On Thursday 8th September, Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral surrounded by family.

At 70 years and seven months, her reign was the longest of any monarch in British history, eclipsing that of Queen Victoria, whose presence towered over 19th century Britain.

Her reign began amidst a turbulent period in modern British history as the country struggled to find its place in a rapidly changing world. And it was during her reign that the country passed through a number of transitional periods.

The decline of a global empire, the deterioration of industries upon which the country had relied for more than a century and, latterly, the transformation of the country from an industrial and manufacturing economy to a services-based economic powerhouse.

And while Britain has undergone significant economic, social and technological changes over the past 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II was an ever-present fixture – observing and adapting to these changes, and even sometimes playing a role in driving them.

Britain’s TV Queen

It’s hard to envisage a world without television. Yet for millions of British households in 1953, this was a reality. Radio reigned supreme, as it had for decades.

Elizabeth II’s coronation that year was the first to be televised in full, marking a momentous change in protocol for the Royal Family. During the coronation of her father 16 years prior, television cameras were prohibited from filming inside Westminster Abbey during the service.

Limited to filming the arrival and subsequent procession, this meant that the British public only caught a portion of the ceremony – and many likely saw the footage in movie theatres. In 1937 television was very much in its infancy as a medium.

The decision to broadcast the full coronation ceremony to the masses was truly pioneering. It allowed the public to catch a vivid glimpse of the grandeur of the ceremony and the stunning attire, and endowed a sense of intimacy between the monarchy and the public that had never been experienced before.

Notably, it was the Queen that argued in favour of television cameras during the occasion. At the time, members of the cabinet opposed the suggestion, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill is also said to have been against the idea.

Nonetheless, the greatest show the British public would ever witness went ahead and the new monarch’s subjects felt somewhat closer to their sovereign. Sales of television sets skyrocketed, with families across the country purchasing or renting TV sets specifically for the occasion.

The global audience for the televised ceremony is estimated to have been over 270 million, with viewers tuning in all over Europe and across the Atlantic. The RAF is said to have run frantic sorties to Canada, carrying copies of the footage so that viewers in North America could watch.

In Britain alone, 27 million people – out of a population of 36 million – watched the ceremony on television while millions more listened on the radio.

It was a masterful use of what was an emerging technology at the time and marked a watershed moment in the mainstream use of television.

Embracing Change

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II appeared keen to embrace and adopt new forms of media, communications and technology. In 1976, she famously sent an email during an official visit to mark the introduction of ARPANET – the early precursor to the internet – in the UK.

The dawn of the social media age also saw the emergence of royal communications via this dynamic new medium. On 24th October 2014, the Queen sent her first tweet from the Royal Family account.

The tweet read: “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.

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 24, 2014

Five years later in 2019, the Queen joined Instagram. And her first post on ‘theroyalfamily’ account is a testament to her keen interest in science and technology.

The post, again signed ‘Elizabeth R’, featured a letter sent by computing pioneering Charles Babbage to Prince Albert in 1843.

In the post, the Queen provided an insight on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, through which the first computer programmes were created by fellow computing pioneer, Ada Lovelace.

The post read: “Today, as I visit the Science Museum I was interested to discover a letter from the Royal Archives, written in 1843 to my great-great-grandfather Prince Albert.

“Charles Babbage, credited as the world’s first computer pioneer, designed the “Difference Engine”, of which Prince Albert had the opportunity to see a prototype in July 1843.”

Traditionally, Prince Charles has also been vocal on social media via the Clarence House account – often detailing the activities and duties of the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

The Prince of Wales will succeed Queen Elizabeth II as Charles III and will lead the nation in mourning at the forthcoming state funeral.

And so 70 years on from that pioneering coronation, television will once again play a crucial role in broadcasting events to millions of households, while billions more will stay up-to-date via social media and radio.

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