The Queen Goes Full Influencer

She's 96. It's time.

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Queen Elizabeth turned 96 on Thursday and marked the occasion with the release of a portrait that surely had every influencer on the planet wishing right about now that they had sought out a horse stable instead of Coachella. Releasing the photo was among a number of well-played and fashionable moves the Queen has made of late in honor of herself. And every influencer worth their salt knows they must honor themselves as much as possible.

The year 2022 marks QE2’s platinum jubilee, her seventieth year on the throne. This is a woman who probably used rotary phones growing up, but now clearly understands that the way to engage the kids these days is with a playful and envy-inducing photograph. Being the Queen, she doesn’t have to travel to that giraffe hotel in order to obtain it.

The Royal Family @RoyalFamily

Ahead of The Queen’s 96th Birthday tomorrow, @windsorhorse have released a new photograph of Her Majesty. Taken last month in the grounds of Windsor Castle, The Queen is pictured with two of her fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. Happy Birthday Your Majesty!

Looking at this powerful image, you’d be forgiven for completely forgetting some recent royal scandals. First, there was the hideous Prince Andrew sexual assault case. Here’s a recap, from People:

In January, the Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his military titles and patronages amid a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him by Giuffre, who alleges she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at the age of 17. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.

And there was Kate and William’s recent Caribbean tour. That tour, expected to stoke enthusiasm for the Queen’s platinum jubilee (an influencer for whom other influencers don’t travel is no influencer at all), did not exactly do that.