Royal wedding to stream live on YouTube April 29

Royals watchers who have been counting down the days until Britain's Prince William marries Kate Middleton April 29 just got some good news: The Royal Wedding will be streamed live on YouTube, an estimated four hours of coverage on YouTube's Royal Channel. The bad news? It starts at 5 a.m. EDT.

"The couple wish to strike a balance between a day that is sacred and intimate and a day that will be a cause for global celebration," said a St. James Palace spokesman. "To that end, they want the wedding to be as accessible to as many people as possible and that's why they are communicating in this way."

Streaming will begin with the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the procession to Buckingham Palace, and the couples' appearance on the palace balcony for an expected first public kiss. The palace said Prince William's press office will also provide additional footage and a live blog.

"This will be the first time a live blog has run alongside a live stream on YouTube for any occasion," the spokesman said.

The palace also will use Twitter, Facebook and Flickr to share the event with the public, as both have been avid users of social media.

"Prince William and Catherine Middleton are like any other people their age in respect of social media," said the spokesman. "They are Facebook users and YouTube users... and their intention has always been that their wedding should be accessible to everyone."

For more:
- see this ABC News article

Related articles:
U2 to stream full concert live on YouTube
YouTube teams with IPL for marathon of live cricket
YouTube jumps into round-the-clock video streaming of live events
YouTube wants to stream live NBA, NHL games