How the Queen reacts when people don't recognise her

She may be one of the most famous faces in the world, but the Queen can sometimes get away without being recognised.

Her former protection officer, Richard Griffin, has revealed how the monarch once encountered a group of Americans while dressed in a headscarf and tweeds while out walking near Balmoral, according to The Times.

When the tourists asked: "Do you live round here?", the incognito Queen simply replied that she had a house nearby.

"Have you ever met the Queen?" they asked.

"No," she replied, then pointed at her policeman and quipped: "But he has."

The Queen traditionally spends her summer break at her Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire - her private home that was handed down to her through generations of royals.

She is apparently never happier than when she is at Balmoral, where the royals gather for family barbecues.

Prime Minister David Cameron once said there was not much "chillaxing" - chilling out and relaxing - at Balmoral, with the royals spending their time riding, fishing or walking.

The Queen also once met a shopper in Sandringham in Norfolk who did not recognise her and declared that she looked just like the Queen.

"How very reassuring," the monarch is said to have remarked.

The Queen visits the Game of Thrones set

Image 1 of 3: Queen Elizabeth visits the throne room at the set of the Game of Thrones. Photo / AP