Queen Elizabeth seems to be fond of surprising us all, and today she did just that by making her public Zoom debut. While speaking alongside her daughter, Princess Anne, the Queen greeted a group of unpaid caregivers.
The meeting was part of the celebrations around Carers Week in the UK. The goal of Carers Week is to call attention to the work that 7 million people across the UK are doing to take care of their loved ones right now. Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne spent nearly 30 minutes on the call.
At the end of the chat, the Queen said that it had been "interesting listening to all your tales and stories" before adding, "I'm very impressed by what you have achieved already; I am very glad to have been able to join you today."
The call was organized by the Carers Trust, and Princess Anne is president of the organization. Gareth Howells, the chief executive, was also on the call, and he told People that the Queen was genuinely interested in what the participants had to say about their time as caregivers.
Gareth said, "Her Majesty was very keen to understand the stories of each of the carers. She shared a lot and asked questions about the support they are currently getting as unpaid carers. She was keen to understand how the [health crisis] has impacted them as such."
He also added that getting to virtually sit down with the Queen and Princess Anne was wonderful: "It was a real privilege. The Princess Royal has long been a supporter of the Carers Trust and is always passionate and knowledgeable about unpaid carers. But to be able to have the greater profile of Her Majesty joining the call as well, to raise the awareness of unpaid carers during Carers Week, was really crucial."
"The carers were nervous enough to have the Princess Royal but to be told a few days before that Her Majesty would be joining us was really nerve-wracking but they loved the unique opportunity to raise the profile of carers across the U.K. as well."
Gareth also said that he appreciates that the royal family took an interest in the organization and its carers. "It was a really useful discussion. All of them were surprised by the engagement. They weren't just there to get a photo opportunity. It was good to see the Royal Family take an interest in such an important piece of work."
While Princess Anne has taken quite a few Zoom calls while social distancing, this was the first public Zoom call for the Queen. "She was engaging. The Princess Royal has done a few and was more comfortable but the Queen was perfectly comfortable with the camera in front of her. A couple more times and she'll be a dab hand at it!"
Princess Anne founded the organization, which was originally known as The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. She had previously sent out a message to the group that said, "If you are an unpaid family carer, thank you so much for everything you do for those who cannot care for themselves. This Carers Week, and always, please know that your role is a vital one; one to be highlighted and celebrated, and one that should never be forgotten."
While this may have been the Queen's first public Zoom meeting, it's likely not the first one she's ever been on. The entire royal family is said to be keeping in touch using Zoom, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. There were also reports that the family met up on Zoom to celebrate Archie's first birthday last month.
And the Queen has definitely been known to participate in online fun before. In 2019, she was celebrated for posting to Instagram for the first time. She made the post while visiting the UK's Science Museum.
In her post, she said, "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."
Sir Ian Blatchford, the director of the Science Museum Group, noted, "It is always a pleasure to welcome her majesty to the Science Museum, and I am delighted that HM the Queen has taken the opportunity to post on Instagram for the first time and announce Top Secret."
And of course, the Queen had a great time with Prince Harry back in 2016 when the two set up a video reply to President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. The video was part of the promotions of that year's Invictus Games, which were held in the United States at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
