Queen Elizabeth II sends her first Tweet

An exhibition celebrating the history of communications technology got a very modern royal seal of approval from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who opened the gallery today by sending her very first Tweet.

The Queen sent the Tweet from the @BritishMonarchy Twitter account in front of 600 guests from the world of science and technology. They were gathered to celebrate the new Information Age gallery at London’s @ScienceMuseum, an exhibition that explores the technological breakthroughs that have transformed how we communicate.

It was perhaps fitting that she chose to launch the gallery on Twitter. Information Age: Six Networks That Changed Our World is the first museum gallery dedicated to the history of information and communication technologies.

From the first transatlantic telegraph cable that connected Europe and North America in minutes rather than weeks, to the advanced computing power of the modern smartphone, the gallery looks at how the modern connected world was created through six communication networks: the telegraph; the telephone, radio and television broadcasting; satellite communications; computer networks; and mobile communications. 

Whilst it was the first time the Queen has sent a Tweet, Royalty around the world are no strangers to the platform.

Queen Rania of Jordan (@QueenRania) was the first serving Monarch to have her own Twitter account. Her bio reads “A mum and a wife with a really cool day job…” and she Tweets a combination of Arabic and English messages about her life and work.

Closer to home, Prince Andrew the Duke of York (@TheDukeOfYork) became the first member of the immediate Royal Family to join the platform in a personal capacity when he signed up in 2013. He signs his personal Tweets with his initials AY, such as this shot of his office supporting the GB curling team at #Sochi2014.

He was joined on the platform this year by his daughter Princess Beatrice (@YorkieBea) who Tweets about her charity work, as well as occasional pictures of her pet dog which recently gave birth to puppies.

And the Queen made a surprise appearance in a picture on Twitter this summer, appearing in the background of Commonwealth Games athlete Jade Taylor’s Tweet, making that Tweet the most Retweeted of the entire Games. In fact, Royal photobombing became something of a craze as the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry got involved in the fun too.

Prince Harry sent his first ever Tweet earlier this year as he launched the @InvictusGames, followed soon after by his first ever Twitter selfie with the Duke of Cambridge at the launch of the Queens Young Leaders (@QueensLeaders) initiative.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge use the Clarence House account (@ClarenceHouse) to keep followers updated on news of their expanding family – including announcing the news of Prince George’s arrival in 2013, and the impending arrival of a new #RoyalBaby in 2014.

And when the King of Spain abdicated, he chose Twitter to share the moment instantly with the Spanish people.

Following today’s historic Tweet, here’s a reminder of some other royal moments captured in 140 characters: