Highlights The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

It is a waterway that spans 250 miles, but it is the flow through

the heart of London that is rightly called liquid history and the

noblest river in Europe. The River Thames, right at the heart of

London, a constant symbol of power and wealth and prestige down the

ages. From merchants and bankers to tourists and traders, the fact is

that the River Thames in all of its glory and its crime throughout the

centuries has been the lifeblood of London, and it is that mix of power

and pageantry, of money and might, that has made this the location of

some of the most spectacular Royal Good evening from Buckingham Palace

after what everyone agrees has been a memorable day, a memorable

pageant on the river, a pretty memorable crowd watching from the

banks of the Thames, and I have to say memorably wet weather to make

it all a little more interesting. Yes, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

celebrations are officially under way with 1,000 vessels on the

Thames, 20,000 people taking part, more than living up to its billing

as the biggest events on the river in more than three centuries. Now,

this was the book for the flotilla, passing under 14 bridges on the way

from west to east, past Lambeth Bridge and Lambeth Palace on the

South Bank, where the Archbishop of Canterbury lives, then the Palace

of Westminster, Big Ben, the rather more modern London Eye on the South

Bank, and then on past Waterloo Bridge, opening up the great vista

of the City of London in the distance, the distinctive gherkin,

and then on the South Bank the Shard, the tallest building in

Western Europe being built right now. London Bridge at one stage the

only bridge crossing the Thames, and then on to Tower Bridge, the

great symbol of London itself. And for the Queen's arrival, Tower

Bridge opening in salute, a very dramatic symbol of respect for the

sovereign as she passes underneath, and then the Royal Barge to be

moored next to HMS President, where the Queen reviews the flotilla as

it passes. And then down the stretch of water towards Wapping,

an avenue of sale for one of those ships which are too tall to pass

under the bridges themselves. Now, the inspiration for the pageant was

Canaletto's famous painting of the River Thames on a Lord Mayor's Day,

and I saw the painting at the National Maritime Museum in

Greenwich with the pageant master, Adrian Evans. Well, this is the

first time I have actually seen his painting in the flesh, and it

really conveys the exuberance and excitement and just the thrill, I

imagine, of being there on that great day. Are you going to try and

match this? I would say bigger and better, actually. Even if it can be

bigger and better, 260 years after this masterpiece, why take on the

challenge of a grand river pageant in the 21st century? Well, we are

an island nation, of course, and the sea and rivers are part of our

national character, so it felt appropriate to be doing something

on water. The River Thames has been revitalised, reinvented in recent

years. It felt right to be doing a river pageant for today's

generation. What can we expect to see? There will be 1,000 boats on

the River Thames, a scale that has not been seen for generations,

small boats, Big boats, narrowboats, they are sailing boats,

interspersed, interleaved by 10 Music barges, and right at the

heart of it all, the Royal Barge itself, with the Queen and the

Royal Family aboard. When this great event is over, Adrian, what

will constitute success for you? More than anything, that if people

are still talking about this event 250 years down the line, if it

survives as well as Canaletto's So this afternoon all the plans

that had been made to produce another spectacular pageant were

about to be put into action. Paul Dickenson picks up the commentary

as members of the Royal Family arrived at the Royal launch in

Chelsea Bridge is where we're at at the moment, and the Prince of Wales

and the Duchess of Cornwall being greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant of

Greater London, a great day for him. The gentlemen of the right-hand

side, actually a former lord mayor of the City of London, so he is

certainly used to these regal And the atmosphere has been

building beautifully here at They will take a short walk down

the pier in just a little while, as they wait for Her Majesty the Queen

Down at Cadogan Pier, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with

the Duke's brother, Prince Harry. They're actually be met by the

Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. Just spending a little bit

of time walking and talking, a role they have slotted into absolutely

beautifully. And those people will be delighted to have met the

Michael Lockett and his wife, the chief executive officer of the

And there is the Spirit of Chartwell, that is the boat that is

going to take the royal party at the head of the pageant right down

But there is just a little preview of what is to come in this great

Well, the six trumpeters of the Royal Marines on board the Connacht,

just adjacent to the Britannia launch. They are signalling the

Certainly, the Queen will know the Well, this is the Britannia launch,

of course, that is going to take the royal party about three-

quarters of a mile up towards the royal barge, and she was greeted on

board the Britannia launched by The Royal launch, of course, Her

Majesty's Yacht Britannia for, was used while the Royal Yacht was in

service to convey the Queen from ship-to-shore. It was

decommissioned back in 1997. The Princess Elizabeth steam train is

on Battersea Bridge, sending her The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,

I am sure, enjoying their time on board the Britannia launch. The

Royal launch, of course, of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia. And

everybody was sad when that went And the manpowered boats ready to

go, and what a sight they provide, the spectators, the royal party and

everybody involved with this The Royal Watermen in attendance.

The Duke of Cambridge, accompanied by Michael Lockett, inspecting the

floral arrangements on the Royal Barge, all designed by Rachel de

The magnificent Chelsea pensioners, they have just be inspected by the

Princess Royal. And she is the master of Trinity House, about to

The row Watermen on board the Britannia launch just getting

everything absolutely perfect. -- Royal. For the Queen to alight a

ship that she knows so, so well and then to move on to the Royal Barge.

Everybody is certainly looking forward to seeing this magnificent

craft, the Spirit of Chartwell, slipped her moorings and head off

downstream towards Tower Bridge, and that is when the pageant really

The Royal standard being raised to The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

are on board. Adrian Evans, the pageant master, breeds is two

Well, we all know, of course, about the Royal Barge with his precious

piece of cargo, but on the Royal row barge Gloriana, that has some

very precious cargo indeed, and in the stroke position, to the right

hand side, we have got Sir Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, a couple

of Olympic silver medallists just behind them and our very own

pressures Clare Balding. Well, this is absolutely extraordinary,

Gloriana, built especially for the Diamond Jubilee, named in honour of

Elizabeth I, built in honour of Elisabet the second, especially for

this Diamond Jubilee, and look at these 18 rowers setting the pace

for the manpowered forefront of this pageant, and Sir Matthew

Pinsent, hello, Matthew, setting the pace of four knots. He must not

go faster than that. We have also got Sir Steve Redgrave, we have ex-

servicemen who rowed across the Atlantic. I will be trying to talk

to a few of those as we continue this river pageant, but we have

just past the Queen on the Royal Barge, at the end of the pageant. -

- Ed. And that is the view that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and

the rest of the royal party have got as all the manpowered craft

As the pageant is well and truly under way now.

Right at the top of the programme, we showed you that wonderful

picture by Canaletto. I guess, these pictures here are

the BBC's Canaletto moments. These beautiful craft, just easing past

In amongst these man-powered boats is Ben Fogle, who I am sure

everybody knows so well. There he is. Can you hear us Ben?

can, thank you. It is just an unbelievable feeling down here.

We're just going past Her Majesty the Queen, The Spirit of Chartwell.

It's absolutely magnificent. I'm just doing my Royal Salute.

Absolutely stunning pictures. Hip, hip hooray.

You certainly need a big voice to be a garrison Sergeant major and

Bill Mott is very well equipped indeed.

And the sight of these boats, it takes you back a couple of hundred

years really when engines were a thing of the future and all power

was provided by the human-form. Luckily the Queen doesn't have to

worry about that today. I'm sure that you can just her in

the background... There we are, I was about to mention the bells, The

Belfry heading up this pageant here today.

They will eventually end up as the Royal Jubilee Bells, in their new

Well, we promised you a lot of fun, and these guys and girls are having

to do a lot of work. You have to say, the carnival is a real

carnival atmosphere on the River Thames and on the banks as wl and

on the Royal Barge too. There are many boats to come. Here is one of

the Worcester Busters. The Maoris look war like. You would hate to

play rugby against them after seeing the hacker. I promise, they

are all nice guys. The Spirit of Chartwell just being

patient and waiting its turn. Some of the Venetians that are here

The 260 or so man-powered boats, because they have already gone past

all the flags of the Commonwealth countries come past. All those

boats crewed by Sea Cadets from all There are certainly people in the

parade today from all over the world representing many, many parts

of the Commonwealth. Beautiful boats, aren't they?

I always think they must be difficult to steer. These guys are

doing a grand job. One of the Maori canoes, just on the far side there,

the war canoe. Well, we can see the mass of boats

moving down the river towards Tower Bridge, but, a little bit further

up from where we are currently we have Chris Hollins.

Just the remnapbs there as they are powering away. They are working

extremely hard. If they get out of breath these guys will come into

action, the RNLI. They cannot keep up the pace of four knots they will

be dragged along. They are on duty, concentrating all the time. We will

be monitoring them and the London authority, as they just held this

fantastic sight, this flotilla of boats, make their way up the river.

It's a fantastic sight. The Queen waiting patiently for the

spirit of chart well to move out -- The Spirit of Chartwell to move out

to join the pageant. Boris Johnson, once again elected as Mayor of

London, enjoying himself, as he tends to do on these occasions and

also the Lord Mayor of the City of London, just to the right-hand side.

It was this bought that bought -- boat that bought Winston

Churchill's coffin down the Thames. This is Trinity 1 boat. The master

of Trinity House is the Princess Royal. She is accompanied by her

husband, vice admirable Tim Lawrence, standing by her there.

And the barge finally moves away from the pier to begin her journey

and past some amazing landmarks. Princess Anne's boat will form part

of the squadron of vessels that will be just behind The Spirit of

Chartwell. The organisers have done an

absolutely magnificent job, not just on The Spirit of Chartwell,

but on the whole day so far. So the Royal Barge, moving out into

the centre of the river, where it will join the flotilla of boats. We

saw a glimpse there of all the The Royal Barge moving forwards.

The Duke of Edinburgh certainly seems to be enjoying himself here

today. Absolute precision, as the Royal Barge slots into line. Just

behind the four boats that are in front of it. As it begins to move

away. The Middleton family present. About two-thirds of the way on the

left-hand side. Just waving there, Pippa Middleton, the sister of the

Duchess of Cambridge are on board the Elizabethan there is Carol

Middleton there in the cream top and skirt.

Certainly the hand-powered boats have made very good progress indeed.

I suppose this is one of the occasions where you really have to

be there to just soak up the atmosphere and understand what it

means to all the spectators. The atmosphere on the banks and on the

bridges, absolutely electric. Steve Redgrave, how is it feeling,

Sir? Really good. Amazing crowds. I have rode in some big crowds before,

but not counting up to the millions, as it is here. In terms of the

things you have done, where does this rank? This is very, very

special. As long as we all get there first. We are all trying not

to race. When I was asked to try and put a crew together for this

boat, all my first choices came forward. Everyone was excited about

doing it. Were you the chief selector then? Sort of. Lord

Sterling is the guy in charge. I saw the boat in December being

built and was blown away. It was stunning when it was in its shell

form and then to see it now is unbelievable. It is an absolutely

beautiful rowing barge this. It has such a great atmosphere on board.

Putting on a lot of effort. Look at Matthew Pinsent here at the front T

man who once had the most lung capacity of any athlete. It has now

been surpassed. That was some record. It was all right! I'm using

a bit of it now. Keeping you warm? Exactly right. Gloriana making its

way down the river now. We can just start to see the London Eye.

Magnificent, magnificent sight. The wind is certainly blowing

across the bows of the boat, that presumably means that steering is a

big issue for something as long as this boat.

Somewhere on that boat is the owner of The Spirit of Chartwell, along

with his daugt er daughter, along with the ten Watermen and the

Queen's Barge Master. He must be a very proud man today.

The Prince of Wales on the left- hand side. The Duke of Cambridge

It is good to see the Pageant Master looking quite relaxed as he

talks to Prince Charles. I am sure he is delighted with how things

have turned out today. It gives you a good idea as to how much

preparation many, many people undertook to get this Royal Barge

absolutely pristine. They have done The Palace of Westminster, on the

heft land side, slightly more -- left-hand side, slightly more

modern view of London, as the flotilla heads towards Westminster

Bridge. That's roughly where the Queen is right now.

So, these guys making very steady progress indeed.

Luckily, so far, conditions not too bad at all.

There are so many iconic landmarks that just litter London. We are so

fortunate to have such magnificent buildings, churches of course as

well, Government buildings and the rest scattered throughout London. A

lot of them overlooking the River Thames. A different view of the

Palace of Westminster. The background and the London Eye.

One of those pods - I think there are 32 pods on the London Eye - and

one is serving cream teas to all of the people who are up there trying

That is the boat that the Duchess of Cambridge's parents and brother

and sister are on - the Edwardian. That, I think was the Swan Uppers,

who you saw in the picture a moment ago. There's Ben Fogle, rowing

pretty well. Still smiling. He's plenty of energy left. He's a very

fit man. Back at Chelsea, some of the public service craft just

moving past, moving up towards Cadogan Pier. They will be one of

the features this afternoon and the fire boats.

The fire boats saluting in their So many photographs will be taken

of what is going to be a very And the bells, complete with John

Barrowman on board, I hope he has got sunnier climes, because they

have been going ever since we saw them at Cadogan Pier, some way back.

And there will be peals of bells heard not just all over London but

This certainly is a Canaletto moment, isn't it? With so many

iconic buildings flanking this mass of vessels, or power to buy the

human arm, shoulder, back and legs. -- all powered by. Just looking

down the pageant, you then come to the flags of the Commonwealth and

the Trinity 500s, they are caught, those vessels, from the sea cadets

all over the United Kingdom. Back to the Royal Squadron and the most

magnificent boat on display here today. As you can see, the tower of

the Palace of Westminster on the left-hand side of the screen just

ahead as we head down towards And this is the first opportunity

we have really had to see the Dunkirk Little Ships. There are

about 40 or 50 of them there today behind the Royal Squadron, and boy,

oh boy, have they put some service in on behalf of everybody in the

United Kingdom. Then come the Each of the ships, or each of the

sections of ships, should I say, is preceded by a group of musicians,

too. They will certainly be earning their money today, playing music

So the working boats and the fire boats that we saw before now

passing Cadogan Pier. Recreational motorboats, leisure boats, too. I

bet a lot of fun is being had on The recreation of boats, too. --

Well, this is where we are all going to end up as we hear one of

the psyllids to the Queen that have happened over the last two days. --

salutes. Just outside the Tower Of London, part of a 41 gun salute,

followed by a special salute by the The Royal Barge there just going

underneath Lambeth Bridge, so the next target will be Westminster

There are so many churches, of course, close to the banks of the

River Thames, and so many bells can be heard, as well as the bells that

are already on the river and ahead of the Spirit of Chartwell. The

Palace of Westminster and, in the Clock Tower there, of course, Big

Ben, the bell that strikes the hour was created in the same foundry

that created the bells on the river You just join us here at Vauxhall

Bridge, we have got the band going past us on the left-hand side, and

as you can see, the crowd behind me at the MI6 building here, just

waiting to see the historic boats bill I just about to come under the

Vauxhall Bridge. Amongst them, the Dunkirk Little Ships, part of

Operation Dynamo, when the United Kingdom, the allied forces were in

such desperate need for help. They are part of a fantastic society

that make annual trips to Dunkirk. I went on board as part of the

scrutiny process earlier this week, and they are all in such fantastic

shape. They have worked so hard on them, and as you can see, they are

all receiving a warm welcome from the crowds behind us. There is so

much going on on the river, but up into these tall flats behind me,

flags flying everywhere, everyone trying to get a glimpse of the

river and all these wonderful boats making their way down as part of

this pageant. Just a few of the Little Ships making their way

through now just under Vauxhall Bridge. The crowds behind me, just

or waving away. Here on glory and I, this boat very much inspired by the

mind and to many of Lord Sterling, who is with me now. -- Gloriana.

What did you want to achieve with Gloriana? I think it says it all

today, look at the crowds, the people on board, the marvellous

bunch of oarsmen that we have, it says it. In practice, I think we

have created it as a lasting legacy and inspired by the great

Canalettos, the National Maritime Museum, when we see all about it at

the Great Exhibition, it is all about pageantry and the Thames and

what it is all about through history. If we can have the

opportunity of lifting people's interest in the Thames and for

youngsters to have the opportunity of rowing and knowing the

camaraderie of rowing, we will have done something in the years to come.

So many young faces on the river, on the sides of the river banks,

high-pitched voices screaming out, and it is just a wonderful,

wonderful feeling, and we are not going to let a few spots of rain

dampen our enthusiasm, oh, no! It is a fabulous feeling to be part of

it. Well, there is a fantastic senior, look at that, just look at

it. There is the Spirit of Chartwell, what we now know as the

Royal Barge, and we can just see the Queen, and you have got all

these boats behind, coming up later, but the cheering and the crowd, we

have been cheering the pictures on the big screen on the other side of

the bridge, and it is any excuse for cheering, like now, come on!

Hurray! We are all raring to go, come on, hurray! Hurray, hurray! It

is a wonderful atmosphere, and the whole bridge, you can imagine it,

the whole side of the bridge covered with people, and we are

just having a good time, it is a simple straightforward, marvellous

And there are the Commonwealth flags. I have to say, the parade,

the pageant rather, is pretty much spread out. Princess Eugenie there

with her father, of course, the Duke of York. And the rest of the

Royal Family making very steady The Spirit of Chartwell, with the

Palace of Westminster in the background, and when that building

first appeared on the landscape on the banks of the River Thames, what,

five centuries ago, longer than that, Edward the confessor it was

who founded the Palace of Westminster, and for a long, long

time it became the seat of power, of Royal power until it is now

identified with a representative government and parliament. Almost

fading away into the background. And that is point let me introduce

you to a gentleman who has sat beside me in the commentary box,

sailor and author Tom Cunliffe. I tell you what, he knows everything

there is to know about boats but more importantly navigation.

Because of the twists and turns in a river, are any of these boats

going to have a problem today? is interesting, watching the flags

on these boats, they are blowing across quite gently, but when they

turn to the right at Westminster, it will be smack on the nose, so

Her Majesty would get a bit chilly, and the manpowered boats will have

much more of a struggle than they have had so far. But looking at

them, they seem to have been It is not just people waving flags.

It all means something to those people will understand it, and

absolutely invaluable way of communication between ships,

certainly before the invention of transistors etcetera. I think that

would probably mean something to the Duke of Edinburgh, being a

Princess Beatrice with their sister, Eugenie. Part of the royal party.

Seeing the boats come through the bridge is fascinating, because

shutting the Thames barrier has meant there is very little current.

If it were sweeping down, as it would have been otherwise, some of

these boats would be in danger of being swept onto the pontoons, but

it is a magnificent effort that has been made to cut the current by

Manpower, which has made this whole thing a lot less dramatic than it

otherwise would have been. Certainly, the Thames barrier,

which we will not be seen today, is a masterpiece of engineering. It

just makes you wonder, actually, how they managed when the Thames

barrier was not there to have things like pageants on the river,

which they did along, long time ago. There were a lot less bridges in

those days, Paul, and the river was a lot wider, so the currents would

have been smaller. But to put something like this on with a full

airtight would have been frankly pretty hairy, they would have been

some incidents. -- Ed tide. So far, Now, the National Theatre, a very

special moment for the Queen. The home of that great theatrical

production, poo, which I understand the Queen is a great fan of. -- War

There it is on top! On top of the National Theatre, even the horse

That moment has taken them nine We certainly know what a passion

she has forced us -- horses. I hope the Queen endured that moment. The

horse, the star of the show, if you like, is called Joley, and I

understand she had a visit from Joe There is Joey. He's making his own

little bow to the Queen and the rest of the guests on the Royal

Barge. Now heading out towards the City of

London, the real financial power of the country. Waterloo Bridge in the

background. That was completed, this version of it, completed in

1944. It replaced the stone bridge, which opened in 1817.

Westminster Bridge - absolutely Dunkirk Little Ships, just going

past Westminster palace. So, we're back to Chelsea now and

Absolutely fan tas -- fantastic, and the rain is coming down quite

heavily. 20 barges - they have come from

many parts of the UK. They carry an impressive contingent, of Lord

Lieutenants representing Worcestershire, Shropshire,

Staffordshire... Lovely to see the artwork on these vessels. Two in

the background have traditional sign-writing on them and so has

this one in the foreground. They signify the way these boats were.

When you consider the sort of network of canals that we've got

all over this country, it really created the wealth of many parts of

the country, didn't it? The narrow boats carried the wealth of the

nation. That was before we had railways and

roads. She has a phone to her ear and

she's saying "yes, I am at the front, waving." It is great the

narrow boats have been able to do this. We have been lucky with the

Meanwhile, back at Westminster, and all the Watermen, absolutely

delighted with the progress that the Spirit of Chartwell is making.

Nobody has sat down. Nobody has disappeared really off that top

deck. Everybody wants to get a A picture of the Queen's Silver

Jubilee celebrations. I hope that was a nice surprise for

the Royal Party. I was down on the water yesterday

andvy to say that picture is enormous, enormous!

Well, I think instantly recognisable as the Royal Party at

the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, stretched right over the whole

building face, almost 100 metres in width and 70 metres in height. A

total weight of a hundred tonnes or thrapbts. The largest photograph --

or thereabouts. The largest photo ever of the Royal Family. That is

one of the iconic sights, not just of London, but the whole country.

Some of the smallest boats in the whole pageant.

Of course, these pictures going all over the world, not just to

Some way ahead of them, HMS Belfast on the right-hand side and we have

mentioned this word time and time again "iconic" and Tower Bridge is

Making very good progress indeed is the barge. The bells are still

ringing. Underneath Tower Bridge and eventually the Royal Party will

be tying up at HMS President, you just saw on the right-hand side of

the scene there, which is home to the London division of the Royal

Navy reserve and has been since 1988.

This is the bridge control room. I am going to introduce you to

somebody who has an incredible job today. It is the Tower Bridge

Master. Good afternoon. You will raise the bridge to let, well to

let the flotilla threw. You will raise the bridge in high salute. Is

that higher than normal? It is a full lift for the Royal Salute.

We lift it to suit the size of vessel, but the Queen gets a full

lift, come what may. You are ready to go. Is that the lever? Yes. Then

it will raise. You have done this many, many times before. Are you

feeling a little bit nervous today? No, it is exciting, not nervous. It

is an exciting day. Everybody is having lots of fun. Nothing can go

wrong? Keeping your -- our fingers crossed. Can anything go wrong?

is a piece of machinery. Hopefully everything will go fine in a few

minutes' time. I will get out of your way and let you get on with

your job. Eric, good luck. Off you Of course, all of those craft

totally and utterly dwarfed by HMS Belfast. It was commissioned in

1938. 91,000 tonnes, the largest 1,200 tonnes each, or each draw

bridge section of the Tower Bridge weighs. They will be raised to

their fullest extent of 80 degrees, in 60 seconds.

HORNS SOUND And the dispersal now begins, a lot

more boats to come through Tower Bridge, obviously thaifplt will all

be watched eventually -- obviously. They will all be watched eventually

by the Queen. The weather really has deteriorated, Tom? The rain is

coming down now. It does not seem to have produced a lot of breeze to

go with it. Interestingly we have seen one or two smaller boats taken

in tow by bigger ones. There we go. Look! It is good to see what great

spirits people have even when towed. There is no failure here. It has

been a tough row into this breeze. If it had been any more of this

then they would have had to scrap the event for the rowing boats.

Huge credit to them, even to the ones which have ended up on the tow.

We see one of the many music sections in the pageant. I am sure

many rowers will appreciate the tough challenge that lie ahead and

will be satisfied with what they have achieved so far. Some of them

are actually working boats that were built to carry stuff that are

heavy to row. There is a Yorkshire cob ler there. That is heavy to row.

I can tell you that, personally. There is another, built to carry

cargo. A very heavy boat indeed. A gentleman who received the

Victoria Cross. Mr Johnson Bihar. I have seen him

on television a few times. What an achievement. At some cost too, I

have to say. But a VC holder. And the pageant is simply full of

music. On board this vessel here, one of the bands of Her Majesty's

Royal Marines. There are a couple of bands on the river today.

We heard them giving the Queen a HMS Belfast is about to be flanked

by the Royal Barge and the Royal Barge is about to receive a very

impressive salute from some of the WHISTLES SOUND

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 62 seconds

Veterans and Sea Cadetss -- Sea An extraordinary machine, lifting

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 62 seconds

Once again the Royal Marine Now, Jim, how was that to here the

Queen just then and have her acknowledge HMS Belfast? It is

wonderful. It is something I never thought I'd see. It is something

I'll always remember. Jim, you joined the Navy at 15. You told me

some amazing stories, one when a torpedo hit your ship. They were

thrown 60 feet into the air, thrown into the ocean and had to cling on

to a dead shark until you were rescued. Did that put you off

diving? No I dived until I -- from 16 until I was 85. Hello, John. You

are a bit wet there, aren't you? This ship is a huge, huge ship,

over 10,000 tonnes. When it was out and you were serving on the ship,

it was thrown around like a toy during its duties? At the time she

was 14,000 tonne. Since then the weight has been reduced on the ship,

so that's why it's 10,000. Many a time, when we've been in the heavy

seas on the Russian convoys, we were picked up, just imagine seeing

these high buildings and there were rollers coming in on you. You

thought, oh, God you would never get through it. The old girl did.

Have you enjoyed your day here today and cheering the Queen?

It's been fabulous. As my shipmate and colleague has

said, never in my wildest dream did I think I would see such a pageant

as that. We have a diamond pageant and we have a diamond as a Queen.

We certainly have. Thank you very As you have probably seen, it is

getting air little bit wet, and now we have got the work in ships

coming through, a fire Bach spraying the crowd, having a great

time. You have probably noticed that it has slowed down, we have

got a bit of a backlog coming through Waterloo Bridge as the

Rhodes are getting off the water towards Tower Bridge. -- rowers.

Can you see then down below in the kitchen? They may be making

sandwiches but they're still getting a great view. What a

wonderful atmosphere, the National Theatre in the background, they are

still enjoying it here. They are getting a little bit tight as they

come through this bridge, the marshals are telling them to slow

down, be a little bit careful. Some of them, though, are still managing

to blow their horn rather loudly. But they have to be, are a serious

point, the very careful as they come through here, it narrows down,

but I do not think they are worried about going too slowly, they are

having a great time and enjoying Meanwhile, the Royal Barge is just

negotiating the river at the moment. Beautiful cat there, and how

difficult is it going to be for them to moor up to the side of HMS

President there, Tom? It is remarkable, this is a very well

chosen vessel. What he is doing it used to be defying gravity,

actually, it is very impressive, the boat is going sideways, good

man! I wonder what he has got in the wake of bow thrusters and

things, I would love to see. Well, Albert Bridge is where we started,

it was the first bridge that all of the pageant had to contend with,

and the Port of London Authority die there, I suppose that is the

equivalent of the Kali app man, as they call it, at the end of the

So HMS President completing the sheer -- sheer to the Royal Barge

Just that the side of Tower Bridge, another part of the Royal Squadron

So the royal party will be watching the remainder of the pageant from

Well, I think the captain of that ship can be very pleased with his

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful boat. Shane, such a shame, that the

weather has taken a turn for the worse, and it has probably put a

bit of a dampener on some of the things going on, but not all,

I can clarify that it is definitely raining, but we shall sing, because

as well as being joined by the HMS Belfast veterans today, we have

also got the Fisherman's Friends, hello, chaps! These are a group are

sea shanty singers from Port Isaac in Cornwall. I imagine a few of you

are fishermen. And friends as well. We are very sunny friends today,

but we are having good fun. Have you had a lovely day? The Queen

turned and looked at us as she went past, fantastic, what a day.

would love to hear you do your thing? How long have you been

singing together? 20 years, but you could not tell it from the way we

have been doing it. Thank you for keeping their spirits up on board,

the veterans have been loving you singing, would you like to give us

a glass? We will do South Australia # We are bound to South Australia

# Heave away, haul away # We are bound for South Australia

# Heave away, haul away # We are bound to South Australia

# Heave away, haul away # We are bound for South Australia

# Heave away, haul away Fabulous stuff. The weather

When you consider the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, everything that

she has seen and witnessed, you go back through the record books, if

you like, the compendium of everything that has happened during

our reign, even back in 1953, the very first ascent of Mount Everest,

they are celebrating a Diamond Jubilee next year, Edmund Hillary

and Tenzing Norgay, his famous Sherpa. 1963, of course, the death

of President John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, the first supersonic

airliner, Concorde making its maiden flight in 1969, and of

course in the same year Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to

set foot on the moon. From a sporting perspective, well,

certainly, the Queen has presided over many, many sporting events. In

1966, a red letter day when England beat Germany. Of course, her

daughter and granddaughter indeed, the great horsewoman during their

lives, becoming European three-day- event champions, and Princess Anne,

of course, has maintained her connections with sport through the

British Olympic Association and her association as a member of the

International Olympic Committee, so if it has not been already, it is

going to be a very busy year for air indeed with London 2012. How

many days away? Less than 60, around 53 or 54 days left before

the opening ceremony of the Well, there are still many, many

boats to come past HMS President, when the Queen will be for a little

while yet with tear gas -- her guests and the rest of the Royal

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That is what everybody needs, a But still great sights on the river,

Tom. He gets, these are historic vessels, a lot of these, probably

part of a national historic fleet, and the nice thing is that when it

is raining is hard, when it has gone through your oilskin and it is

dripping down your neck, at least Just to the left is HMS Belfast, as

another section begins to make its way through Tower Bridge. We think

it is the service, steam and Another fan boat just paying

tribute to the Queen. -- fire. I do not suppose Tower Bridge has been

Oh, goodness, the Shard! We did see it before, it was quite clear, so

it gives you some indication as to the deterioration in the weather,

but I guess when you are the tallest building in Western Europe,

that is one of the downsides, isn't it? There is an interesting craft.

Yes, that is the only hovercraft in the whole pageant, and she is

supposed to be right at the end, so it looks like she is under tow. The

biggest flag of the Lotte there, the flag of Cornwall, she has made

a special master for the occasion. She is a very powerful performer

under sail, but right now it is lowered and she is flying the flag

Yeah, a remarkable read ensign there. -- red. I'm not sure what

that vessel is, I'm afraid, but she is flying the red ensign has done,

Now then, we have narrowboats and barges, 43 narrowboats, 23 barges,

and some of them are very special. Narrowboats are remarkable things,

because it easy to imagine, how do you make a narrow vote? In the old

days, you might make it long and strong, but it is not like that at

all. Look at that closely, look at the artwork, the careful way it is

swept up at the front. That is just so beautiful! That is what it was

all about, a whole folk art developed around these boats. You

can see it on the roof of this one. It would be quite normal to see a

few little plant pots and stuck up there, because these are vessels

for the inland waterways, for the fields and byways, but they carried

the commerce of the land for Neeltje there, that is a classic

Dutchman. If she has not been a working boat, she certainly looks

like one. It has that lovely Dutch curve to the way that is set up.

Well, we are getting towards the end of the pageant now. These are

Passing through Tower Bridge on the way to the dispersal area, and

there are about 40 altogether. Some stately passenger cruisers, too.

And they are going to be very, very busy, of course, in 53 days' time,

I think we work that, when the Olympics start. It is going to be

quite a route to some of the Olympic venues, and that Greenwich

and what was the O2 Arena is now the North Greenwich Carina, and

into the City of London, of course, too. -- Arena. But despite the rain,

well, we are British! We like a little bit of dampness. I have to

say, one or two people are a little bit more than just being a bit damp,

but they are sticking with it in tribute, of course, to this

wonderful Diamond Jubilee. And of The glass-fronted vessel symphony,

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hosting, one of the most respected I hope they get a thunderous round

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of applause, because they really do # Land of hope and glory mother of

the free # How shall we extol thee, who are

born of thee? # Wider still and wider, shall thy

bounds be set # God, who made thee mighty, make

thee mightier yet # God, who made thee mighty, make

One of the gentlemen on The Spirit of Chartwell, Lord salts bury, the

chairman of Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation has done a huge amount

of work, on behalf of everybody to get this pageant up and running and

then to completion. A nice side comment was he was the great, great

grandson of the current Lord Sailsbury, who was Prime Minister

at the time of Queen Victoria's jubilee. Certainly that from the

orchestra and the singers, sort of a mildly eccentric moment in some

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ways, but one the British do so # Rule Britannia

# Britannia rule the waves # Britons never, never, never shall

be slaves # Rule Britannia,

# Britannia rule the waves # Britons never, never, never shall

NATIONAL ANTHEM # GOD SAVE OUR GREYOUS QUEEN

# LONG LIVE OUR NOBLE QUEEN # GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

# SEND HER VICTORIOUS # HAPPY AND GLORIOUS

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# Long to reign over us As you can see, things have come to

an end, but the salute to Queen HORNS SOUND

The Queen is about to leave HMS President.

Still smiling. I hope she's had a fabulous day.

Well, this certainly has been a day that will live long in my memory.

Just in terms of the preparation and the preparation to get this

pageant right, that's been going on for years. I think, despite the

weather, they got it right and it will be something that the

population of this great city and the rest of the city and worldwide

will remember for many years to come.

Not only is this a way of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, I

think, from a personal perspective, it is a way of saying to the Queen

So what can I say after two-and-a- half years of very hard work by the

organisers, the pageant did go to plan. A remarkable feat when you

think of the numbers involved and the impact of the weather. Let's

hope things will have dried up a little by tomorrow. This is where a