Royal wedding sets Internet record, Guinness says

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, following their wedding at Westminster Abbey in London April 29, 2011.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The royal wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton this spring was one for the history books -- and the record books, too.

According to the latest edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, released on Thursday, the April 29 ceremony at Westminster Abbey was watched online by 72 million viewers, earning it the title for "Most Live Streams for a Single Event."

Like its predecessors, this year's edition of the 56-year-old annual reference book is chock full of all kinds of examples of extraordinary achievement, high and low. And Middleton, now known as the Duchess of Cambridge, isn't the only royal in there.

Chris Walton, a Las Vegas-based singer who goes by the name "The Dutchess" and has nails that measure more than 19 feet combined, won the title for longest fingernails in this year's edition, clawing it away from the previous record holder, who had held the title for 10 years straight.

Aevin Dugas of New Orleans set a record for the largest natural afro with a hairstyle whose perimeter measures more than 4 feet.

Tyson Turk made 3,900 body piercings in seven hours and 46 minutes on Chris Elliot's body, winning the pair the record for most body piercings in one session.

Celebrities were among this year's winners. Lady Gaga's 11 million Twitter followers won her the record for most followers on twitter while her song "Poker Face" won the most weeks on the U.S. digital hot songs chart.

Justin Bieber's single, "Baby," with more than 400 million views, was the most popular video of any kind online.

The eBook version of the Guinness book launches in November.

(Reporting by Antara Das; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)