“At first look, the new wire photos of Queen Elizabeth were ordinary: just some shots of Her Majesty smiling, shaking hands with a dignitary. But snuck away in the corner was something unordinary. Unusual. An Easter egg. Something that for decades was known to exist but could never be confirmed. Something that once caused a minor political scandal between two of the most powerful countries on earth,” Elise Taylor writes for Vogue. “An iPod. A shiny silver iPod.”
“When Queen Elizabeth does anything — anything! — it’s news. When she rides a train! When she drives! When a pony tries to eat her flowers! (To be fair, that pony’s name is Cruachan IV, and he is damn sassy.) In 2005, the story du jour was that Queen Elizabeth, the crowning symbol of Old Guard England, bought an iPod,” Taylor writes. “And allegedly not just any iPod, but a silver iPod mini. ‘Queen Joins iPod People,’ the New York Post blared.”
“Yet, although various outlets were reporting it, there wasn’t much hard evidence, beyond anonymous sources, that she really had one. Or any evidence at all — Vogue combed through more than 25,000 images of the Queen from 2005 to 2017 and couldn’t find a single one that showed her with the gadget,” Taylor writes. “Until, in 2009, it was maybe-no-more. That was the year President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Queen Elizabeth.”
“As is custom, both parties gave each other a gift. The Queen usually gives a framed picture of herself, while diplomats and dignitaries give something thoughtful, some special nod to their relationship. For example, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia brought a reproduction of a medieval book that belonged to King Phillip II, who in the 16th century married England’s Queen Mary, symbolizing their family’s history. The Obamas gave her an… iPod,” Taylor writes. “The president was fresh off another British gift gaffe with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, after Brown gave him a penholder carved from the wood of an anti-slave ship, and in return, Obama gave him DVD box sets.”
“That didn’t go over well with the British tabloids, which raged it was disrespectful,” Taylor writes. “So some of them jumped on him this time, too. One of their main grievances? The Queen already had an iPod.”
Read more and see the photo of the Queen and her – allegedly – iPod classic in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Whatever.
Back up that keg NOW, interns!
SEE ALSO:
Queen Elizabeth gets Apple iPad; The Princes love it, think she’s really cool – May 9, 2011
Gordon Brown blocked honorary knighthood for Steve Jobs after Jobs declined to speak at Labour Party conference – March 1, 2011
Obama gives Queen Elizabeth another Apple iPod – April 1, 2009
Apple design chief Jonathan Ive collects CBE from Queen Elizabeth – November 17, 2006
Queen Elizabeth gets Apple iPod – June 17, 2005