LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II has sent her first tweet — though she kept things traditional, signing off with “Elizabeth R”.

The 88-year-old monarch tried her hand at Twitter as she opened a new gallery in central London’s Science Museum Friday, taking off a glove to press an iPad screen as some 600 guests looked on.

The message, “I hope people will enjoy visiting” the exhibition, was sent instantly through the official British monarchy account on the social media website. “Elizabeth R” is how the queen signs official documents.

The “R” stands for “regina”, the Latin for queen. The message appeared to be typed ahead of time, and officials wouldn’t say if the queen personally wrote it.

“We’re not going to go into the details,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

The queen does not have a personal Twitter account. Most members of the royal family do not tweet personally — they are represented by official accounts managed by spokespeople.

There are exceptions: Prince Andrew — the queen’s second son — and his daughter Princess Beatrice both tweet in a personal capacity.

The gallery, called “Information Age,” explores the technological breakthroughs that have changed communication.

The queen was the first monarch to send an email, in 1976 when the technology was in its infancy.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2014