How the Queen used her profile to champion the new polio vaccine in 1957

Queen Elizabeth is hoping to assure royal followers of the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, going public with her inoculation alongside Prince Philip over the weekend.

It's not the first time Her Majesty has led by example following the creation of a new vaccination.

She was among the first to approve the use of the smallpox vaccine in her children Anne and Charles when it was rolled out in Britain in the 1950s.

In January 1957, Dr Wilfrid Percy Henry Sheldon confirmed the news Prince Charles and Princess Anne, both teenagers at the time, had each been given two injections a month apart.

"Thus the Queen has followed 200,000 other mothers in using Britain's vaccine - just a year after its discovery was announced," wrote the Daily Mail at the time.

In fact, the British royal family has a history of promoting vaccinations to build trust in the public.

Queen Caroline, wife of George II, was still Princess of Wales when she had her children vaccinated against smallpox in 1721.

The Queen was reportedly influenced by her friend Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who informed her children in Turkey were being inoculated against the illness.

It is understood a further 10,000 children received the smallpox vaccination as a result of Queen Caroline's and Lady Mary's actions.

Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, also promoted vaccinations after losing two sons to smallpox.

Other world leaders who have promoted the early use of vaccinations include Catherine the Great, Tsarina of Russia, who in 1762 endorsed the medical advancements that would lead to immunisations after the country was hit hard by small pox.

Her husband, emperor Peter III, survived smallpox when he was 16.

Catherine reportedly invited British physician Thomas Dimsdale to court so he could create a vaccination for the deadly disease.

Both Catherine and her son Paul, 14, were early recipients of the small pox vaccine which helped the immunisation to be accepted, with two million Russians going on to be inoculated against the disease.

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Queen Elizabeth, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, both received the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, with Buckingham Palace confirming the news in a statement.

Both are considered high-risk due to their ages, and therefore in the priority group for the vaccine.

The choice to confirm the couple's immunisation status was reportedly made by the Queen, who wished to influence those who remain skeptical of the safety of the vaccine.

A palace spokeswoman told The Washington Post Her Majesty hoped to "prevent inaccuracies and further speculation."

Prince Charles, who contracted COVID-19 in March 2020, has also voiced his support of the immunisation, sharing his intent to receive it as soon as possible.

Charles, 72, was visiting a vaccination centre in Glouchestershire in December 2020 when he shared his intention to receive the vaccination, remarking that he was "way down the list" and would have to wait his turn.