Was the Queen’s Virtual Carriage Ride a Real Hologram?

The Pepper’s Ghost trick was first publicly demonstrated during a performance on Christmas Eve 1862 in London. The effect was used during a Charles Dickens play called The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain and people were reportedly enthralled with the performance. The trick works by projecting a bright light on the thing or person you want to appear ghostly, and reflecting that light onto a large piece of otherwise transparent glass at an angle in front of the audience.

This illustration from an 1883 issue of La Nature magazine shows how it looked from the side:

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Versus how it looked to the audience:

The Queen’s weekend performance isn’t the first time news outlets have latched onto the word “hologram” when the underlying tech is closer to a digital Pepper’s Ghost. Back in 2012, a reincarnated Tupac made an appearance at Coachella with Snoop Dogg, but it wasn’t a real hologram either.

It’s unclear who helped create this past weekend’s 3D visuals, but the British royals have a history of using this technology. The Associated Press even has photos of the Queen personally witnessing the Pepper’s Ghost effect in 2019 at Buckingham Palace, as part of an exhibition celebrating Queen Victoria’s 200th birthday.

Granted, the Queen should probably stray from anything associated with ghosts for the time being, especially since the internet seems obsessed with a conspiracy theory that she actually died of covid-19 in 2021. From TikTok to Twitter, the theory (or perhaps just as often, the joke) has been surprisingly prevalent.

But there are plenty of recent photos showing the Queen, even if she’s obviously slowed down in recent years. The woman is 96 years old, so it’s really no surprise that she moves a lot slower and can’t make as many appearances as she used to. And a digital projection of the Queen—Pepper’s Ghost or otherwise—seems like a decent workaround when your elderly head of state can’t make a real appearance.