Queen Elizabeth’s internet searches soar

Queen Elizabeth has become the UK’s most popular royal on the internet.
The 91-year-old monarch has seen her name garner more online searches than any other royal in 2017, including American ‘Suits’ actress Meghan Markle, who will join the household when she marries Prince Harry in May this year.
Queen Elizabeth came in third place in a list compiled by Wikipedia of their most viewed pages, with more than 19 million people wanting to find out more information on the UK’s longest reigning monarch.
The rise – which saw the royal move up 10 spots from her place at 13th on the leaderboard in 2016 – is believed to be partly down to the hit Netflix series ‘The Crown’, as searches for Queen Elizabeth reached their peak on December 10, when the second season of the programme was released.
Wikipedia’s list of the most viewed pages in 2017 has a somewhat royal theme, though, as coming in at fifth place was Prince Harry’s fiancée, 35-year-old Meghan Markle, whose engagement to the flame-haired royal saw online interest in her name soar.
Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip was also featured in the top 50 searches thanks to the Netflix show, as he made it to 44th place with 10.2 million views across the year.
‘The Crown’ also saw searches for the late Princess Margaret – who was the sister of Queen Elizabeth and who passed away in 2002 – increase, as she came in 37th place with 10.7 million clicks.
Speaking about the results, Wikipedia’s editors said of Queen Elizabeth: "It is phenomenal when you consider the fame and ubiquity of many of the entries which fall below her.
"As well as being testament to the terrific power of Netflix, I think that the continued strong performance should act to dispel the myth that no one cares about the monarchy."
‘The Crown’ stars Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth and Matt Smith as Prince Philip, and follows the dramatised life of the monarch from the 1940s through to modern times.