The Royal Family and technology.
Introduction. Millions of potential viewers have soon turned the media into an essential event.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Gallery.aspx
1878 – Queen Victoria meets Alexander Graham Bell and tries out his new invention, the telephone.
‘A Professor Bell explained the whole process which is most extraordinary’, the Queen wrote in her
diary.
 Who was Alexander Graham Bell? What do you know about his discovery?

What was his first use of the telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell's notebook entry of 10 March 1876 describes his successful experiment with the telephone. Speaking through the instrument to his assistant, Thomas
A. Watson, in the next room, Bell utters these famous first words, "Mr. Watson -- come
here -- I want to see you."
http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3625 The end of the telegraph.
http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/telegraph.htm TITANIC.
1918 – The first ever mass communication from a reigning British Monarch is sent out when a letter
from George V is reproduced and distributed to all returning prisoners of war using lithography:
Other famous lithographies. http://www.clg-gassendi.ac-aixmarseille.fr/spip/IMG/png/Albrecht_Durer.png
‘The Queen joins me in welcoming you on your release from the miseries and hardships, which
you have endured with so much patience and courage.’

What medium did George the Fifth use? Why? Do you think it was the right medium to use?

Find a few information on the King.

What were “the miseries and hardships” they were talking about?
1932 – King George V makes his first Christmas Broadcast via radio: ‘I speak now from my home
and from my heart to you all; to men and women so cut off by the snows, the desert, or the sea, that
only voices out of the air can reach them’.
In 1935 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2pShTJBoAY
How were his people supposed to feel at Christmas?
 What feelings did he appeal to? Who did he try to comfort?
 How did the listeners feel when listening to their King?
1937 - The Coronation procession of George VI becomes the first televised outside broadcast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foMe8YP4uFQ The King’s speech.
1940 – The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) makes her first ever radio broadcast accompanied by
Princess Margaret on Children’s Hour on the BBC: ‘In wishing you all 'good evening' I feel that I
am speaking to friends and companions who have shared with my sister and myself many a happy
Children's Hour’.
Questions.
Are all these documents easily available? What has changed throughout the years and an
immense opportunity for you?
The Royal Family and technology.
1947 - The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) dedicates her life to the service of the Commonwealth
via a radio broadcast from South Africa on her 21st birthday: 'I declare before you all that my whole
life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service'.
1953 – The Queen allows television cameras inside Westminster Abbey for the first time during a
State occasion for her Coronation. An extra half a million TV sets are sold in the weeks running up
to the event.
1957 – The first live Christmas Broadcast on television. During her speech, Her Majesty mentions
the benefits of new technology: ‘That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another
example of the speed at which things are changing all around us ... television has made it possible
for many of you to see me in your homes’.
1958 – The Queen makes the first phone trunk call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
1976 – The Queen becomes the first Monarch to send an email during a visit to an army base.
1997 – The Queen launches www.royal.gov.uk during a visit to Kingsbury High School in Brent.
2002 - 3,521 journalists from over 60 countries are accredited via an Internet-based virtual press
office to cover events to mark The Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
2006 – The Christmas Broadcast, or ‘Queen’s speech’ is podcast for the first time.
2007 – The Queen launches the first Royal Channel on YouTube
2008 – The Queen uploads a video to YouTube during a visit to the ‘Google’ offices in London.
2009 – a new version of www.royal.gov.uk is launched by The Queen.
A British Monarchy Twitter account is launched www.twitter.com/BritishMonarchy
2010 – The Queen visited Research in Motion (RIM) headquarters in Toronto on her visit to
Canada
A British Monarchy Flickr account is launched www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy
A British Monarchy Facebook account is launched
www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy
The Royal Family and technology.