William, Kate, Harry join Twitter, Instagram

London, Jan 15: Young British Royals -- Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton and brother Prince Harry -- have joined Twitter and Instagram.

The British Monarchy's Twitter page gave a formal introduction to @KensingtonRoyal yesterday, tweeting, "Welcome @KensingtonRoyal, the official twitter account for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry."

The palace then followed up with some introductory tweets of its own, "Hello from Kensington Palace! Welcome to our new Twitter account."

"This account represents The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry -- follow for updates on their work and the #RoyalFoundation," a tweet said.

The move shows greater independence for the young royals from Prince Charles and wife Camilla and just a few hours after launching, the account had picked up nearly 100,000 followers.

However, only 75 accounts were deemed worthy of a royal follow. The young royals have previously used the Clarence House Twitter to publicise their duties but staff have now created one for Kensington Palace.

The trio also joined Instagram and shared some photos on it.

On Twitter and Instagram, Kensington Palace shared updates about the Coach Core charity, launched by William, Kate and Harry's Royal Foundation to train young people to become sports coaches and mentors.

Press office staff are expected to update the feed with live pictures and information from official engagements. This is not the first Twitter account from the Royal Family.

The @BritishMonarchy account was set up in 2009 and keeps the Twittersphere updated with the comings and goings from Buckingham Palace.

PTI