The Queen: Portsmouth residents paying tribute at Windsor hail 'modern monarch' not afraid to FaceTime and Zoom call

A MONARCH who kept apace with modernity is how the Queen has been remembered by Portsmouth residents travelling to Windsor to pay their respects.
Richard Lemmer
By Richard Lemmer
Published 12th Sep 2022, 20:32 BST
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In her first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957, the Queen spoke of the ‘speed at which things change around us’.

As well-wishers gathered at Windsor Castle on Monday to lay bouquets in her memory, several paid tribute to her ability to embrace different mediums.

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Among them was Jane Richardson, 58, who praised the Queen’s technological prowess, pointing to her video call and the filmed sketch she performed with a computer-generated Paddington Bear for her Platinum Jubilee.

A child's hand-drawn image of Queen Elizabeth II lays among the thousands of flower bouquets that have been left in tribute to the queen, who died last week, on September 12, 2022 in London. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.A child's hand-drawn image of Queen Elizabeth II lays among the thousands of flower bouquets that have been left in tribute to the queen, who died last week, on September 12, 2022 in London. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
A child's hand-drawn image of Queen Elizabeth II lays among the thousands of flower bouquets that have been left in tribute to the queen, who died last week, on September 12, 2022 in London. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Ms Richardson, who had traveled from Portsmouth to join the mourning crowds, said: ‘I think she was a modern monarch.

‘She was traditional but she moved with the times.

‘She’s just been in our lives so long, it’s going to be very strange without her.’

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Younger members of the crowd, such as Ellie Wells, 20, agreed, saying that the Queen’s participation in a video call during the pandemic showed ‘she was willing to stay with the times’, even in her 90s.

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Ms Wells said: ‘I think we’ve all got to get used to the transition from the Queen to our new King.’

She added that she had been impressed when the Queen took part in a video call during the pandemic because it showed she was open to the modern era.

‘For younger generations, I liked her Zoom call – it showed she was willing to stay with the times, even at her age.’

The Queen carried out numerous virtual visits during the Covid-19 crisis.

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Fashion collector Leslie Claridge, 64, described the Queen as the ‘hardest working woman certainly ever’ who had managed to adapt to the ‘modern age’ during her long reign.

She remarked on a video call to celebrate KPMG’s 150th anniversary: ‘Well, thank goodness for technology, so one can still do this.’

For the first time, the late Queen had held her Privy Council meetings by videolink, received the oath of allegiance from a newly appointed archbishop online, and she carried out diplomatic audiences for foreign ambassadors online.

Related topics:QueenZoomPortsmouth