14 DAY TRIAL // It’s hard to think of a more conservative institution than the British Monarchy. But, while the monarchy is as set in its ways as ever, it is slowly moving along with the times and establishing an online presence. It has made some shy moves so far and is continuing now with the launch of The British Monarchy Flickr channel. The site hosts several hundred photos spanning more than a century and covering all of the monarchy’s members.
The Flickr channel is now live for the world to enjoy. Most of the photos are recent, depicting the current members of the monarchy, but there are others that go back more than a century and a half, from the Queen Victoria period. The oldest ones are from 1848. The photos are grouped in several sets based on several criteria.
There are sets with photos from the same period or event, but also sets focusing on certain members. One set contains only photos taken by Marcus Adams, the Royal Photographer, spanning two generations of royal children, from 1875 to 1959. Finally, there are sets labeled as “Latest News” or “Royal Events.” More photos will be added in time. The photo categories are the same ones as on the monarchy’s official website.
This isn’t the first foray into the digital landscape for the royal family. A YouTube channel has been launched in 2007, featuring videos and interviews. Later on, the monarchy established a Twitter account in 2009. However, these social tools don’t mean that commoners are any closer to the royals.
The Twitter account is used to tweet links to news and updates, but there’s little engagement with the community. Likewise, all comments are disabled on the YouTube channel as well as the new Flickr one. Of course, that’s to be expected, a certain distance is required for the monarchy to maintain its status.