Royal Family Shares Rare Video of Queen Elizabeth Writing Message to Commonwealth

Published Oct 7, 2021

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1:22pm

Queen Elizabeth wears many hats (both literally and figuratively). Not only does the 95-year-old monarch have to run an entire country, but she is also head of the Commonwealth as well as patron of a variety of charities and organizations. Today, Her Majesty performed a very special duty for her Commonwealth role, one she only has to do every four years. Luckily, Buckingham Palace gave fans and followers a peek in a video on Instagram.

On Thursday, the official account of the royal fam shared a clip of the queen signing a message to the Commonwealth. Per the caption of the post, the note will be read during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games (for which she is also patron) in Birmingham. And apparently, the letter has quite the journey ahead.

“The message was placed inside the queen’s Baton before it began its journey to Birmingham via 72 Commonwealth territories and nations, connecting communities over 90,000 miles,” part of the caption read. “Paralympian Kadeena Cox left Buckingham Palace as the first Baton bearer of the 294-day relay.”

In addition to the footage, the post also included a handful of snaps, featuring Elizabeth receiving the baton and then handing it over to Cox. For the occasion, the royal was joined by her youngest son, Prince Edward, who is vice patron of the organization.

As we mentioned above, similar to the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games happen every four years. At the closing ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Earl of Wessex stated, “Every four years these games bring the spirit of our Commonwealth alive... So I call sportsmen and women from all countries and territories of the Commonwealth to come together in four years’ time in Birmingham, England.”

We had no idea about this tradition, but we’re happy we do now.

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Alexandra Hough

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