The late Queen’s sorrow at being confronted by ‘a sea of mobiles’ rather than a crowd of faces
QUEEN Elizabeth II expressed regret that the rise of the digital age meant she was greeted by ‘a sea of mobile phones’ on walkabouts, it was disclosed yesterday.
Over the course of a decade, the late monarch said, she went from being able to meet the public faceto-face to noticing well-wishers were preoccupied with taking photographs and videos.
Her comments were revealed by award-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti, who in 2017 became the youngest recipient of the Queen’s medal for music at the age of 29.
Ayrshire-born Ms Benedetti told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I quote our late Queen, who I met after winning the Queen’s medal for music. She said her view of the world [had] been impacted so much by digital devices.
‘She used to look out into a sea of people and then, in the last ten years or so, she just [looked] out into a sea of phones, she said to me.
‘She was talking about the unbelievable power and importance of music education.
‘But she also said [playing an instrument in an orchestra] was one of the only times when nobody is looking for anything else.
‘You’ve got an instrument in hand and everyone is collectivised round this one thing.
‘It requires you to listen harder than you speak or talk.
‘You have to be part of a bigger organism. To lose that would be such a heartache.’
The violinist was awarded a CBE for services to music in 2019.
The late Queen was a early adopter of mobile phones, being given one in 2001. But she was said to have been frustrated by the impact they had on human interaction.
Ian Lloyd, author of The Queen: 70 Chapters In The Life of Elizabeth II, said: ‘The walkabouts were set up by the Queen in the 1970s as a way for her to meet and engage with the public, but in the digital era she missed that eye contact, with mobile phones thwarting that genuine connection.’
He added: ‘People would just hold up their camera phones or, even worse, their iPads, so she would be faced with a wall of screens. They just want to record the moment rather than experience it, which is a shame.’
The late Queen also faced digital interruptions at important events. On one occasion Clare Short, International Development Secretary under Tony Blair, realised she had left her mobile phone on when it rang in a meeting of the Privy Council. ‘Oh dear,’ the Queen said. ‘I hope it wasn’t anyone important.’ Princess Anne shared her mother’s feelings. In 2018, the Princess
Royal said: ‘I’m glad I’m not starting [to do walkabouts] now because at least you [previously] had people to talk to – now you don’t really.
‘Phones are bad enough but the iPads, you can’t even see their heads! You don’t know who you’re talking to. I either don’t bother, or I say, “Look, if you want to meet us, I suggest you put that down!”
‘It’s weird. People don’t think they’ve experienced the event unless they’ve taken photographs. And usually you’re standing immediately in front of them.’
‘In the digital era she missed that eye contact’