Queen Elizabeth has set up her own channel on the video-sharing website YouTube and will be posting her annual Christmas Day message on the site this year.
Buckingham Palace announced Sunday that the 81-year-old monarch hopes to reach a wider, more diverse audience through YouTube. The new Royal Channel features archival footage of the Royal Family and events involving them.
Queen Elizabeth, seen here with her husband, Prince Phillip, in November, wants to reach a wider, more diverse audience through her new YouTube channel.
(Canadian Press)
"The Queen always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people," said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.
"[She] has seen everything that is going on the new site."
The Queen's message is a hallowed tradition watched by millions of Britons and others in Commonwealth countries worldwide on Christmas Day. Last year, her holiday message was released as a podcast.
"We are thrilled to see the British Royal Channel on the site, bringing some unique royal video footage to our global community," said a statement released by YouTube.
The move to go online coincides with the 50th anniversary of the monarch's first televised speech on Dec. 25, which she delivered live in 1957. Back then, the Queen expressed her excitement with the advent of television.
"I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct," she said.
"That it is possible for you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us."
Only two years ago, the Queen confessed to Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, that she had not used a computer. At the time, she was conferring an honorary knighthood on the American entrepreneur.
Since then, however, she has embraced the internet and other major technological advances. She has a cellphone and a Blackberry and was presented with an iPod by her grandson, Prince William, last year.
The Royal Channel will be updated regularly and the Queen's speeches will also be translated into French, Spanish, German, Italian and Hindi.
Current video clips include shots of garden parties, state visits, investitures and a day in the life of the Prince of Wales.
The archival footage includes scenes from the funeral of King George VI, the Queen's accession and her coronation as well as a silent newsreel of the 1923 wedding of the Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen's parents.
Related
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
More Media Headlines »
- CTV to add Vancouver anchor desk at Canada AM
- Canada AM, the CTV network's breakfast program, has added a western anchor desk based in Vancouver.
- Sarkozy vows to scrap multilingual news channel for French-only version
- Saying he is 'not prepared to broadcast a channel that does not speak French,' French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Tuesday his plans to shut down the country's fledgling multilingual TV news service France 24 to create a new, French-only version.
- Kidman, Urban expecting 1st child
- Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are expecting their first child together, Urban announced Monday on his website.
- CNBC, New York Times strike deal to share video, news online
- CNBC and the New York Times will share business, technology and financial news and video online as part of an agreement announced Monday.
- China puts limits on internet video
- China has decided to restrict the broadcasting of internet videos — including those posted on video-sharing websites — to sites run by state-controlled companies and will require providers to report questionable content to the government.
More Arts Headlines »
- Vincent Lam shortlisted for U.S. Story Prize
- Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam has been shortlisted for the Story Prize for short fiction for his book, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures.
- Acrobat sues Cirque over fall that ended her career
- A former Cirque du Soleil acrobat is suing the Nevada branch of the circus troupe for $1 million US over injuries she suffered in an accident, according to reports from Fox News.
- Sarkozy vows to scrap multilingual news channel for French-only version
- Saying he is 'not prepared to broadcast a channel that does not speak French,' French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Tuesday his plans to shut down the country's fledgling multilingual TV news service France 24 to create a new, French-only version.
- Oscar planning continues despite strike: organizers
- Though the glitzy gala of its most prominent precursor — the Golden Globes — was scuttled this week, the Academy Awards show will go on, organizers insisted on Tuesday.
- Canadian co-production Restless on Berlin festival bill
- The Berlin Film Festival has added nine films, including a Canada-France-Israel production directed by Amos Kollek, to its slate of movies competing for the Golden Bear.
Arts Features
Blog Watch
Most Blogged about CBC.ca Articles
Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - link will open in new window
