With the launch of their own YouTube channel, the Dutch royal family are taking control of what their subjects see of them on the internet. The films will be posted by the RVD, the office responsible for the royals' official PR.
For the time being, the channel is only home to official material. The most popular film on the first day was the opening of the Keukenhof gardens, which shows Princess Máxima visiting the flower show together with Russia's first lady Svetlana Medvedev.
In addition to reports on the working visits of Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima, viewers can also enjoy films of royal weddings, the opening of parliament and the Queen's Christmas speeches. Historical footage has also been published online, such as a carriage tour made by the present queen's grandmother Queen Wilhelmina.
That film shows Queen Wilhelmina taking a tour of Amsterdam in a horse-drawn carriage on 6 September 1898, together with her mother. The capital city is shown gearing up for the young queen's enthronement. The selection of historical films will be expanded in future.
Private footage
In her most recent Christmas address to the nation, Queen Beatrix courted controversy by pouring scorn on the use of social media. It is therefore unlikely that private footage of the royal family will be published online in the foreseeable future. This can be viewed as something of a missed opportunity, since Queen Beatrix's father Prince Bernhard is known to have been a keen home moviemaker.
Reluctance to display such footage is very much in line with the policy of Queen Beatrix. A media code was introduced in June 2005, which journalists are required to sign. Failure to sign the code or to abide by its conditions means an offending journalist risks exclusion from official audiences with the press.
It may puzzle some that the royal family has embraced YouTube after the Queen's critical assessment of social media such as Facebook and Twitter last Christmas. But in fact there is no real contradiction. All the House of Orange has done is compile previously broadcast footage for internet publication.
For the Dutch royals, internet remains primarily a means of distribution, rather than a genuine platform for communication.
Email this Article
Printer-friendly version
I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the comment here!
www.dealsourcedirect.com/toy-story-lamp.html
There's no doubt youtube needs to be careful in the future, but it is a great site. Personally, I am a big fan of youtube and use it to keep up to date with news, sports and even movie releases. The problem with youtube, and many other online video sites, is that the picture quality can be bad. Some of the HD video sites listed on dozenvideo.com offer really good HD quality sites such as vimeo. But when it comes to choice, nothing can beat youtube.
Great to see the Dutch Royals official YouTube site...
Post new comment
Please be reminded all comments must be in English, short and to the point - guideline 250 words. Abusive and inappropriate comments will be removed.