While Queen Elizabeth has brought about significant changes in society and technology during her 70 years on the throne, one constant has been the public's desire to catch a glimpse of the Queen. In his new book, Q: A Voyage Around The Queen, author Craig Brown recalls one episode of royal visitation that illustrates Her Majesty's thoughts on smartphones.

Thinking about the days when “ladies in flowered hats” waved “handkerchiefs” at the royal family, Brown wonders, “When did the crowd stop waving handkerchiefs?” he wondered. Then he remembered a story that The Tatler first published in a 2014 interview with U.S. Ambassador Matthew Balzan.

“There were always tourists, and they always had their regular cameras. They would hold up their cameras, take pictures, and then put them down.”

Smartphones were invented and Her Majesty the Queen faced a sea of people holding up their hands to capture the perfect social media post. 'Now they upload the pictures and never put them down. And I miss looking into their eyes,' she told the ambassador.”

Brown wrote that waving a handkerchief is “much friendlier than the modern practice of hiding your face with an iPhone.”

Despite her concerns about smartphones, Queen Elizabeth II has adapted to the changing times. She endorsed the royal family's presence on social media platforms, supported the modernization of royal communications, and even made her first Instagram post in 2019.

The queen had her own cell phone--“a Samsung model with MI6 anti-hacker encryption,” according to commentator Jonathan Sacerdoti--but only two people answered the phone: one was Princess Anne, the other was horse racing manager John Warren (fitting for Princess Anne, a well-known horse lover).

If John answered the phone, according to Sacerdoti, “she would get it.”

However, the queen is said to have preferred the old-fashioned way, with land lines and personal conversations, as well as visits with the public.