It was the moment we were reminded of the acting abilities she had been hiding – with a few rare exceptions – for all these years. Trying to comprehend quite what was happening in front of her, the Queen raised an eyebrow as Paddington Bear sat at her table in a palatial room and poured tea from a pot directly down his snout.

Managing to portray the requisite air of light bewilderment at the actions of a computer-generated animal would be more than some wooden Hollywood actors could pull off convincingly. But for the short scene filmed to mark her Platinum Jubilee this summer – which also featured her plucking a marmalade sandwich out of her handbag – the Queen pulled it off with aplomb.

The film was a reminder that for all the demands placed on Elizabeth II during her 70-year reign, she enjoyed the opportunities to show the lighter side of her personality. Buckingham Palace said at the time that the Queen was “well known for her sense of humour” and felt the chance to make the clip, which was filmed in half a day at Windsor Castle in March, was “too fun to miss”.

Another moment that stands out is when she took part in a film for the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012. She was seen receiving a visit from James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, before leading him into a waiting helicopter and appearing to parachute into the stadium.

According to The Other Side of the Coin, a book by the fashion designer Angela Kelly who served as the Queen’s dressing adviser, the idea for the Bond sketch was pitched by the ceremony’s artistic director Danny Boyle to her and the Queen’s private secretary Edward Young.

“I asked him and Edward to give me five minutes so that I could ask the Queen,” writes Kelly. “I remember the look of shock on Danny’s face that I would be asking Her Majesty straight away, but there’s no point in waiting around with these things: if she said no, that would be the end of it.

“I ran upstairs and luckily the Queen was free. She was very amused by the idea and agreed immediately. I asked then if she would like a speaking part. Without hesitation, Her Majesty replied: ‘Of course I must say something. After all, he is coming to rescue me.’

“I asked whether she would like to say: ‘Good evening, James,’ or: ‘Good evening, Mr Bond,’ and she chose the latter, knowing the Bond films. Within minutes, I was back in Edward’s office delivering the good news to Danny — I think he almost fell off his chair when I said that the Queen’s only stipulation was that she could deliver that iconic line.”

Speaking about the experience of meeting the Queen and making the clip with her, Daniel Craig told American TV in February that the Queen was “very funny, wants to crack a joke, and crack a joke about me”. He added: “We were having our photograph taken, and she just went, ‘Oh no, he’s the one that doesn’t smile.’”

These brief glimpses of her sense of mischief stood out because her profile was normally so private and dignified.

In 2016, she took part in another recording to help promote the Invictus Games. Seen on a sofa with Prince Harry, the Queen was being talked through a programme for the events by her grandson, when his explanations were interrupted by a video message on his mobile from Barack and Michelle Obama, then US President and First Lady. After watching the clip – in which the American couple said they were accepting a challenge from the Prince concerning the games and told him to “be careful what you wish for” – the Queen smiled coyly and responded: “Oh, really!”

It sounds like she would have been pleased to spend her final hours in Balmoral, a place where she could let her hair down – even “rushing around in tatty clothes, laughing, joking, joining in, singing dirty songs” in her younger years, according to friends.

The Queen’s participation in the Paddington scene was perhaps all the more remarkable given its touching but undeniably melancholy sense of fast approaching the end of an era.

“Happy jubilee ma’am,” said Paddington. “And, thank you – for everything.” Minutes after the news of the Queen’s death, the bear’s official Twitter account repeated this message of gratitude.

“That’s very kind,” replied Her Majesty in the film. The camera panned back, the pair sat in silence, and the Queen looked out of the window at the country she had served for so long.

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