The longest reigning monarch and current Queen of England, Elizabeth II, posted her very first Instagram photo today. The 92-year-old visited the London Science Museum, and photographed a letter of correspondence to her great-great grandfather Prince Albert and Queen Victoria from Charles Babbage.
The 1848 letter details information on the Analytical Engine, an early framework for what would become a computing device, eventually leading to the modern computers we all use today. Babbage was considered one of the first ever computer pioneers, creating machine prototypes that laid the groundwork for countless modern technologies, such as the smartphone which Elizabeth used to take the photograph. The Queen was filmed pressing the button and posting the photograph surrounded by onlookers at the Science Museum, and the photograph was posted to the official Royal Family Instagram page.
The two part photograph was accompanied by a heartfelt and detailed explanation of the letter in the post. The post also mentioned an initiative to teach children about coding and other computer skills headed by the museum. In fitting fashion with the post, many social media sites were inundated with images of the Queen posting the photo, and it appears that people are overjoyed at the Queen’s use of the platform and technology. Dressed in a bright orange outfit, the regent smiled and waved for onlookers as she left the museum, who no doubt took photographs to post on their social media profiles themselves.
