THE Queen wanted to be a comic impressionist and loved mimicking actor George Formby singing When I’m Cleaning Windows, a pal has revealed.
The late monarch was inspired by entertainers who visited Windsor Castle during World War Two.
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Friend Gyles Brandreth recalled: “There was a woman who came called Florence Desmond. She did impressions — Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Vera Lynn.
“The Queen told me that if she hadn’t been Queen, she might quite liked to have been an impressionist. I said, ‘Really? What can you do?’. And she said, ‘I can do George Formby’.
“And there and then, the Queen picked up an imaginary ukulele and she sang to me, When I’m Cleaning Windows.”
Lancastrian Formby gained fame for his 1930s films. He died aged 56 in 1961.
Gyles, 75 — promoting his book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait — told Times Radio the Queen could also mimic regional accents and animals.
He added: “She’d do Frankie Dettori jumping off a horse, Concorde over Windsor Castle. All in one conversation. It was a heck of a conversation.”