A Year Ago: Queen's Internet startup to bring a royal reward

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Will Knight ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 20 Mar 2001 07:04 GMT

The Queen jumps on the Internet startup bandwagon

Her Majesty the Queen looks set to become the latest Internet entrepreneur to rake in a small fortune when her Web venture floats on the stock exchange next month.

Internet company Getmapping.com received £100,000 of the Queen's royal cash in November in exchange for a 1.5 percent stake. When the company floats next month, it is expected to be valued at around £40m, making her Highness's stake worth around £600,000.

Getmapping.com offers satellite photographs of any part of England in return for a between around £80 and £300. The company says that it can record detail up to just 10 inches on the ground.

The company received the Queen's Royal Seal of Approval after dedicating a "millennium map", which consisted of some 60,000 pictures of significant places in England, to her Highness in November.

The satellite maps are not aimed simply at members of the monarchy wishing to survey their kingdom, however. Local authorities, estate agents and everyday commoners have apparently been equally keen to get hold of an aerial view of their domain.

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