The Queen’s sense of duty is well known across the world, after seven decades as head of state.
But, as BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond explained earlier on BBC Radio 5 Live, most of us aren’t aware of the “enormous number” of duties carried out by the Queen.
“Most of them happen below the surface – we don’t see them,” says Dymond.
“We might see the State Opening of Parliament or we might see her at Remembrance Day, but day-to-day there are literally hours of state duties.
“A lot of it is reading state papers – these great red boxes turn up at Buckingham Palace with all the state papers – she’s spent seven decades reading these things, she does it on her holidays, she did it when she was on royal tours.”