The Queen tops Women's Hour Power List

Victoria Beckham and Adele also made the cut

The Queen has topped a BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour survey of the UK's 100 most powerful women.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Santander boss Ana Botin made second and third place respectively.

Although outside the top 20, which also included JK Rowling and founder of Mumsnet Justine Roberts, Adele and Victoria Beckham were also on the prestigious list.

Suprisingly Kate Middleton failed to make the list, however the judges noted her potential to do so, saying 'is she influential? Hugely. Powerful? Not yet.'

Journalist Eve Pollard, one of the judges, said the list highlighted the sectors where women were still under-represented.

She said: 'Most women on our list were judged to have power because they had reached a place where they have control - of policy, of direction, of influence, of staff.

'The panel, a democratic group, also felt that we should include some women who have what we describe as soft power - not hire and fire or innovative financial decisions but the ability to transform the way we think about ourselves.

'What this list does is shine a light on those sectors where too few women are getting to the top, like politics, FTSE companies, the military and journalism.

'Our legacy, we hope, is that this list might change that.'

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