IT WAS a right royal tantrum. The front door flew open and Prince Philip charged out.

A pair of tennis shoes and a racquet flew after him. An enraged Queen appeared in the doorway, screaming at him to stop running and ordering him back.

As a fascinated Australian film crew watched, cameras rolling, the Queen ''dragged'' her husband back into the chalet in which they were staying, and the door slammed. The crew had been waiting for the Queen to appear so she could be filmed looking at kangaroos and koalas, according to a new biography of the monarch.

It was March 6, 1954, and the Queen was halfway through an eight-week tour of Australia - part of a six-month world trip after her coronation. The couple were having a weekend break on the shores of the O'Shannassy reservoir in the Yarra Ranges of Victoria.