This is how well the Queen really got on with Prime Ministers - and how accurate The Crown got it

At the ripe old age of 94, Queen Elizabeth II has had an audience with an astonishing number of Prime Ministers over the years.

From Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson, throughout her reign the Queen has held a weekly meeting (called an “audience”) with Prime Ministers to discuss weekly matters.

These weekly meetings have been dramatised in all four seasons of hit Netflix series The Crown, giving audiences a glimpse into a practice that is - in real life - totally private, with no transcripts or recordings of meetings made.

But how accurate are the relationships between prime ministers and the Queen depicted in The Crown - and did she have such a frosty relationship with Margaret Thatcher in real life?

Do the Queen’s “audiences” influence the prime minister’s decisions?

Officially, the Queen’s meetings with prime ministers are held in order to “discuss Government matters”.

While the Queen is obliged to remain politically neutral in the meetings, she is able to “advise and warn” prime ministers when she deems it necessary.

This means that while the Queen can make some comment on matters of government, she does not have the final say over any decisions made.

It is established convention for the Queen to support the government, and allow the elected prime minister to form a government in her name after election.

It is very rare for the Queen to make any public comment on politics, but in 2019 it was revealed that ex-Prime Minister David Cameron had asked the Queen’s private secretary whether the Queen might comment on the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum.

Shortly afterwards, the Queen said she hoped people would "think very carefully about the future" with regards to the referendum.

What were her relationships like with the UK’s prime ministers?

Though the Queen has to be neutral about any political matters - including her opinions on prime ministers - various sources over the years, including prime ministers themselves, have given an indication of their relationship with the monarch.

The Crown has dramatised many of these relationships; this is how accurate their portrayals have been.

Was the Queen close to Winston Churchill?