Royal Wedding: 7 Top Tech Ways for Keeping Up
April 26, 2011— -- You may say that you're tired of all the royal wedding hoopla now. But just wait until Friday.
As Kate Middleton, Prince William and the royal family parade down the streets of London in their Rolls-Royces and horse-drawn carriages, you know you're going to want a glimpse of the once-in-century pomp and circumstance.
Luckily for you, the best seats in the house for this royal wedding might be high-tech, not high-society.
A-list guests may have to crane their necks for a view of the happy couple walking down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, and fans of the monarchy might have to camp out overnight for a peek at the royal motorcade. But you can use Twitter, Facebook, live-streamed video, real-time photos and more to enjoy the scene without getting out of bed (which, considering the time difference, is a real possibility).
Below, check out seven top tech ways for following the royal wedding:
Get 3-D Views of Wedding Procession, Westminster Abbey
Not planning to cross the pond for the big event? Not a problem. You can get a so-called "royal's-eye" view of the wedding procession on Google Earth.
Using new aerial imagery of London, Google's mapping tool highlights the landmarks that Prince William and Middleton will see on the way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, including the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Prime Minister's residence in 10 Downing Street.
You can even dive deep for a 3-D view of the trees lining the route and the famous buildings they'll pass.
Once you reach the virtual Westminster Abbey, for $4.99, you can upload an iPhone application that will give you 3-D images of the world-renowned church where the bride and groom will exchange their vows.
The app, Abbey 3-D, provides well-labeled views of the royal church, along with archived photos, historic facts and biographies of important people connected to the Abbey. According to the royal wedding's official Twitter account, all proceeds from the app go to charity.
British Monarchy Hits YouTube
We've seen wedding videos become YouTube sensations before, but the nuptials of Will and Kate stand to leave them in the dust.
The Royal Channel on YouTube, which will live stream the entire event starting at 10 a.m. London time (5 a.m. ET) Friday, has already been viewed more than 3.6 million times. The live stream will include the wedding procession, marriage ceremony and balcony kiss.
Those who want a bit of a British perspective can read the live blog commentary that will accompany it. And, if you want to get a jump on the festivities, the monarchy has opened a video guest book on YouTube, for anyone who wants to give their well wishes to new couple.
Royal Tweets Build Buzz
If you're already itching for the big day to arrive, the official Twitter account for the royal wedding should satisfy you through the week.
The account, @ClarenceHouse (named for the official residence of Prince Williams' father, the Prince of Wales), is sharing photos of nearby activity and choice bits of information, like the wedding reception seating chart and where the Middleton family will sleep the night before the wedding.
It also released an official hashtag for the event, #rw2011, and is counting down the days until the couple says "I do."
