The royal family is more accessible to the public than ever these days. One example of this is that almost every royal engagement is announced with a walkabout in which members of the public line the streets to greet the royal family.

In the early 1980s, Princess Diana charmed the world during these walkabouts, and Meghan Markle did the same thing earlier this year. However, both of them would never had the opportunity to do this had Queen Elizabeth not made a major change to tradition 50 years ago.

The previous royal tradition dictated that the public would only catch a glimpse of the royal family as they drove by in cars.

“We never shook hands,” said Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter. “The theory was, you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start.”

The Queen decided that this tradition needed updating, so in 1970, she made her very first public walkabout during her royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with husband, Prince Philip.

“In the 1970s, the Queen decided to shake things up,” said the narrator of the upcoming documentary, Queen of the World. “She wanted to say hello to the crowds and the walkabout was born.”

This change made it acceptable for members of the public to shake hands and engage in conversation with members of the royal family. Years later, the Queen’s granddaughter-in-law Kate Middleton loves interacting with members of the public so much that she is made fun of for it by other royals!

“There’s a real art to walkabouts, everybody teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting,” Kate said. “I still have to learn a little bit more, and to pick up a few more tips, I suppose.”

This breaking of tradition to allow the public to have an up and close relationship with the royals has certainly helped to improve the royal family’s image as one that is engaging and personable.