Windsors posting photos on Flickr

LONDON – These aren’t your average family snapshots.

Queen Elizabeth II is joining other proud parents starting Monday in showing off and sharing her photo albums – and those of the House of Windsor – on the online Flickr photo site.

The launch of the British Monarchy Flickr account will beef up Buckingham Palace’s online presence, adding to its Twitter account and YouTube channel. The site will stream the latest images of royal engagements as well as contain historic photos from the archives, the palace said.

Here is a family with history. More than 600 photos will be available for viewing at the launch – and many stretch back into the glories of the ancestors.

There’s a sepia-toned wedding picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their hands clasped, their faces turned to one another during a blissful moment in 1854. Another black and white picture captures Elizabeth’s parents – King George VI and the queen mother, gazing adoringly upon the fair, curly haired toddler who later became the monarch.

Browsing will be made easy with the images grouped under different themes.

Each family member has their own gallery – those who can’t get enough of say, Prince Harry, will find all his images in one handy folder.

The Flickr account is just the latest step in the centuries-old monarchy’s efforts to keep up with modern technology.

After podcasting the queen’s annual Christmas speech for the first time in 2006, Buckingham Palace began broadcasting official videos on YouTube.

Last year, the monarchy even ventured into online social networking. The British Monarchy Twitter account now tweets regularly to update its nearly 50,000 followers on all the latest royal news.