British royals create YouTube channel

LONDON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Fifty years after she delivered her first televised Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is adding another outlet, YouTube.

"The Royal Channel -- The Official Channel of the British Monarchy" went live early Sunday morning, the BBC reported. The Christmas Day speech, broadcast at 3 p.m. on Dec. 25, will be simultaneously available on the site.

The queen has been broadcasting to the nation since she was 13. In 1940, she addressed other children who had been evacuated from major cities on BBC's Children's Hour.

A spokeswoman said that the queen has always been aware of new ways to reach out. The palace hopes that the YouTube channel will attract younger people and those overseas.

The site includes footage of royal events, including Queen Elizabeth's coronation, her parents' wedding in 1923 and a tour Queen Alexandra, Elizabeth's great-grandmother, made among London rose sellers in 1917.

Prince Andrew recently revealed that the royal family traditionally watches the Christmas Day message together. But he said that his mother sometimes leaves the room to watch it alone so that she can vet her performance.