Elizabeth II, queen of memes

Elizabeth II

“Thank you Ma'am, for everything”. One of the very first messages of condolence for the death of Queen Elizabeth II, which took place on Thursday 8 September, came from a fictional character, the famous Paddington bear, the likeable protagonist of Michael Bond's children's books. The sovereign drank one of her last teas with him, in recent months on the occasion of the celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee: a sketch that went viral again in the hours immediately following the activation of the "London Bridge is down" protocol, in occasion of the death of the monarch.

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And perhaps it is no coincidence that this has happened: the media impact that Queen Elizabeth has left in her seventy years of reign was literally transversal. From the first black and white images of her rise, on February 6, 1952, to the memes of 2022. The longest-lived queen in history has been a leading actress not only in the world political scene, but has managed to impress her face even in the imagination collective of those who are not used to seeing it on coins and banknotes. Thanks to his passion for technology and innovation, to his pastel clothes, on which public opinion has said and written - really - of all colors, with his grimaces that soon allowed social media users network to make her one of the most “memorable” faces in the world, Elizabeth II has conquered the twenty-first century even though she belongs to another era.

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The video of Queen Elizabeth with the Puddington bear

The passion for technology For those of Generation Z, and probably also for many millennials, Elisabetta for many years has embodied the role of the eternal “grandmother”. In fact, William and Harry have always boasted of having a grandmother in step with the times, despite representing one of the oldest institutions in the world. In fact, the queen has always had a strong penchant for technological communication: in 1969 she granted the BBC the opportunity to film the life of the royal family, and in 1976 she sent her first email during a visit to the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, a telecommunications research center in Malvern, England. To understand: the connection moved on Arpanet, the precursor of today's internet. Her account? Hme2, aka Her Majesty, Elizabeth II. Already in 1997, under her reign, she posted the first version of the royal family website online, many years earlier than the main British news sites. And ten years later, the Crown's image modernization operation continued with the launch of the family YouTube channel with a rare video of the first Christmas telecast in 1957, while on October 24, 2014 she also posted her first. tweet.

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Icon of the twentieth century The constant but discreet crescendo of its presence on the public scene has ensured that the queen Elisabetta became an icon of the twentieth century, also for pop culture. With the advent of the tabloids and glossy covers that saw her as the protagonist due to the scandals that hit the English Crown, Elizabeth entered more and more forcefully into mass culture. Thus, in her long reign, she happened to end up, in no particular order: in a canvas by Andy Warhol, who dedicated a screen print to her as for Marilyn Monroe, on the cover of God save the Queen by the Sex Pistols and to even become a Barbie . Just a few months ago, on the occasion of her birthday, Mattel wanted to pay homage to her with a special edition of the well-known doll, complete with ivory-colored ceremonial dresses and miniature decorations inspired by royal orders.

And how to miss the possibility of a helicopter launch with James Bond? During his time in theaters, 6 films about the world's most famous secret agent were released. For this reason, for the 2012 Olympics in London, Elizabeth surprised everyone (including professionals): in the video projected at the Olympic Park during the opening ceremony, the 007 starring Daniel Craig met Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace to escort her to the helicopter stage. The short film ends with the queen who decides to jump into the sky of London with a parachute in the colors of the British flag. A hit that preceded his actual entrance to the stadium.

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The opening video of the London games with the Queen Elizabeth and Daniel Craig

The scepter of memes to her From: Pinterest

In the age of social networks, the contrast between her hierarchical position and her actions that are anything but solemn, the have made it possible to conquer the scepter of memes. Elisabetta, in fact, perfectly embodied the role of the "eccentric old woman" who, despite her apparently harmless image of her, has total awareness of her own power and, why not, even that pinch of wickedness that doesn't hurt. Thus began a vast production of memes on her figure, shared and by users. ". On the net you can find hundreds of them. Her gaffes, her spontaneity and the unexpected that then regularly occurred in the public life of the English sovereign were her strengths that allowed her to quickly become popular even on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Gestures that have made it possible to "humanize" what until recently seemed to be a figure very far from that of his people: as often happens, in fact, memes get more success just when one realizes that even the powerful have a personality , interests and a more or less effective sense of humor. The queen's willingness to make fun of herself and to pierce the laces and splendor of her position has made her dear to the public.

The main lines of meme about the queen are essentially three: those related to her " reactions ”, those related to the problematic relationship with Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, and finally those related to his incredible longevity. Let's start from the first: who has never used a sticker on WhatsApp with one of Elizabeth's many faces?

One of the viral memes after the final of the European Championships between Italy and England in 2020

One of the memes of the summer 2022