7 June 2013The British Queen, Queen

7 June 2013
The British Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, has officially opened the BBC's new headquarters. The Queen, who is commemorating sixty years since her coronation, took a tour of the newsroom and met journalists from the World Service. She also made an announcement live on air to declare Broadcasting House open.
The Queen first visited Broadcasting House in 1939. Back then she was a young princess, accompanying her father King George VI and her mother, Queen Elizabeth. Fourteen years later she was crowned.

In her six decades as Queen, the BBC's headquarters have seen many changes and challenges. During the Second World War the iconic art deco facade was damaged in the Blitz. Producers and announcers regularly took cover in a special air raid bunker. Since then, some of the building's wood paneled offices have been made famous by those who worked in them. Room 101 gave George Orwell inspiration for his novel 1984.

In recent years, Broadcasting House has had a one-and-a-half billion dollar revamp. The Queen will see the state-of-the-art glass fronted extension and inspect the BBC's multi-media newsroom.