Wedding mania has hit a fever pitch, as the day millions of fans have been waiting for arrives. Despite being one of the most exclusive events this decade, almost anyone can have a virtual ringside seat of the royal affair, thanks to the extensive online and social media coverage.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton will tie the knot at Westminster Abbey at 11am, London time, followed by an open carriage procession touring many of London's famous landmarks, as they head to the reception at Buckingham Palace.
Times have changed considerably since the wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles in 1981, which saw more than 750 million people worldwide tune in for the ceremony. There are predictions that nearly two billion will watch the event, along with the billions who will follow the coverage on scores of sites, Twitter streams and multimedia channels dedicated to the royal spectacular.
Fans will be able to experience practically every aspect of the grand day, from the music to the cake, to leaving a personal message by signing the royal wedding book. The couple have even created a charitable gift fund to add a goodwill glow to the affair.
The entire ceremony will be live streamed on YouTube - The Royal Channel, which will also feature live blog commentary of the highlights. The palace press offices have been commended on their social media savvy, with the official royal wedding site sporting the very best of digital content, from videos to The British Monarchy Flickr account, to an invitation for fans to share their experiences with thousands of others on Facebook.
Google has also made the entire procession route available to watch in 3D, with the ability to explore highlights along the way, through the Google Earth plug-in.
Twitter has been abuzz with news, views, and commentary, with two official streams: Clarence House and Royal Wedding.
Wedding-appropriate apps
There are apps galore devoted the event - some historical, some informative, and some downright silly. A few include Royal Wedding: Your Personal Guide ($1.99; iPhone, iPad) which gives users the low-down on the wedding day itself, with a timeline and photo gallery, an interactive map and details about the couple's families.
Kate and Wills: Road to the Abbey (free; iPad) gives more personal details about William and Kate's lives, including a history of the English monarchy and a breakdown of Kate's style.
The Royal Wedding 2011 app, (free; iPhone, iPad) is a digital magazine with background info, news updates, and social media links.
On the zanier side, an app called Dress the Royals for the iPhone and iPad lets users pick out wedding gear for the royal family, and save styles as phone wallpapers.
Royal failure?
There have been concerns that the huge waves of online traffic surrounding the royal wedding will cause the infamous “fail whale” on Twitter, and other online problems.
Spokesperson for Internet traffic monitor Akamai Liz Bradley said it's entirely possible major Web sites could crash because of the heavy traffic. However, the fact that the wedding starts later in US time means the majority of the American buzz will only take place after the wedding has happened.
South Africans can watch the live coverage on BBC and BBC Knowledge.
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Royal wedding fever online
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