In another sign of the British Monarchy adopting modern technology, Queen Elizabeth surprised royal family fans by sending out her first-ever tweet from her office's Twitter account.
While the 88-year-old royal was opening a new gallery about communication revolutions at the Science Museum in London on Friday morning, she ignited a communication revolution of her own and sent a tweet in front of a rapt audience.
Using a tablet on the podium, the Queen typed out a message that she affectionately signed, "Elizabeth R."
The Queen's tweet gained almost 6,000 retweets in the first hour
"It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R," wrote The Queen.
The Internet immediately took note of the Queen's message, garnering over 3,200 retweets and 2,300 favorites in half an hour.
During her museum visit, The Queen was joined by her husband Prince Philip. She was also presented with a "technology" themed bouquet and took time to tour the exhibition.
The Queen was presented with a 'technology' themed bouquet
Though she only wrote her first tweet on Friday, the Queen's Twitter account was set up in 2009 with the aim of delivering "updates, pictures and videos from Buckingham Palace about the work and activities of The Royal Family and the institution of Monarchy." It has since amassed 729,000 followers. "The last tweet was sent personally by The Queen from her official Twitter account @BritishMonarchy #TheQueenTweets," the following post from the page read.
Her Majesty has made a habit of embracing modern technology. She's had a cell phone since 2001 and learned how to send and receive text messages from grandsons Princes William and Harry.
While she has never been seen making a phone call with it in public, the reigning monarch, who is also said to own an iPod, is understood to use her phone while she is outdoors at Balmoral and Sandringham Estate.
The Queen has also welcomed the use of Twitter for making announcements previously sent through official releases.
Last year, shortly after Prince George was born, the first official photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their little heir were taken by Kate's father, Michael Middleton, and posted to the Palace's Twitter account.
Prince Harry sent out his first ever tweet in May
Queen Elizabeth isn't the only royal to personally send a tweet. Last May, Harry sent his first-ever tweet as he officially launched ticket sales for his Paralympic-style event, the Invictus Games.
The Prince, who at the time was the most senior member of the royal family to use the site, wrote: "Hope everyone will get behind #invictusgames. Great opportunity to support and thank the men and women who have given so much. Harry. "While taking his time to post the tweet, Invictus president Harry joked: "This is why I joined the army, I can't type properly."
