Britain in the USAMonarchy
The Queen goes Online
The following is a Buckingham Palace Press Office press release of 6 March 1997
The Queen today launched the official Royal web site on the Internet at Kingsbury High School in Brent, North London.
The URL is: .
Speaking to an audience of staff and students at the school, The Queen said:
'My visit here this afternoon has been an ideal opportunity to see the importance of computer technology in a modern British school. Thank you for showing me the many ways in which computers help your studies.
'I am sure that some of you have parents and grandparents at home who have found the Internet and the World Wide Web to be a bit of a mystery. But the Internet is rapidly becoming a part of everyday life, and used properly, it opens the door to a huge range of knowledge which has no national boundaries. It is important that we all learn about the Internet, and get the most benefit from it.
'The Royal web site will, I hope, be an interesting and helpful source of information. I also hope that it will encourage you and others to make full use of the World Wide Web, so that we are able to learn more about each other and communicate more easily with each other, both here in Britain and elsewhere around the world. That is very much the point which I will be making next week, in my Commonwealth Day message.
'Now I have much pleasure in launching the Royal web site. And I hope you all enjoy seeing the site, and using it.'
Notes to Editors
The 150-page Royal web site is illustrated throughout, and includes
the following sections: the Monarchy today (its role in the modern
State, The Queen and the Commonwealth, Royal finances, the Royal
Household, ceremonial and Royal visits); Accession, Coronation and
Succession, together with a special file showing the Royal Family
tree from Queen Victoria onwards; biographies of members of the
Royal Family; information on the occupied Royal Palaces and
private estates, together with tourist information on opening
times. There is also a section on the Royal Collection, together
with listings of forthcoming exhibitions in The Queen's Gallery.
The Royal web site also includes:
- a section dealing with the most frequently asked questions put
to Buckingham Palace by members of the public in this country
and overseas, and
- a feedback form on the web site, designed as a 'visitors' book', which will provide the necessary feedback to ensure that the site is meeting the information requirements of Internet users.
The Royal web site will be updated on a regular basis. The link with the web site carrying will ensure that immediate information on Royal visits and other engagements, annual reports, Royal Household appointments, etc. will continue to be readily available.
The first addition to the Royal web site will be made on 10 March, when The Queen's Commonwealth Day message will be added to the Commonwealth section; this will be the first time this message has gone out on the Internet.
In April, a history section will be added to the Royal web site; designed to meet national curriculum requirements, the section will include a history of the Crown from Anglo-Saxon times onwards, a number of historic Royal biographies and a short selection of historic speeches made by English and British Kings and Queens.
The Royal web site was designed and produced by the . The Web site is served from the Government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA's) . (The CCTA is an Executive Agency of the Office of Public Service.)