watching Line Of Duty with her . . . I'm 'the Explainer'! It's very funny."

Brandreth added, "The 95-year-old widow of Windsor laughed as she struggled to understand the convoluted plotting and sometimes incomprehensible dialogue in the popular 'police procedural' television series."

The author then shared how the iconic monarch "struggled" with contemporary television after beginning her reign at the very start of TV programming. "She enjoyed watching television and told me: 'It keeps me in touch — when I can understand what's being said. There's an awful lot of mumbling on television now. It's not my hearing. They just don't seem to speak as clearly as they used to do.'"

Philip's death marked "the final blow" to Elizabeth II when it came to losing loved ones. Her father, King George VI's passing in February 1952, made her the Queen, but reports reflect it was days and "possibly weeks" before she could fully process his death since it automatically made her the new head of state. Diana, Princess of Wales' passing in the late summer of 1997 brought on what many historians consider the worst moment of her reign as she failed to respond quickly enough.

It is rumored that her younger sister Princess Margaret's death in February 2002 after a series of debilitating strokes "nearly brought the Queen to her knees in grief." Matters would only get worse when Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died six weeks later at the age of 101. Both losses occurred months before the monarch's Golden Jubilee celebrating her half a century as Britain and the Commonwealth's leader.

Her late Majesty was also a lifelong animal lover and the losses of numerous corgis and other beloved pets over the decades also wracked the Queen with grief, including the death of Candy, her beloved dorgi only three months before her own passing on September 8, 2022.

Candy was memorably seen in a video released that February showing the Queen observing Jubilee memorabilia in Windsor Castle. In one moment, Her late Majesty stopped to look at Candy and cheekily told her, "I know what you want!" implying treats.

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Daily Mirror reported on Brandreth's book.