She sends e-mails to her grandchildren and even has her own internet-video-sharing channel. And this week there was further indication the Queen is no slouch when it comes to computers. During a visit to the Westminster headquarters of search engine Google, the 82-year-old monarch was given the task of uploading a clip to her record-breaking Royal Channel on YouTube.
Her section holds the top spot for the fastest-growing channel on the site, getting one million hits in its first week of operation last Christmas. And with more than 1.6 million visits in total it is placed the 19th most popular channel.
Joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen was given a tour during which she met Google staff - laidback and tie-less - and internet enthusiasts, including one 87-year-old gentleman whose online moniker is geriatric1927. He has posted more than 150 video diaries since discovering the Google-owned YouTube two years ago and has notched up millions of hits.
There was also a demonstration of the company's most popular applications and videos. The Queen was particularly taken with one clip of a baby laughing uproariously in his high chair. "Lovely little thing, isn’t it?" she said to Prince Philip. "Amazing a child would laugh like that."
To commemorate the royal visit Google commissioned a special 'doodle' in her honour. The image – which bore the British monarch's profile and a crown – featured on the company's home page on the day she dropped in.
Watch the Queen's visit to Google on YouTube's Royal Channel
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
