Warhol idolised her, Thatcher copied her and Kingsley Amis had a deep fear of farting in her presence: but what was the Queen really like?

From terrifying guests with invitations to ‘informal’ lunches to her relationship with the first female prime minister – Craig Brown looks for the woman behind the crown

When people looked at the Queen, what did they see?
On one level, the answer is obvious: they saw a living representation of the face they had absorbed, often without noticing, almost every day of their lives: on television, on coins and postcards, in newspapers and books and magazines, online, on walls, in galleries and on stamps.

Those presented to the Queen found the experience discombobulating. Though it may have been the first time they had ever set eyes on her, they were often more familiar with her face than with their own. Hers was the most photographed face in human history.

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