Open University student and royal reporter Lydia Alty joins The Royal Observer

Royal reporter Lydia Alty has announced she is joining The Royal Observer as a freelance contributor, expanding her work in royal journalism alongside her studies with The Open University and her own independent reporting platform.

Lydia Alty, a student at The Open University and a young journalist specialising in coverage of the British Royal Family, has joined The Royal Observer as a freelance contributor.

The appointment will see Alty contribute exclusive royal stories to the news network on designated days, working alongside its existing editorial team.

It marks another step forward for the young reporter, who has built much of her career independently through her digital platform, Royal Reporter Lydia, while also gaining experience contributing royal coverage to other publications, including the Daily Express.

Announcing her latest role, Alty said she was delighted to be joining the team and described the opportunity as an exciting new chapter in her journalism career.

Despite the new appointment, Alty has reassured her followers that her independent platform will remain at the heart of her work. Royal Reporter Lydia, including her YouTube channel, will continue to serve as her main reporting hub, with The Royal Observer position operating alongside it as a freelance contributor role.

A passion dating back to childhood

Alty's interest in the monarchy stretches back considerably further than her professional reporting career.

She began following the Royal Family at around eight years old, initially creating scrapbooks documenting members of the family, royal engagements and significant events.

By 13, that childhood interest had evolved into her own digital journalism platform. She has since spent around eight years reporting on the royals and more than 13 years following the institution.

Her reporting is complemented by educational content explaining the workings of the British monarchy, with particular interests in royal upbringing and the monarchy's unusual constitutional and cultural position in the United Kingdom.

Alty now balances her journalism with her studies at The Open University, while continuing to develop her experience across independent and established media.

Her latest appointment follows another memorable moment in her royal reporting when she brought her 15-year-old brother, Harry, along to photograph King Charles III in Bayswater.

Alty later shared his photographs on social media, joking that it had been a case of “take your brother to work day” and praising the teenager's first efforts behind the camera.

Now, her move to The Royal Observer represents a further expansion of a career which began with childhood royal scrapbooks and has grown into professional reporting, published contributions and an established digital audience.

For Alty, the new role does not replace the independent platform she has spent years building - but gives the student journalist another newsroom in which to develop her reporting and bring royal stories to a wider readership.