By: E&P Staff Queen Elizabeth Tuesday officially opened Reuters' new global headquarters in London's Canary Wharf.
After touring the newsroom, meeting photographers, and being introduced to clients, the Queen filed a story about the opening by pressing a button. The article then appeared on the giant Reuters news screen in Reuters Plaza.
Reuters said the opening was the first royal visit to be Webcast live, with footage and commentary carried on Reuters' corporate site and Buckingham Palace's site.
The Queen's last official visit to Reuters was in 1963. "At the time, rather surprisingly, the Reuters newsroom was felt to be too rough and tough an environment for the Queen to see. So we created a realistic but sanitized mock-up," said Reuters Group archivist John Entwisle. "This time Her Majesty has seen the real thing."
British royalty's connections with Reuters date back to shortly after the news agency's founding. Julius Reuter started his telegraph business in 1851 and was presented to Queen Victoria in 1860. The Queen often mentioned Reuter's telegrams in her diaries, referring to him in an 1878 note to Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli as someone "who generally knows."
Reuters moved from its Fleet Street headquarters and other London offices this summer. The Canary Wharf office consolidates 2,500 staffers into a 10-story, 280,000 square-foot building.
The news agency has more than 14,500 staffers in 91 countries, including 2,300-plus journalists in 196 bureaus.
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