The last king to sit on it was poisoned at his own wedding, so it was perhaps no surprise that the Queen preferred not to take the Iron Throne when she visited the Game of Thrones set.

She was, however, happy to hold a tiny replica and beamed as she met cast members, among them Kit Harington who plays Jon Snow, Lena Headey who plays Queen Cersei Lannister and Sophie Turner who plays Sansa Stark.

Maisie Williams, the 17-year-old star who plays the spirited Arya Stark, was the first of the actors to chat to the monarch. 'She kept commenting on how uncomfortable the throne looked, that was funny,' she said.

The HBO drama, which emerged from a set of fantasy novels by George R. R Martin, is thought to be loosely based on the Wars of the Roses, which saw two opposing dynasties battle it out for the throne of England.

Buckingham Palace declined to say whether the Queen is fan of the show. A spokeswoman said she was 'interested to see the impact the filming has had on the local economy.'