Royal walkabouts have created some of the most iconic moments in history, whether that’s a special hug or a royal going out of their way for a special interaction. Believe it or not, as common as they are now, the royal walkabout didn’t actually start until the 1970s.
In previous tours, people could only catch a glimpse of a visiting royal as they drove by in cars. In 1970, Queen Elizabeth II changed that when she decided she wanted to say hello to the crowds. From there, the walkabout was born.
The first walkabout happened during a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand alongside Prince Philip. The new activity allowed royals the chance to meet a greater number of people and not just officials and dignitaries who they were scheduled to meet with. In Queen of the World, a documentary on Queen Elizabeth II, The Princess Royal reflected on the start of the walkabout: “We never shook hands. The theory was, you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start.”
“So I kind of stick with that, but I noticed others don’t. It’s not for me to say that it’s wrong, but I think the initial concept was that it was patently absurd to start shaking hands. And it seems to me that it’s become a shaking hands exercise rather than a walkabout, if you see what I mean, so that it has changed.”
The practice is common on visits abroad but soon became part of royal engagements in the UK.
In a 2016 documentary in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday birthday, the Princess of Wales said: “There’s a real art to walkabouts, everybody teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting. I still have to learn a little bit more and to pick up a few more tips, I suppose.”
And the walkabout has evolved with time. Selfies used to be a no go but now, some members of the Royal Family are posing for selfies with people in the crowds. I saw that first hand when I was lucky enough to meet the Prince of Wales on a walkabout ahead of the Coronation in May 2023.
It’s impossible now to think of royal engagements without walkabouts but this was an innovation brought about in the historic reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
