The Queen's favourite Christmas film is a far cry from the traditional festive hit

The nation's favourite Christmas films include timeless classics such as Home Alone, Love Actually, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, and A Christmas Carol. However, it appears that Queen Elizabeth's go-to festive film was far from traditional.

According to one of the lead actors, the monarch would watch the film with her grandchildren every year. One might have expected the late Queen's Christmas movie of choice to be a conventional one, but that was not the case.

While the Queen had an unconventional favorite, her grandson, Prince William, has a soft spot for a Christmas classic. A reliable source revealed that the late Queen's favorite festive film was Flash Gordon.

Although the movie doesn't typically fit into the category of Christmas films that people revisit annually, the Prince of Wales' choice is more traditional. The 1980s sci-fi adventure film stars Sam Jones and Brian Blessed, following football player Flash and his friends as they travel to the planet Mongo and fight against Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

This surprising revelation came directly from 88 year old Brian Blessed, who played the role of Prince Vultan in the movie. Speaking a few years ago, Blessed said: "The Queen, it's her favourite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas.", reports the Mirror.

He then mimicked the late monarch, recalling: "You know, we watch Flash Gordon all the time, me and the grandchildren. And if you don't mind, I've got the grandchildren here, would you mind saying 'Gordon's alive'? " Contrasting with his grandmother's choice, Prince William admitted that his favourite Christmas film is the 2003 comedy Elf featuring Will Ferrell.

During a heartwarming radio interview with youngsters at the Royal Marsden Hospital, William confessed: "I would have to say, probably Elf. It's very funny and I keep watching it every Christmas and it still makes me laugh."

In another part of the discussion, the Prince, who has served as the President of The Royal Marsden since 2007, was asked about his favourite Christmas tune. Prince William disclosed to host Barry Alston: "For this particular chat with you Barry, I'm gonna say 'Feliz Navidad' is my favourite Christmas song because it's a bit different. I could say Mariah Carey, who I love dearly as well. That's a good one and obviously there are many others, but I think I'll probably go with 'Feliz Navidad.' It's a bit more jolly."