Prince Harry has continued to surprise this morning as he tweeted personally from New Zealand, a year after denouncing the social media platform.
The Prince, who was visiting the earthquake-struck city of Christchurch, tweeted a picture of himself alongside Ryan Crotty, an All Blacks rugby player, as both used the gym facilities at Crotty’s club, Crusaders.
Seemingly, it marks a change of heart for Harry who had previously said he “hates” Twitter due to its intrusion of his privacy. The latest tweet was sent using the official Kensington Palace Twitter account and signed ‘- H’ to denote it came from Harry himself. It is his first in a personal capacity.
Harry has previously sent tweets before, but only in a professional capacity; to launch events and only during official engagements. In May 2014 he used the social network to rally support for the Invictus Games which took place in London last summer.
Last July, Harry made his distaste for social network known, speaking of the struggle between using the social network to help promote events and the invasion of privacy:
“I would love to get involved and go on social media and if it was for causes like this I really would.
“The issue for myself and my family, put quite simply, is that it’s very hard for me to tweet about the Invictus Games and tweet about something that means a lot to me, whereas I at the same time really quite hate Twitter by the invasion of privacy.
“I think you all understand what I’m talking about.”
The Prince has said previously that he “used to be” on social media but no longer has any personal accounts.
His latest message comes a day after he gave his most personal interview in recent years, in which he said he would “love kids right now” and wanted somebody to “share the pressure” of royal duties with.
Prince Harry is the most senior royal to tweet in a personal capacity, although other members of the family have been engaged with the site for some time.
His uncle, The Duke of York, frequently uses Twitter to help promote his engagements and initiatives and is actively involved in helping young people to improve their digital skills.
The Queen also tweeted for the first time last year when she opened the ‘Information Age’ exhibition about communications at London’s Science Museum.
Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace all have their own social media presence including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels to help promote and raise awareness of the work that the royal family do.
Featured Image: Land Rover MENA
