Britain’s royalty post family pics online

LONDON - The British royal family has opened an account on photo-sharing Web site Flickr, Buckingham Palace announced Sunday, in their latest attempt to move with the times.

The free-to-access site will initially contain more than 600 photographs of Queen Elizabeth II on formal engagements, pictures from palace collections and portraits of the royals as young children. It will be continuously updated.

The captioned images include baby photos of the queen and her son, Prince Charles, behind-the-scenes pictures at a state banquet, and official portraits, including of King George VI’s coronation in 1937.

One of the oldest is a formal black and white photograph of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, taken at Buckingham Palace in May 1854 and currently being shown in an exhibition at the palace.

Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Charles’ first wife who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, is included in photos with her two sons, Princes William and Harry, although she does not have a dedicated “channel” like the other royals.

“The Flickr photo site is the latest way in which the royal household is engaging with technological innovation,” a palace spokeswoman said.

In 2001, Queen Elizabeth’s second son Prince Andrew bought her a mobile phone and taught her how to use it. She bought an iPod in 2005 and the following year recorded a version of her traditional Christmas message on a podcast.

The British monarchy Web site attracts up to 300,000 visitors a week, the royal YouTube channel - launched in 2007 - has more than 30,000 subscribers, and the royal Twitter account is followed by 40,000 users, the palace said.

The spokeswoman did not say whether the queen herself used Flickr.

The royal account can be accessed at www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy.

AFP