Photo: The Canadian Press

The tapping and beeping noises out of the old telegraph went on for what felt like ages, but when it was done 90-year-old Doug Bell asked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to press the button.

Seconds later, Prince William and Kate tweeted a royal welcome message using Second World War telegraph technology to tweet a message from Whitehorse to the world.

Bell has been tapping out coded messages for most of his life, but Wednesday's royal tweet was a treat, he said.

The legendary Yukon wireless telegraph operator demonstrated his old-school skills during a tour by the royal couple of the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse.

"It was still in me, just like tapping out an alphabet," said Bell, who admitted to being much slower than he was during his days as a telegraph operator.

The duke and duchess were the first to use the telegraph to tweet technology to sign the museum's digital guest book. The technology was developed by Canadian company Make IT Solutions.

The museum has a communications exhibit highlighting how the community tried to stay in touch with the outside world from its remote northern location, said Patricia Cunning, the museum's director.

"We are very interested in doing hands on activities for the public."

In his day, Bell sent thousands of message from Yukon around the world, Cunning said.

The royals met with giggling children at the museum for a First Nations language lesson. The children sang a welcome song and pronounced the names of wolves, bears and rabbits in First Nations languages.