Your Guide To The Royal Wedding 2011, Social Media Style

The last time Britain had a big Royal Wedding, one didn’t tweet about it, Facebook about it, Flickr about it and certainly didn’t air it on YouTube. One couldn’t. These things didn’t exist. But the 21st century British Monarchy is hip to the social media channels of today. Here’s how to tune in to the […]

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The last time Britain had a big Royal Wedding, one didn’t tweet about it, Facebook about it, Flickr about it and certainly didn’t air it on YouTube. One couldn’t. These things didn’t exist. But the 21st century British Monarchy is hip to the social media channels of today. Here’s how to tune in to the Royal Wedding, via social media.

YouTube: Streaming The Royal Wedding Live

Want to watch the Royal Wedding when it starts tomorrow (Friday, April 29, 2011) at 11am British Time (3am Pacific; 6am Eastern). Fire up your web browser and tune to YouTube:

Youtube Royal Wedding1

The Royal Channel
is the official channel of the British Monarchy. It’ll be airing the nuptials live — and hopefully holding up under the pressure. There’s some speculation the livestream will break the internet.

Tweeting Down The Aisle

OK, no — neither William nor Kate will be tweeting while they’re getting married in Westminster Abbey. However, the pair do have an official Twitter account looking after them:

Clarence House

Clarence House on Twitter is the official account of Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, his wife the Duchess of Cornwall and the two princes, William and Harry. It’s taken the lead on tweeting official Royal Wedding information.

It’s not clear how much tweeting will be happening when the wedding actually starts. But Clarence House feels a bit cheeky and chatty compared to the official British Monarchy account. I get the impression there will be updates throughout the event.

The Royal Hashtag, by the way, seems to be #royalwedding — that’s what Clarence House has been using the most, recently. It was also using #rw2011 and occasionally still does (and that’s better, being shorter), but it seems to be adopting the longer one — the People’s Hashtag, I suppose.

Oh, rumors that there’s a ban on tweeting and attempts to block phones near the wedding location are being denied.

Flickring Through The Wedding Photos

After the wedding, want to sit down with some pictures to relive the event? Social media’s got you covered there, too, over on Flickr:

Wedding On Flickr

Yes, the British Monarchy has an official Flickr account. It’s already been busy posting pictures from around London. Expect more to come.

Sign The Guest, Er, Facebook, If You Like

Didn’t get invited to the wedding? Don’t be sad. You can still sign the virtual guestbook. Leave a comment over on Facebook:

Facebook And Wedding

That’s the British Monarchy’s official Facebook account, where wedding news and updates are being posted.

In fact, there’s even an official virtual Royal Wedding event that Facebookers have been invited to:

Virtual Royal Wedding

Foursquare: Bonus Points For UK Checkins

Foursquare LogoSorry, there are no special badges going out for the Royal Wedding. But Foursquare tells me that anyone checking in from the UK tomorrow will get special points.

More Information

Here’s the recap, for those who want a handy list of the official social media outlets for the Royal Wedding.

Also be sure to see the official Royal Wedding web site, which has information about the service, the procession route and more. You’ll find the official program / invitation here (PDF). Need a minute-by-minute schedule? Time Magazine has a timetable here.

Below, some of our related Royal Wedding coverage:


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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