Source says Queen Elizabeth II is "chatty with those she trusts"

Queen Elizabeth II maintains a polite smile and calm and composed demeanour when she is out in public. However, not many people know how she is in her private life. A royal insider has revealed that the 95-year-old can actually be very talkative when she is around the people she trusts.

In the upcoming winter issue of PEOPLE Royals, the source said that the Queen can switch from her professional life to her personal life in a moment. They explained, "The Queen can go from being magisterial to chatty with those she trusts. She has good judgment once she trusts people – and once she does it is very easy."

As per the report, the monarch has an intimate "bubble" of people with whom she is close. When she had to stay at home last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and this year due to her health, this close-knit crew of friends and loyal staffers helped her stay busy, especially after her husband Prince Philip passed away.

Early this summer, she started inviting friends to Windsor for lunches and dinners, and would enjoy watching television with them late into the evening. Her inner circle reportedly includes her ladies-in-waiting like Lady Susan Hussey, whom she's known for six decades, and friends like the Lady Annabel Whitehead, Lady Elizabeth Leeming, Prince Charles's nanny Mabel Anderson, and Susan Rhodes.

Her discreet and loyal dresser Angela Kelly is also a good friend to the royal, so is her footman Paul Whybrew. She is rarely alone as there is always someone around to keep her company. The insider said that the staffers who were within the "safety bubble" during the coronavirus pandemic also found it to be "a cheerful place."

The source said, "Those who are in it cherish their place. They are a support for the Queen and someone that they can have a laugh with and she can talk about the issues of the day."

The Queen also gets regular visits from her youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who live a short drive away with their two children at their Bagshot Park Home. Her second son Prince Andrew also lives nearby at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.