The latest royal wedding, between Prince William, second in line to the throne behind his father Charles, and Kate Middleton, is taking place on Friday, April 29.
For the first time in history, a royal wedding is being live streamed on the Internet, and with a little help from YouTube we’ll all be able to watch Kate and William tying the knot.
The Royal Wedding Streaming Live
The Royal Family have had a presence on YouTube for over three years now, with the Queen and her clan having posted hundreds of videos of events and speeches in that time. But the royal wedding between Kate and William calls for something altogether more ambitious.
As announced on the Official Royal Wedding Blog, the wedding will be live streamed on YouTube on The Royal Channel. Google has produced “a live stream ‘gadget'” which will air from 10am until 2pm on the big day. That means the journey to and from Westminster Abbey, the balcony appearance, fly past, and of course, the ceremony itself, will all be aired live on the Web.
The live video stream will be accompanied by a commentary on Twitter, and additional clips, photographs, and links.
Kate and William Online Couple
Although the live stream is the most exciting part of the news about the royal wedding, William and Kate are set to be the first royal couple to live their lives in an online spotlight.
Even before the big day arrives, we’re all being asked to get involved by sending video messages of congratulations via the Wedding Book on YouTube. As well as YouTube, the British Monarchy has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. And has its own regularly-updated website.
Let’s hope this means there is enough information about the lives of Kate and Wills available to mean the press can give them a little privacy.
Conclusions
Whether you’re a fan of the British Royal Family or not, they should be applauded for moving with the times and embracing the new technologies available to all of us. It means we’ll all get the opportunity to watch William and Kate getting married one way or another. That is, if we want to. but that’s another argument altogether.
Watch the Royal Wedding between Kate and William live here from 10am BST on April 29, 2011.
