Fans in a frenzy as the Queen shares her first photo on social media
Queen Elizabeth II has made fans erupt with excitement after she made her Instagram debut.
The 92-year-old monarch paid a visit to London’s Science Museum, where she viewed a World War II Enigma code machine and the original NeXT computer, which was what Tim Berners-Lee used to create the World Wide Web in 1989.
To celebrate the inauguration of the museum’s Smith Centre, Her Majesty used an iPad to post an image from the archives.
The photograph was of a letter and was shared to the royal family’s official Instagram account, which currently has 4.5 million followers.
The letter, which was from inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage, dates back to the 19th century and was addressed to her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria and great-great-grandfather Prince Albert.
“In the letter, Babbage told Queen Victoria and Prince Albert about his invention, the Analytical Engine, upon which the first computer programs were created by Ada Lovelace, a daughter of Lord Byron.”
The Queen also mentioned that the computer pioneer “designed the ‘Difference Engine,’ of which Prince Albert had the opportunity to see a prototype in July 1843”.
The Queen said: “Today, I had the pleasure of learning about children’s computer coding initiatives and it seems fitting to me that I publish this Instagram post, at the Science Museum which has long championed technology, innovation and inspired the next generation of inventors.”
She signed off the caption with her signature: “Elizabeth R.”
The Science Museum wrote back, saying: “We are honoured that while opening The Smith Centre at the Science Museum Your Majesty shared a post on Instagram for the first time.
“We’re thrilled that the image is of correspondence from the Royal Archive between Charles Babbage and Your Majesty’s great-great-grandfather Prince Albert about the Difference Engine No. 1 on display in your Making the Modern World gallery.”
In a few short hours, the photo had garnered over 78,000 likes and a stream of comments.
“Can this post by Her Majesty please break the internet,” one user wrote.
“Yes Queeny, doing it for the gram!” wrote another.
The Queen has always championed modern resources, and throughout her time as monarch, has introduced technology into the royal family.