Home
World
Canada
- BC
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- Thunder Bay
- Sudbury
- Windsor
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Montreal
- NB
- PEI
- NS
- NL
- North
Politics
Health
Arts & Entertainment
- Music
- Film
- Television
- Books
- Media
- Art & Design
- Theatre
Technology & Science
Money
Consumer Life
Diversions
Weather
Your Voice

Queen Elizabeth launches Royal Channel on YouTube

Last Updated: Monday, December 24, 2007 | 7:18 AM ET

CBC News

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.

This story is now closed to commenting.

Internal Links

Queen urges young, old to bond on Christmas
IN DEPTH: The Queen at 80

External Links

The Royal Channel on YouTube

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)

More Media Headlines

Perez Hilton, Black Eyed Peas manager settle: A civil lawsuit stemming from a scuffle between outrageous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and a manager for the Black Eyed Peas has been dropped.
CBC's Galloway to replace Barrie on Metro Morning: A familiar voice will greet listeners of CBC Radio One's Metro Morning in Toronto in March, when afternoon show host Matt Galloway takes over the mic of his long-standing a.m. colleague, Andy Barrie.
Globe to publish Sunday in B.C. for Olympics: Globe and Mail readers in British Columbia will have an extra edition on Sundays during the Winter Olympics.
Jackson's doctor likely to be charged Monday: Charges in the death of pop icon Michael Jackson will be filed next week, prosecutors announced from Los Angeles on Friday.
TV station, Chavez at odds in Venezuela: The Venezuelan government's impasse with its media continues with protests over the closing of cable stations that refused to carry President Hugo Chavez's speeches.

More Arts Headlines

Perez Hilton, Black Eyed Peas manager settle: A civil lawsuit stemming from a scuffle between outrageous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and a manager for the Black Eyed Peas has been dropped.
Winners, losers emerge in native art deal: When Vancouver was granted the Olympics, the organizing committee struck a formal partnership with four First Nations who claim the lands where the Games are to be held and spoke of showcasing native culture to the world. But some native people say the promise of jobs, training, and business opportunities for aboriginals is proving empty.
Halifax concert raises $270K for Haiti: Thousands of people packed the Halifax Metro Centre Monday night to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the people of earthquake-devastated Haiti.
Julie & Julia writer chops up life in 2nd memoir: Julie Powell's new book, Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession, tells how she cut up her old life, first by taking up butchering, then by starting a disastrous affair.
Rotterdam Orchestra tours Canada with Nézet-Séguin: The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, now under the baton of Canadian conducting superstar Yannick Nézet-Séguin, begins its first tour of Canada later this month.

Arts Features

Top CBCNews.ca Headlines

Headlines

Trenton colonel's charges spur cold case review: The 2001 slaying of a Nova Scotia woman at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario is among the cases being re-examined after murder charges were laid against Col. Russell Williams.
Alberta budget includes $4.75B deficit: Alberta's Progressive Conservative government is projecting a record $4.75-billion budget deficit and planning cuts to many departments while increasing health-care spending.
Ottawa to appeal injection site ruling: The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.
Haiti man pulled from rubble: A 28-year-old man has been pulled from rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, claiming to have been trapped there since the massive earthquake on Jan. 12.
Tories need plan for isotope shortage: Ignatieff: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused the Conservative government of having no plan of action to deal with a medical isotope shortage expected to worsen later this month.