Prince Andrew, First Royal to Enter the Twittersphere

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew has opened a Twitter account, making him the first member of the royal family to utilize the social networking site.

Signed in as @TheDukeOfYork, the prince sent his first tweet: "Welcome to my Twitter account – AY,” indicating that Andrew wrote the tweet himself. The profile notes explain, "Tweets from HRH are signed - AY."

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie's 53-year-old dad currently has 19,223 followers after being active for less than 24 hours, and he himself is following 51 mainly UK-centric accounts, including Clarence House and The British Monarchy.

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew and family are preparing to welcome Kate Middleton and Prince William’s first child, due July 13.