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The Royal Family Shares Rare Snap of Queen Elizabeth’s Grandfather on Instagram

There's nothing we love quite like a royal family throwback, whether it's a childhood photo of Princess Diana or a snap from Queen Elizabeth's early years as monarch.

Now, the royal family has shared a rare pic of the queen's grandfather, King George V, who reigned from 1910 until his death in 1936. The throwback was posted to the family's Instagram Story in honor of World Radio Day, and they preceded it by saying, “The advent of public wireless broadcasting in the 1920s enabled millions of people across the globe to hear their King's voice for the first time in their own homes. On #WorldRadioDay, we look back on some of those early broadcasts.”

This was followed by a rare, black-and-white photo of King George V, who is seen sitting at his desk. The pic was accompanied by a message that said, “In 1932 King George V spoke on the 'wireless' to the Empire from Sandringham in what was the first ever Christmas Broadcast.”

Royal Family/Instagram

They also highlighted the reach of the king's broadcast, adding, “Microphones at Sandringham were connected to Australia, Canada, India, Kenya and South Africa via a complex system of Post Office lines.”

While we loved this chance to see the queen's grandfather, the royal family also shared a snap of her father, King George VI, giving his own broadcast. They explained, “By the time of King George VI's reign, radio had become a vital channel of communication for a world at war.”

Royal Family/Instagram

To round everything out, these photos were followed by a pic of the queen herself, which they captioned, “In 1940 The Queen—then Princess Elizabeth—spoke to the children of the Commonwealth during a BBC Children's Hour broadcast, with sister Margaret at her side, reassuring children—many of whom had been evacuated—that all would be well.”

Royal Family/Instagram

We love these tours through royal family history.

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Joel Calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features...
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