Britain's Royal Family Reaches Out to Subjects Online

Royal-watchers have a new way of checking in on Queen Elizabeth and the rest of Britain's Royal Family: YouTube.

There's now a Royal Channel on the video-sharing website. This year, for the first time ever, Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Broadcast was on it. The seven-minute segment was an interesting blend of the old and new, starting with a clip from her first televised broadcast in 1957.

In black and white, a young Queen Elizabeth says, "That it's possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us."

The young Queen Elizabeth was talking about television and not the internet. But the message on The Royal Channel is appropriate even today. Following that 1957 footage, you see video of Queen Elizabeth from 2007, wearing a yellow dress, standing in front of a Christmas tree.

While Queen Elizabeth has people to do all the uploading and editing, it's still a big step. Of course, you shouldn't expect to see any controversial videos on the Royal Channel on YouTube, and so far, comments are disabled.

But the fact that there is a Royal Channel on YouTube is an interesting move. You can see other videos there as well, including segments about Queen Elizabeth's Coronation and a day in the life of Prince Charles. It seems that new videos are being added frequently.

This is not the Royal Family's only online presence. The official website of the British Monarchy can be found here, in a website managed by the Buckingham Palace Press Office.

On that, you can read some of Queen Elizabeth's speeches as well as biographies of the Royal Family. They have a link to the Royal YouTube channel, as well as presenting a "history of kings and queens through the ages, background on Royal residences and art collections."

If you want to work for Queen Elizabeth, they also have a "Jobs in the Royal Household" section, with help wanted listings at the various castles. You can download pictures of Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal family; and a Royal Diary section includes a list of their upcoming engagements.

Finally, there's the Prince of Wales website, which focuses on Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry, and also has a section for Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. It discusses their charity work, and also has a calendar of some of their events.