Queen Elizabeth II is not a fan of the selfie craze. She is not a fan of the social media and prefers to talk and make eye contact with the public. She was bewildered when a host of mobile phones and tablets greeted her during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta on Nov. 28.

The 89-year-old monarch was joined on the trip by her husband Prince Philip, her son Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall. The British royal couple faced with a bank of mobile phones, with even fellow dignitaries getting in on the act. Though, the royal family has tried to keep up with modern technology, the senior royals are bewildered by well-wishers queuing up to take selfies and video footage to post on social media.

A royal aide said that Elizabeth “appreciates the value of social media,” but she misses eye contact with her subjects. "The Queen’s key concern at events is that she can engage with the people she meets and have conversations with them. It’s difficult to see how people can experience an engagement first-hand if they are watching it through a view-finder," the insider said talking to Express UK.

The insider added that Elizabeth was well aware of the fact how social media helped connect with people across the Commonwealth when she is not herself present in person at an engagement. He told that when the British royal was there in person and the people are able to see her, they did not want technology interfering with that face-to-face experience, Yahoo reports.

Matthew Barzun, US ambassador said last year that the queen admitted she found it “strange” to see nothing but the backs of mobile phones and tablets whenever she looked up. Barzun was speaking to Tatler magazine.

Even Prince Harry does not approve of selfies. He turned down a request to pose with a member of Desmond Tutu’s entourage in South Africa last week. Earlier this year, he told a female well-wisher in Australia that he hates selfies and asked her to take a normal photograph.

The Duke of York officially became the first royal to take a selfie, during an event at St James’s Palace last year, also Elizabeth accidentally “photobombed” Australian hockey players Jayde Taylor and Brooke Peris in 2014. The players were talking a selfie at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have appeared in a host of selfies, some posed, some accidental.

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