Photograph of HM Queen Elizabeth II working at her desk at Buckingham Palace. She sits in right side profile, wearing a green dress and holds a pen in her right hand. Framed photographs stand on her desk. Ministerial red boxes on table in foreground.

Over the last five decades The Queen has acquired unparalleled knowledge of current political issues, much of which comes from her daily task of 'doing the boxes'. These red boxes are sent to The Queen by her Private Secretaries. They contain Cabinet papers, documents requiring The Queen's signature, important Foreign Office telegrams, and ministerial papers of all kinds. Whether she is on holiday at Sandringham or Balmoral or working in London (as here), the boxes follow. This photograph was taken during filming for the Royal Family television documentary, broadcast in 1969.