THE TRUST

April 2011 Press Release

The Royal Collection launches the first official ‘Royal App’

The Royal Collection will launch the first official ‘Royal App’ about royal weddings of the past, in the run-up to the forthcoming marriage of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton. The Royal Weddings app tells the story of seven royal weddings, from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840, to TRH The and The Duchess of Cornwall in 2005. It will be available to download for Apple and Android from 18 April 2011.

Royal Collection Apps are the latest way that the Royal Household is engaging with new media and follows the successful launch of the British Monarchy’s presence on Facebook and Flickr last year, of the Royal Twitter account in 2009 and the Royal Channel on YouTube in 2007. The Royal Weddings app, which will be available in eight languages, is the first in a series of Royal Collection Apps to be launched this year. Forthcoming subjects include Changing the Guard and State Banquets.

Over the last two centuries, royal weddings have evolved from strictly private occasions to international celebrations. With the advent of photography, film, television and now new technology, ever-increasing numbers can witness and participate in these events. The Royal Weddings app reveals the tradition, splendour and romance of the seven royal weddings and includes images of wedding dresses and jewellery, gifts exchanged between bride and groom, presents from family and friends, wedding cakes and flowers.

Jemima Rellie, Director of Publishing and New Media for the Royal Collection, said, ‘Apps enable us to place works from the Royal Collection in the hands of a worldwide audience. It is fitting and exciting that the first Royal Collection App will share the stories of past royal weddings and offer a wealth of historical context for the ceremony on 29 April.’

The Royal Weddings app includes the weddings of: • Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 10 February 1840 • Prince Edward Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, 10 March 1863 (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) • Prince George of Wales and Princess Victoria of Teck, 6 July 1893 (the future King and Queen Mary) • Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, 26 April 1923 (the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) • Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, 20 November 1947 (Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The )

• His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, 29 July 1981 • His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, 9 April 2005

Highlights of the Royal Weddings app include: • The sapphire and diamond brooch given to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert on the day of their wedding. • A watercolour sketch by Queen Victoria of her bridesmaids’ dresses. • A sketch of Queen Victoria’s wedding cake, which is said to have measured over 9 feet (3 metres) in circumference and weighed over 300lbs (140kg). • A photograph of the roses given to Prince Edward by his fiancée Princess Alexandra on the day of their engagement, 9 September 1862. The Prince carefully pressed the roses and kept them with a note written in his own hand as a keepsake. • Her Majesty The Queen’s wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell.

A movie demo of the Royal Weddings app is available on request.

The Royal Weddings app is priced at £1.79 and will be available to download for Apple and Android from 18 April 2011.

For further information and images please contact Hanae Tsuji in the Royal Collection Press Office, +44 ( 0)20 7839 1377 or [email protected]. Images are also available to download from www.picselect.com.

Notes for Editors

1. The Royal Collection website: www.royalcollection.org.uk

The Royal Wedding website: www.officialroyalwedding2011.org

2. The British Monarchy Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy

The British Monarchy Twitter account: www.twitter.com/BritishMonarchy

Clarence House Twitter account: www.twitter.com/ClarenceHouse

The British Monarchy Flickr account: www.flickr.com/britishmonarchy

The British Monarchy YouTube account: www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel

3. Proceeds from the sale of the Royal Wedding app are dedicated to the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of the Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection and the promotion of public access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.