keeping up with the royals

Queen Elizabeth Is on Instagram Now

Queen Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II made history when she became the longest reigning monarch back in 2015, and on Thursday, the 92-year-old reached another important milestone: She posted her first Instagram.

The post in question is the first on the already existing @TheRoyalFamily Instagram account to have been signed by “Elizabeth R.” And, what’s more, the account even posted a video of the historic moment when the queen herself took off her glove (of course) and appeared to press “share” on a phone, thereby sending the message out into social media. Wow.

The post is a picture of a letter from the Royal Archives, which she discovered during a visit to the Science Museum, the queen writes in her caption. The letter, which was written in 1843 by “Charles Babbage, credited as the world’s first computer pioneer,” was addressed to her great-great-grandfather Prince Albert. Babbage wrote to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert about his invention, the “Analytical Engine,” the queen explained. Her caption continues:

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.

Elizabeth R.

Coincidentally, the queen’s first Twitter post in 2014 also occurred after a visit to the Science Museum — and included the very same sign-off.

Unfortunately, after her 2014 tweet, the queen did not suddenly become an avid Twitter user overnight — so our wish that she would now start posting regularly to Instagram will likely not come true. But we’re thrilled to welcome Queen Elizabeth to the social media platform that consumes literal hours of our lives.

This post has been updated.

Queen Elizabeth Is on Instagram Now