London ( CNN ) -- Britain 's Queen Elizabeth II dipped a toe into 21st-century communications Friday when she posted her first tweet . Signing herself Elizabeth R. , for regina or queen , she welcomed visitors to a new Information Age gallery focused on the evolution of modern communications at the Science Museum in London . The inaugural tweet was posted to the official British monarchy Twitter feed , which has more than 700,000 followers . And in case anyone had any doubts that the Queen 's own hand was behind it , another tweet quickly followed vouching for its authenticity . The 88-year-old monarch has spent more than 60 years on the throne , during which time she has taken other steps to embrace new technology . In 1953 , at her own request , she became the first British monarch to have her coronation broadcast live on television . That act prompted a boom in TV sales , with an extra half a million sets sold in the weeks running up to the coronation , according to the British monarchy Twitter feed . CNN 's Lucy Pawle contributed to this report .
Queen Elizabeth II sends her first tweet as she opens a new museum gallery . Her message is posted on the official British monarchy Twitter feed . A second message states that the ` ` last tweet was sent personally by The Queen ''