Queen Elizabeth may not always be the most tech-savvy, but she just did something we totally didn’t expect. She allowed a takeover of the official Royal Family Instagram account.
In honor of International Youth Day (Wednesday, August 12), the account announced that it was handing its Instagram Stories over to young people from around the world to talk about their lives during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and chairman of the International Award (which challenges young people to find their passions and purpose in the world), introduced the young adults on social media and thanked them for their continued work in their different communities.
“To all those young people who responded to the challenges of COVID-19 by volunteering, being a carer or a key worker, and especially if you’re part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award community, I just want to say a massive ‘Thank you,’” Her Majesty’s youngest son said during the clip before introducing the five participants. “I hope you enjoy hearing from them.”
The event included takeovers by Gregory from Kenya, Tereza from the Czech Republic, Metta and Jordan from Indonesia and Rochelle from Canada (swipe to see them all). The kids talked about a variety of ways they’ve been serving their community including teaching members how to farm their own produce, supporting elderly residents and creating coronavirus awareness videos.
It’s a rare occasion that the 94-year-old monarch hands over the family’s social media account. We’ve only seen it done a handful of times in the past, including when her gardener at Buckingham Palace, Mark Lane, gave us an inside tour of the gardens.
And while we love to keep up with what the royal family is doing, we’re also happy to see how the rest of the world is working to serve the greater good.
