The gamekeeper tightened the belt of his kilt. He was looking forward to the evening's dancing: the band was one of the best in Scotland for reelingScottish dancing. Famous reels include the Dashing White Sergeant and Hamilton House.. The food would be excellent. But best of all would be the sight of the hostess in her tartan sash: he was going to a party given by the Queen.

The fact that the Queen loves Scottish dancing, and gives an annual ball at BalmoralA castle in Aberdeenshire which has belonged to the royal family for 170 years., is one of the lesser-known things about her. There are others:

1. Game of thrones The Queen has nine thrones. She also has two birthdaysA sovereign's birthday is celebrated twice if it does not fall in summer. The Queen's actual birthday is in April, while her official one is in June..

2. Pigeon fancier The Queen is a celebrated dog-lover. She also loves horses, and the ones she owns have won four out of the five flat racing classicsHer horses have won the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St Leger - but not the Derby.. But most surprisingly, she keeps racing pigeons: one of them, Sandringham Lightning, was victorious in the Pau raceAn international race in which homing pigeons fly for hundreds of miles..

3. Name game The Queen holds three male titles: the Lord of Man in the Isle of Man, the Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands and the Duke of Lancaster. In Papua New Guinea she is known more informallyIn the pidgin language of Tok Pisin. as "Missis Kwin" and "Mama belong big family".

4. Doyenne of dolphins According to a statute dating from 1324, the Queen owns all the dolphins and whales in British waters. She also owns most of the swans.

5. Dizzying diplomat The Queen was the first British ruler to visit China and the first since the Reformation to receive a visit from the Pope. Her yacht Britannia travelled over 1 million miles on royal visits before it was decommissioned in 1997.

6. Sovereign's silver The Queen has her own currency: silver coins known as Maundy money, which she donates to the elderly on Maundy ThursdayThe Thursday before Easter.. Her fortune is estimated at £370m. 

7. Military mechanic During World War Two she trained as a driver and mechanic with the ATSShort for the Auxiliary Transport Service. It later became the Women's Royal Army Corps.. As Queen, she has never needed a driving licence.

8. Messaging the Moon The Queen sent a message of congratulations to the Apollo 11 astronauts. It was micro-filmed and left on the surface in a metal container.

9. Sole survivor A woman with the same sized feet as the Queen is employed to wear in her new shoes before public events. The Queen usually wears a single-colour outfit and decorative hat so she can be seen in a crowd.

10. Royal embroidery She has a cushion in her sitting-room at Balmoral inscribed with the words "It's good to be Queen".

Yes: Nobody in history has lived longer in the public eye. Journalists follow her everywhere, she has met many thousands of people and we have all seen her on TV - so of course, we know her.

No: The people close to the Queen are chosen for their loyalty and discretion. There is no way that anybody else can really know what goes on behind the palace walls - or in her mind.

Or... A monarch exists as two different people - one public, representing her royal position, and the other private. The public one is well known to her subjects, the private one only to friends and family.