The Prince of Wales has shared a personal childhood memory of Queen Elizabeth II as the Queen Elizabeth Digital Memorial reaches a major new milestone with the launch of additional archive material and the first public memories of the late monarch.
Prince William is among those contributing to the growing online memorial, recalling afternoons having tea with his grandmother and the late Prince Philip at Windsor Castle during his childhood.
His contribution forms part of a major update to the Queen Elizabeth Digital Memorial, a Cabinet Office-led project launched earlier this year to preserve the life and legacy of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
The latest update introduces an interactive collection of memories submitted by members of the public alongside contributions from people who knew Queen Elizabeth II personally. The memories, drawn from across the United Kingdom, offer first-hand accounts of encounters with the late Queen during her 70-year reign.
Among those published is the recollection of a former RAF aircraft handler who spent 24 years maintaining the Queen’s helicopter.
The contributor remembered Queen Elizabeth joking after arriving from a landing in a field, saying: “I must apologise, they picked me up in a field this morning and I’ve dragged grass through the carpet.”
Another remembered seeing the late Queen during her 2012 visit to Belfast, while a further submission reflected on the dramatic moment during the 1981 Trooping the Colour parade when Queen Elizabeth calmly controlled her horse, Burmese, after shots were fired nearby.
The memorial has also added a fully digitised version of the Court Circular, providing a searchable record of every official engagement undertaken by Queen Elizabeth II throughout her reign from 1952 until 2022. The project was completed with support from volunteer students using data provided by The Times.
New archive material has also been added to the interactive timeline, with contributions from leading cultural and heritage organisations including The National Archives, the Royal Collection, the Royal Mint Museum, Royal Mail and the Press Association.
Launched on 21 April 2026, the Queen Elizabeth Digital Memorial combines photographs, videos, historical documents and personal recollections to create a permanent digital record of the late Queen’s life and service.
The public is continuing to be invited to submit their own memories, with further contributions due to be published throughout the remainder of 2026.
