The Royal Family were once partial to a game of football whilst staying at their Norfolk retreat - with the Queen in goal.
The 92-year-old Monarch's fondness for a Christmas kick-about is revealed in a new biography of her eldest son out today.
In Charles at Seventy - Thoughts, Hopes and Dreams, Royal commentator Robert Jobson writes: 'During holidays - Christmas and the New Year at Sandringham and most of the summer holidays at Balmoral - the whole family would play football, with the diminutive Queen acting as goalkeeper.'
The exact timing of the 5ft 4in Queen's spell as a stopper is not revealed, but is likely to have been during the mid to late 1960s, when Prince Charles was at Cambridge. It is also not clear when she retired from the pitch.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'That's not something we'd comment on.'
Regardless of how many times she kept a clean sheet at Sandringham, Her Majesty's proudest football moment would have been at Wembley on July 30, 1966, when she presented the Jules Rimet Trophy to Bobby Moore, captain of the England Team, after he led them to beat West Germany 4 - 2 in the World Cup.
A decade or so ago, by which time she would long have hung up her goalie's gloves, there was speculation that the Queen was a fan of Moore's old team West Ham.
Aides had previously insisted the Monarch, who used to present the FA Cup, was neutral.
That duty now rests with her grandson Prince William, who is president of the Football Association.
William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, have clearly inherited their grandmother's fondness for the beautiful game.
Both are keen players and have been seen taking part in the annual game between Sandringham estate workers and villagers from neighbouring Castle Rising.
Neither shares their grandmother's fondness for the pride off East London.
William is an Aston Villa fan, while Harry supports Arsenal.
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