Queen Elizabeth II's Favorite Doctor Who Star Might Surprise You

Queen Elizabeth II was one of the most popular and beloved queens in the history of the British Royal Family. Her simplistic dress style, coupled with her bold hat choices, made her stand out as a fashion icon over the course of her reign. At the time of her death at 96 years, she was the head of state for the United Kingdom for 70 years and counting. But queening wasn't easy, and even she needed to take some time to relax and unwind with some good entertainment now and then.

But the queen's taste in TV wasn't as prim and proper as you might think it would be. We'd love to insert an obvious "Downton Abbey" joke here, but we wouldn't dream of posthumously offending her majesty's sensibilities with such boorish low-hanging fruit. Instead, we'll delight Whovians all over the world with the knowledge that, yes, this beloved sci-fi series had the queen's blessing. And no, that's not limited to the initial run, which started back in 1963. The Mirror reports that she was enamored with the series ever since the revival began airing in 2005. And the magic the show captured in those first couple of years left such an impression on her that it even influenced her choice of favorite Doctor!

And, honestly, who could blame her? Not only does Christopher Eccleston possess the hypnotic blue eyes and bad-boy-but-in-a-classy-way charm that's almost irresistible, but his companion in interstellar crime, Rose (Billy Piper), was one of the most compelling companions in the history of the series. In fact, her finale, "Doomsday," is the highest rated on IMDb. The two had great on-screen chemistry in the revival's first season, but of course, it was Eccleston who stole the show as the modern audience's introduction to what time-traveling timelords had the potential to be.

The show was such a comfort to her majesty that, according to The Sun, she had once asked for DVD copies of the series to be sent to her at Balmoral Castle. It was at Balmoral Castle that Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 with her family members at her side.Whether it's Eccleston's early episodes or anywhere else in the series, we hope those DVDs were able to give her some wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey comfort in her last days.