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Queen Elizabeth II was more tech-savvy than you can imagine!

Queen Elizabeth II was more tech-savvy than you can imagine!

Queen Elizabeth II tweeting in front of a live audience (2014)

You may know Queen Elizabeth II for several reasons, but did you know that she was known to be Britain’s first high-tech monarch? The Queen was more tech-savvy than you could imagine. She was an enthusiastic advocate of technology, and there are several reasons to believe so.

Her coronation in 1953 was the first ever to be televised. She was an early adopter of the internet. In 1976, she sent her first email when visiting the Royal signals and radar establishment in Malvern, England.

It’s reported that she never wrote her emails herself but dictated them. British computer scientist Peter Kirsetin is the man who actually helpedthe queen in setting up her account in 1976 or rather say, he is the one who put the Queen of England on the internet.

Her username was also quite interesting – “HME2”, which stands for Her Majesty Elizabeth II. Her interest in technology was not just limited to sending emails, in 1997, she launched the first version of the royal family’s website, years before some major media publications in the UK decided to go online.

In December 2007, she launched the royal family‘s YouTube channel, the channel today has 973,000 subscribers. Many of you would be surprised to know, but she was no stranger to social media. She used both Twitter and Instagram accounts as part of the royal family. In 2014, the Queen sent a tweet from the @Britishmonarchy Twitter account in front of a live audience. She had posted to the ‘British monarchy’ Twitter account, which was later renamed, today the account is called ‘The Royal Family.’

She tweeted, “It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.”

It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.

This was her first Instagram post:

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)


On March 7, 2019, the Queen posted a photograph of a letter on the royal family’s Instagram account. It was sent by Charles Babbage, who is credited as the world’s first computer pioneer to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert in 1843. The royal family Instagram account is primarily maintained by staff, but unlike other posts, this one was signed ‘Elizabeth R.’

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When it came to the use of technology, Queen adapted to the times. It is said, she was a big fan of tablet computers. According to the reports, Queen used an iPad and embraced zoom meetings as her health deteriorated, also in times, when Covid lockdowns curtailed many of her in-person public engagements. Queen Elizabeth has died, but her internet legacy will live on.