The Definitive Guide to Watching the Royal Wedding Online

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Internet, Software

If you're just planning to turn on the telly and tune in the Royal Wedding, you'll be missing out. It's 2011, folks! There are a host of online destinations, social media tools and mobile apps that can truly help you experience the full scope of this 21st century event.

All of the major broadcasters will be airing the Royal Wedding on live TV Friday morning, but so will several online venues. YouTube will be streaming the entire event live at The Royal Channel, built specifically for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. Livestream is also streaming the AP Live feed of the day's events, plus more coverage from CBS News, ET and the UK Press Association. And you can watch full streaming BBC coverage at BBC News' dedicated wedding site.

You can also watch the event live on a smartphone or other Internet device on the Sprint TV ABC News Channel, which is part of the carrier's basic Sprint TV channel package. T-Mobile TV will only carry pre- and post-wedding coverage but start-to-finish coverage is available through Xfinity.tv, which has apps available on the Android Market and on iTunes.

In most cases, live-anchored coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern Time(2 a.m. Pacific) and live coverage of the ceremony starts at around 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT). That's pretty early for most people, so what to do if you don't want to wake up hours before dawn?

Here's the bad news: If you don't have a DVR, it's going to be tough to jump into the Royal Wedding broadcast mid-stream without missing a big chunk of it. The good news is that YouTube's Royal Channel stream of the event will be replayed immediately following the close of the ceremonies, which will be at roughly 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT), as will the BBC's dedicated wedding site.

There are also a few apps out there for smartphones, tablets and other Internet devices that let you watch DVR'ed content on your mobile device—try; AT&T's U-verse app or, if you have a Slingbox and $30 to spend, there's the SlingPlayer Mobile, which supports iOS, Android, Blackberry, Palm OS and Symbian OS devices.

Brushing Up On History
Before the event itself, you may want to catch up on a little royal history. But first, treat yourself to a first look at the Royal Wedding procession rehearsal.

Back? Now let's turn our attention to the BBC's Royal Wedding page.

"It's a really rich and deep archive of material," BBC World News America executive producer Rome Hartman told us. "I think there's just a depth of understanding that we have. We know this story and we know this turf."

In addition to wedding-related news updates and BBC correspondents' Twitter feeds, the site features an enormous amount of archival material relating to past royal weddings, beginning with Princess Elizabeth's 1947 wedding to Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey, which the BBC broadcast to 200 million radio listeners around the world.

The Beeb also comes through with some really cool interactive media, like a 360-degree tour of Westminster Abbey and a virtual POV tour of the wedding route. Also be sure to consult the official schedule of the day's events and the seating plan for the wedding itself.

YouTube is also a great source of footage from weddings past.

You'll want to start off with the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana—the; 1981 broadcast is available in full on YouTube, with the first of eight parts beginning here. You might also watch Prince Andrew's 1986 marriage to Sarah Ferguson, or catch a glimpse of last year's royal nuptials featuring Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling.

Nor is there any reason for American audiences to feel completely left out—not; while footage of JFK and Jackie's big day still exists.

Hit the "next" button for royal apps, wedding bets, and more.

Wedding Apps
Naturally, there is an app for Royal Wedding fans on the go. Several, in fact.

The Royal Wedding 2011 iPad app by 2 For Couples is a great starting point. This digital magazine is loaded with everything from "fun facts" about Will and Kate to a guide to royal protocol, and it all ties into 2 For Couples' Ultimate Wedding Planner and other relationship-related apps.

Other Royal Wedding apps for iPads, iPods and iPhones include The Wills & Kate Story featuring narration from famed royal correspondent James Whitaker and Hello's free wedding scrapbook.

Also worth giving a whirl—the; Royal Collection's official Royal App, which actually comes from the Royal Household itself and tells the story of seven royal weddings, beginning with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840. It's available on both iTunes and the Android Market. And don't forget about Westminster Abbey's own royal app, which offers a 3D tour of the Royal Church and is available on iTunes with an Android version coming soon.

Dare To Dream
So what if Prince William and Sweden's Princess Victoria are officially off the market? There are still quite a few single royals still out there, awaiting their own Kate Middleton or Daniel Westling.

For a quick primer on available Prince Charmings, check out this list, or check out another regal roundup that also includes available royal bachelorettes.

Be warned—some; of the information is a bit dated. But theoretically you still have a shot—slim; as it may be—a;t; landing the likes of Monaco's Charlotte Casiraghi, her brother Andrea Casiraghi, Thailand's Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana and even an actual king, Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi of the Royal Bafokeng Nation.

Odds And Ends
What would a 21st century media frenzy be without some dubious twists and turns?

Take the flurry of betting on wedding-related propositions, like whether Kate will include the word "obey" in her vows. The fact is, gambling is illegal in many places, so we only present you with this guide to Royal Wedding wagering resources for the sociological record.

Should you wish to put together your own betting pool, we can only strongly caution against visiting this instructive roundup of odds for assorted wedding-related prop bets. An even worse move would be to avail yourself of British oddsmaker William Hill's right royal services.

Now we are off to bet against Kate's wedding dress being black, er, reflect upon the perils of licentiousness.

This article, written by Damon Poeter, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.