Prince William and Prince Harry Just Made Royal History

Prince William and Prince Harry made royal history on Wednesday when they took part in a Google+ Hangout to announce the launch of a search for exceptional young people for the Queen's Young Leaders Awards. The princes appeared live via webcam from Buckingham Palace's new social media hub, which has been installed with the help of Google and Twitter for the awards. The hub also includes a "Twitter mirror," with a two-way tablet to take pictures. Both Harry and William took the opportunity to take selfies, making them the highest-ranking royals to take part in the photography craze. (The title was previously held by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who became the first royal to take a selfie when he snapped one during a tech press conference at Buckingham Palace back in April.)

Back in May, Harry broke another royal-technology barrier when he became the highest-ranking royal to tweet. Like all of the royal social media experiences, the tweet was for a charitable cause as it announced the launch date for his Invictus Games. The British monarchy has been getting increasingly savvy with social media, with both Buckingham Palace and Clarence House launching Instagram accounts and the monarchy's big presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The announcement of the birth of Prince George was also tailored to the new social age with announcements being sent out over the monarchy's official accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prince William had another first when he donned a wetsuit for the first time in public for an event with the
British Sub-Aqua Club in London. Wills was joined by Prince Charles at the event, where the two joked about each other's "buff" physiques.

Front Page