Late Queen's very unexpected hobby which was decidedly unroyal

Many of the late hobbies are pretty well known by the public - like her love of and the pack of corgies that always seemed to be in her presence, and her passion for raising racing horses and riding.

However, the late monarch also had another that she is reported to have been deeply committed to throughout her younger life, but it isn't what you would normally expect a member of the to be getting up to. The Queen's interest in racing went beyond horses, she also loved racing pigeons.

This pretty unusual hobby is said to have been popular throughout history in the Royal Family, and the former Queen was said to be pretty skilled at the sport when she was still Princess Elizabeth. The royal family had been racing pigeons since 1886, after King Leopold II of Belgium gave them as a gift.

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During her youth, a young Princess Elizabeth became very interested and was a keen racer. It's said her birds have won every major pigeon racing tournament, reports .

Pigeon racing works by taking the birds away from their homes - called lofts - and then they race home, with the quickest to get there winning. These races can be up to 500 miles long, so it's pretty impressive that the birds manage it.

Queen Elizabeth kept her racing pigeons at the Royal Loft in the Sandringham Estate, and she was patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association and the National Flying Club - showing her dedication to the unusual sport. Pigeons also have been used in wars to deliver messages, because of their incredible homing ability - even though these days they are often seen as a nuisance by some people.

The royal association with pigeon racing has garnered some controversy, with King Charles to end his association with the sport and retire the birds currently living in the Royal Loft - after they bought three of the monarch's birds at auction and took them to a shelter earlier this year.

The late Queen is reported to have inherited her love of birds from her grandfather King George V and father, King George VI. The reports that it was her grandfather's parrot Charlotte that was the first bird with which she had a bond, leaving the parrot sugar cubes and playing with her in the garden - and Charlotte could apparently say "God Save the King" and some decidedly ruder words.

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