The Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant

:00:23. > :00:28.For only the second time in history, a British Monarch celebrates a

:00:28. > :00:34.Diamond Jubilee. The reign of Queen Elizabeth II has

:00:34. > :00:40.spanned 60 years. Six decades of momentous change in the United

:00:40. > :00:45.Kingdom and the world. But her guiding principle, set out

:00:45. > :00:51.long ago, has never changed. declare before you all that my

:00:51. > :00:56.whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your

:00:56. > :01:00.service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we

:01:00. > :01:05.all belong. This weekend, the Queen matches the

:01:05. > :01:15.achievement of her great, great grandmother, Victoria, and

:01:15. > :01:16.

:01:16. > :01:21.celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. The stage is just about set at

:01:21. > :01:26.Buckingham Palace for three days of events on a lavish scale. A concert

:01:27. > :01:33.here with all the stars, a National Service at St Paul's Cathedral and

:01:33. > :01:43.today, a spectacular tribute on the river. Welcome to the Thames

:01:43. > :01:57.

:01:57. > :02:03.So this is it. Welcome to viewers around the UK. Indeed around the

:02:03. > :02:07.world, to the official start of the Diamond Jubilee events. Here on BBC

:02:07. > :02:12.One, you will not miss a thing. We have unrivalled coverage over the

:02:12. > :02:15.coming days. And that's just underline the significance of what

:02:15. > :02:20.is happening. The Queen is only the second British Monarch to celebrate

:02:20. > :02:27.a Diamond Jubilee. Her great great grandmother, Queen Victoria, was

:02:27. > :02:30.the first back in 1897. It has to be said that she celebrated in

:02:30. > :02:33.spectacular, imperial style. 2012 will be equally impressive, though

:02:33. > :02:38.in rather different ways. The weekend has already started well

:02:38. > :02:43.for the Queen. Yesterday, a visit to the Epsom Derby, a regular

:02:44. > :02:48.annual trip for the Queen for the past eight decades. Derby is said

:02:48. > :02:52.to be the first event that goes into the Queen's diary every year.

:02:52. > :02:56.That's the importance of it for the Royal Family and it has to be said,

:02:56. > :03:01.some rather nice pleasant weather yesterday. The race was won by the

:03:01. > :03:08.favourite, Camelot, not one of the Queen's horses, but still a good

:03:08. > :03:11.day out nonetheless. That was yesterday. Lovely sunshine.

:03:11. > :03:17.I'm not going to reveal the secret of today's weather. Behind me, the

:03:17. > :03:22.stage is ready for the big concert tomorrow night. Who can I mention?

:03:22. > :03:26.Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Shirley Bassey, Kylie

:03:26. > :03:33.Minogue, Robbie Williams. It's a very long list of the biggest names

:03:33. > :03:39.in music. And they'll be performing for the Queen under the steady gaze

:03:39. > :03:43.of Victoria herself because the stage has been cleverly set around

:03:43. > :03:47.the Queen Victoria Memorial. Beautifully done and a great arena

:03:47. > :03:52.for the concert. By the way, those lucky ones who've managed to get

:03:52. > :03:56.tickets for the concert will also be enjoying a picnic in the gardens

:03:56. > :04:01.of Buckingham Palace. At the end of the concert, the Queen will light

:04:02. > :04:06.the last in a worldwide network of Diamond Jubilee beacons, some 4,000

:04:06. > :04:09.of them across the UK and the Commonwealth. On Tuesday, just

:04:09. > :04:13.looking ahead, an extra Bank Holiday across the UK, the Queen

:04:13. > :04:17.will attend a service at St Paul's Cathedral. She'll have lunch at

:04:17. > :04:21.Westminster and then she will return to Buckingham Palace in a

:04:21. > :04:25.carriage procession ready for a flypast by the Royal Air Force

:04:25. > :04:30.which the Royal Family will be watching from that famous balcony

:04:30. > :04:32.behind me. That will bring the Diamond Jubilee events of 2012 to a

:04:32. > :04:36.close. The celebrations, as I've already

:04:36. > :04:42.said, not confined to the UK, nations of the Commonwealth and

:04:42. > :04:47.across the world are already taking part. Let's have a look.

:04:47. > :04:52.Hundreds of children in the capital of Tuvalu, the island is 1,000

:04:52. > :04:59.miles of Fiji, already holding their own Jubilee lunch today.

:04:59. > :05:03.A very different scene in the south of France. The British expats

:05:03. > :05:07.celebrating the Jubilee with probably some nice food and good

:05:07. > :05:11.wine too. Thousands of miles away in Pakistan,

:05:11. > :05:14.students and teachers of Fazia College in Islamabad holding a

:05:14. > :05:21.lunch and also taking part in all kinds of competitions, art

:05:21. > :05:29.competitions and the like, to mark the day.

:05:29. > :05:33.Let's go to Afghanistan. In Helmand province, British forces already

:05:33. > :05:43.enjoying their Jubilee lunch and some rather nice gifts from home

:05:43. > :05:46.

:05:46. > :05:51.Just a sense for you of what is going on, not just in the UK. We'll

:05:51. > :05:54.talk more about that around the world too. The latest estimate is

:05:54. > :05:58.that there are 10,000 street parties being held in the UK this

:05:58. > :06:01.weekend. That matches the number organised for the Queen's

:06:02. > :06:05.Coronation back in 1953. I have to say, it's rather more than took

:06:05. > :06:08.place last year for the Royal Wedding and that was an event on a

:06:08. > :06:13.huge scale, as we know. We are going the hear from some of those

:06:13. > :06:16.taking part in today's celebrations. My colleague Mark Simpson is at

:06:16. > :06:19.Bangor Castle in Northern Ireland to tell us what is going on there.

:06:19. > :06:24.Mark. Quite a day here in Northern

:06:24. > :06:26.Ireland, not just this wonderful Jubilee party, we've had the

:06:27. > :06:31.Olympic Torch here in this town just up the road from here, and

:06:31. > :06:38.believe it or not, we haven't had one drop of rain. Let me talk you

:06:38. > :06:42.through some of the highlights, highlights - get it - of this

:06:42. > :06:47.party! We have 1950s fashion from two swinging sisters here, Clare

:06:47. > :06:51.and Marie. Take us back 60 years, what was the fashion like then?

:06:51. > :06:54.wearing an original 1950s piece myself that I sourced in a vintage

:06:54. > :07:00.market. We are all about the 1950s here, we have some beautiful

:07:00. > :07:03.examples of the style. You only have to look at the series for the

:07:03. > :07:07.wonderful examples of the fashion. This is a day dress, a house coat

:07:07. > :07:12.dress that the ladies would have worn during the day, then in the

:07:12. > :07:21.evening, the big skirts like this cocktail dress. No reproduction

:07:21. > :07:25.here in Bangor today, it's all original. Oo er, missus suss. It's

:07:25. > :07:29.about time I got into the swing of the party. I'll have one of these.

:07:29. > :07:32.Bye-bye from Bangor! Talk to you later. A sense of the

:07:32. > :07:37.excitement there building which is rather nice. Across the water to

:07:37. > :07:41.Scotland now to Edinburgh to James Cook who is there for us.

:07:41. > :07:44.Yes, Huw, thank you very much. It has to be said that there are far

:07:44. > :07:48.fewer street parties in Scotland happening than there are in other

:07:48. > :07:51.parts of the country. Nonetheless, this one is in full swing, a pipe

:07:51. > :07:57.band getting ready to play. Let's show you the view down the street

:07:57. > :08:01.with the bunting. We can talk to Ewan here. Hi. Hi. What is the

:08:01. > :08:06.purpose of the party? It's all about the community here and, in

:08:06. > :08:09.the sense that there's a range of views of people that live here,

:08:09. > :08:13.about nationalism and the monarchy and everything, but this kind of

:08:13. > :08:16.sits above it, the sense of continuity and really the sense of

:08:16. > :08:19.community that's really quite rare and precious. Thank you very much.

:08:20. > :08:25.Enjoy the party. We'll just walk further on down the street and

:08:25. > :08:29.speak to Jane who's organising this party. How is it going? We are

:08:29. > :08:34.having a fantastic time, lot of fun and people enjoying themselves.

:08:34. > :08:37.Aren't we, girls? Yes. And the weather's holding up? It started to

:08:37. > :08:41.rain a little bit before but I think we are going to be fine. It's

:08:41. > :08:44.great. Thank you very much. So that's the street party here in

:08:44. > :08:48.Scotland. As I say, it's one of relatively few happening here

:08:48. > :08:53.compared to other parts of the United Kingdom, but they are in

:08:53. > :08:54.festive and excited spirit about this Jubilee here on this street at

:08:54. > :08:59.least. Thank you very much James. James

:08:59. > :09:03.with a flavour of what is going on in parts of Scotland. We'll hop to

:09:03. > :09:06.Wales to Rhosneigr Beach in Anglesey now where Sian Lloyd is

:09:06. > :09:09.for us. Yes, we have come inside the

:09:09. > :09:13.village hall here on Rhosneigr. There was due to be a huge beach

:09:13. > :09:19.party. It was rained off, but that hasn't dampened the spirits.

:09:19. > :09:25.Hundreds of people here enjoying the big lunch. We are just around

:09:25. > :09:28.the corner to the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince

:09:28. > :09:34.William being stationed in Anglesey. Joy Thomas, your father was

:09:34. > :09:38.involved in celebrations for the Coronation, yes? That's right. He

:09:38. > :09:42.decided to have a competition and make a film about the celebrations

:09:42. > :09:47.in the village, so he designed a coach, had it made and all the

:09:47. > :09:52.children in the village dressed up, my mother made all the costumes on

:09:52. > :09:58.an old hand machine and we just had a great time. It was lovely. My

:09:58. > :10:01.sister and I were on the ponies. Happy memories for you today?

:10:01. > :10:05.A great carnival atmosphere here in Rhosneigr and the party is due to

:10:05. > :10:08.continue for the next couple of days as well because tomorrow

:10:08. > :10:15.they've got a parade going through the village.

:10:15. > :10:20.Sian, thank you very much. Rhosneigr Beach there in Anglesey.

:10:20. > :10:24.A sense of what is going on in Scotland, Northern Ireland and

:10:24. > :10:27.Wales. The spotlight here today is very clearly on the River Thames.

:10:27. > :10:33.That's where more than 1,000 vessels of different shapes and

:10:33. > :10:38.sizes set to take part in the biggest pageant that's seen on the

:10:38. > :10:44.river for 350 years. Rather cloudy, rather misty. It's been drizzly,

:10:44. > :10:47.but believe me, as you will see many the hours ahead, the spirits

:10:47. > :10:53.are certainly energetic and dynamic. Up to a million people we think

:10:53. > :10:56.lining the banks to get a direct view. For those who can't make it,

:10:56. > :11:01.including those now maybeing their way towards some of the parks,

:11:01. > :11:11.there will be dozens of big screens in parks and public squares around

:11:11. > :11:15.the UK carrying the BBC's coverage of the days events on the river.

:11:15. > :11:19.Great sense of the expanse of the River Thames and, as we look at

:11:19. > :11:22.this, that's looking down towards Battersea there, as we look at the

:11:22. > :11:26.expanse of the Thames, I want you to just bear in mind that when the

:11:26. > :11:31.great river pageants of the past took place, the River Thames was,

:11:31. > :11:35.if you can believe it, twice the width we see today. Shallower but

:11:35. > :11:40.twice the width. Today's pageant will be in a very concentrated form.

:11:40. > :11:45.I think we'll see some really impressive, dynamic, colourful,

:11:45. > :11:48.exciting images as we go along. Now, we want to know what you're

:11:48. > :11:53.doing to celebrate the weekend as we enjoy the images and the people

:11:53. > :11:57.start to get ready with their drinks and very smartly dressed.

:11:57. > :12:00.You can tell us whether you are having a street party, whether you

:12:01. > :12:06.are enjoying a Jubilee barbecue in the garden with families and

:12:06. > :12:16.friends. Send tus photos. We'll try to show as many as possible later

:12:16. > :12:21.in the day. This is how you do it: Send us your photos. I'll also give

:12:21. > :12:24.you a Twitter hashtag as well. You can share pictures via Twitter as

:12:25. > :12:29.well. Please do that and we'll have a look at them later on. A sense

:12:29. > :12:33.there of some of the build-up on the river. Plenty more to come.

:12:33. > :12:37.We already know what some of you have been doing because the sailors

:12:37. > :12:42.among you have been preparing for months and months for this grand

:12:43. > :12:46.pageant today with boats coming from around the UK and indeed much

:12:46. > :12:50.further afield, China and Hawaii and other places too including New

:12:50. > :12:56.Zealand. Let's look at this. This morning, a crew of a Maori Waka

:12:56. > :13:02.boat were greeted by the New Zealand Prime Minister John Kay and

:13:02. > :13:06.they responded with a ceremonial Haka. A Great War cry normally to

:13:06. > :13:13.intimidate the opposition, certainly on the rugby pitch. Today

:13:13. > :13:17.a gesture of respect, just to mark if occasion. -- the occasion. All

:13:17. > :13:22.rather terrifying. A sense of the international flavour of the day.

:13:22. > :13:25.I'll tell you what is a good idea now maybe is to have a lack at the

:13:25. > :13:31.route of the pageant. I want to give you a sense of the geography

:13:31. > :13:35.of the River Thames. A five mile section at the heart of the pageant,

:13:35. > :13:40.longer if you include the build-up, from the Albert Bridge to the east,

:13:40. > :13:44.then sailing eastwards crossing under 14 bridges if I've counted

:13:44. > :13:48.them properly after Lambeth Bridge, then hitting some of the really big

:13:48. > :13:53.sites of Central London. Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster,

:13:53. > :13:58.the London Eye on the South Bank there, past Waterloo Bridge. A

:13:58. > :14:04.great Vista there, the City of London and the Gherkin on the left.

:14:04. > :14:07.The new Shard, the sharp object on the right, just passed St Paul's

:14:07. > :14:11.Cathedral, the wobbly millennium Bridge, as some call it, London

:14:11. > :14:17.Bridge which at one time was the only bridge across the River Thames,

:14:17. > :14:21.then heading towards that great symbol of the City of London, Tower

:14:21. > :14:25.Bridge right next to the Tower of London. It will be fully raised in

:14:25. > :14:29.salute as the Royal barge passes beneath it. Then the Royal barge

:14:29. > :14:34.will carry on a few yards and stop at HMS President. That's where the

:14:34. > :14:36.Queen will be surveying the scene and seeing the flotilla as it

:14:36. > :14:42.passes by. Just looking beyond that, as you

:14:42. > :14:47.will see some sailing ships, the biggest ships, with the masts too

:14:47. > :14:51.high to pass under the bridges, will be lining the river from

:14:51. > :14:55.London Bridge to Wapping in the east of London, creating an avenue

:14:55. > :14:59.of sail. A little sense of it there, but believe me in real life, it

:14:59. > :15:04.will look really impressive. It's pretty clear having explained all

:15:04. > :15:09.that, that staging the pageant has involved, in the case of the man

:15:09. > :15:12.who's organised the main thing, more than two years of detailed

:15:12. > :15:22.planning. 1,000 vessels involved, 20,000 people involved. I don't

:15:22. > :15:26.need to say it's a huge amount of When I talked earlier on about five

:15:26. > :15:30.miles, that is the formal section at the heart of the pageant. If you

:15:30. > :15:36.include all the build-up and the muster and where they disperse, you

:15:36. > :15:42.are getting on for 13 miles. Now leading the flotilla will be a

:15:42. > :15:49.specially-made belfry carrying out new bells, the first of ten music

:15:49. > :15:54.barges heralding a new section of boats. After the bells, the Royal

:15:54. > :16:01.Row Barge, the Gloriana. That will be followed by 260 rowing boats.

:16:01. > :16:05.They will be the pacesetters for the entire flotilla. After that, 56

:16:05. > :16:11.boats reflecting the Commonwealth, the flags of the Commonwealth. Then,

:16:11. > :16:15.we will see the Royal Squadron, including the Royal Barge itself,

:16:16. > :16:22.carrying the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. And behind the Royal

:16:22. > :16:27.Party, 42 of the brave Dunkirk little ships, followed by 58

:16:27. > :16:32.historic and service vessels. Then we find 50 working boats made up of

:16:32. > :16:37.steamboats and tugs. Then 67 recreational motorboats and fire

:16:37. > :16:44.vessels - I told you it was impressive in scale - 61

:16:44. > :16:48.narrowboats and barges, 76 passenger boats. At the tail-end, a

:16:48. > :16:51.great end to it, the last of the ten music barges with the London

:16:52. > :16:57.Philharmonic Orchestra providing a wonderful finale at Tower Bridge

:16:57. > :17:02.marking the end of the pageant. I'm breathless after that! It really is

:17:02. > :17:06.spectacular. You can imagine all of that making the great progress

:17:06. > :17:11.towards Tower Bridge. It will be a really big spectacle. That is the

:17:12. > :17:20.order the boats will follow. To keep a close eye on the flotilla,

:17:20. > :17:25.we have Sophie Raworth and Matt Baker. Let's join them. We will be

:17:25. > :17:30.watching very closely. The crowds here have been waiting since 6.00am,

:17:31. > :17:36.can you believe? Some have slept on the banks. As you have been saying,

:17:36. > :17:41.remarkable pictures. There's hardly any room to stand along the sides.

:17:41. > :17:44.Over a million people are expected to be here. That is despite the

:17:44. > :17:49.very British weather! It's a great atmosphere out there. We have

:17:49. > :17:55.special guests joining us here. We have also got a team of reporters

:17:55. > :18:01.on boths, on bridges, on banks along the route. We will go live to

:18:01. > :18:06.the Royal Row Barge, Gloriana. We will be joining servicemen and

:18:06. > :18:12.women and Olympic gold medallists Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew

:18:12. > :18:20.Pinsent will be in action. Tess Daly is enjoying a very British

:18:20. > :18:25.festival at Battersea Park. There she is. Not a bad Strictly jive.

:18:25. > :18:31.Sian Williams is soaking up the atmosphere on Tower Bridge and

:18:31. > :18:36.gearing up to the grand finale that will be taking place there.

:18:36. > :18:41.Fantastic. Amazing crowds. It is fair to say that history is going

:18:41. > :18:45.to be made on the River Thames today. Thank you very much. Back

:18:45. > :18:54.with you when it's all about to start. We won't miss a second of it.

:18:54. > :18:58.Our guide to the pageant, with a bird's-eye view, is the BBC's Paul

:18:58. > :19:03.Dickenson. Welcome. Thank you, Huw. You said it will be

:19:03. > :19:07.spectacular. It is building up very nicely here down at Chelsea Pier.

:19:07. > :19:11.The imminent arrival of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of

:19:11. > :19:15.Cornwall and they, of course, are going to greet Her Majesty the

:19:15. > :19:20.Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, along with the magnificent Chelsea

:19:20. > :19:22.Pensioners who will form a Guard of Honour for the Queen, before she

:19:22. > :19:27.meets with the Lord-Lieutenant of meets with the Lord-Lieutenant of

:19:27. > :19:30.Greater London. He will be down there on the jetty. You can see his

:19:30. > :19:34.back there. Herald trumpeters and the Queen's Barge Master are on

:19:34. > :19:41.standby to welcome her on board the Britannia Launch. That boat is

:19:41. > :19:45.going to take her on a short journey down to Cadogan Pier where

:19:45. > :19:50.she will board the Royal Barge and there she will join other members

:19:50. > :19:56.of the Royal Family. It is all very exciting.

:19:56. > :19:59.Thank you very much. Nice to see the Chelsea Pensioners lined up

:19:59. > :20:09.waiting for the Queen's arrival. Let me tell you what is going to

:20:09. > :20:09.

:20:09. > :20:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:20:55. > :21:02.When you hear the bells, that will There you are. A quick guide to the

:21:02. > :21:07.timings. If all goes to plan, those timings will be adhered to pretty

:21:07. > :21:13.firmly, despite the fact that, in some cases, the weather has

:21:13. > :21:18.introduced a few complicating factors. That is the plan. Today's

:21:18. > :21:21.river panellent will include some modern boats - we have seen --

:21:21. > :21:31.river pageant will include some modern boats - we have seen some of

:21:31. > :21:32.

:21:32. > :21:38.them. The idea, the concept of a river pageant is centuries'-old.

:21:38. > :21:40.Some of the grandest events in London's long history have taken

:21:40. > :21:49.place on the River Thames. I have been talking to some of those

:21:49. > :21:55.closely involved in planning It is a waterway that spans 250

:21:55. > :22:04.miles. It is the flow through the heart of London that's rightly

:22:04. > :22:08.called "liquid history" and the noblest river in Europe. A symbol

:22:08. > :22:16.of power and wealth down the ages. From merchants and bankers, to

:22:16. > :22:22.tourists and traders, the River Thames has been the lifeblood of

:22:22. > :22:26.London. It is that mix of power and pageantry, of money and might,

:22:26. > :22:33.that's made this the location of some of the most spectacular Royal

:22:33. > :22:37.events ever seen. The images of many of those events have been

:22:37. > :22:43.brought together for the first time at the National Maritime Museum in

:22:43. > :22:49.Greenwich. The centrepiece is a painting by Canaletto of a Lord

:22:49. > :22:54.Mayor's Procession. This is the visual inspiration for the Thames

:22:54. > :22:58.Diamond Jubilee Pageant. The last time this was seen in London was in

:22:58. > :23:05.Canaletto's studio. The paint would have still been drying. These are

:23:05. > :23:13.the great medieval companies who elect the Lord Mayor. They are

:23:13. > :23:18.showing off the wealth and their status within the city. You really

:23:18. > :23:23.do begin to use the river as this great processional route. Music was

:23:23. > :23:30.part of that entertainment as well? Absolutely. You have to think of

:23:30. > :23:36.George I commissioning Handl to write The Water Music. You have

:23:36. > :23:40.guns being fired and crowds cheering. Are there lessons there

:23:40. > :23:44.for 2012? I think London is better suited. The river is now better for

:23:44. > :23:48.a pageant than it's ever been in the past. It is narrower. So people

:23:48. > :23:57.are closer to the action. There are embankments and so many bridges on

:23:57. > :24:05.the Thames now. For the viewer, it is spot-on now. And the man whose

:24:05. > :24:09.job it is to match or beat the great pageants of the past is

:24:09. > :24:16.Adrian Evans, the Diamond Jubilee Pageant Master. This is the first

:24:16. > :24:19.time I have seen this painting in the flesh. It conveys the

:24:19. > :24:24.excitement and just the thrill of being there on that great day.

:24:24. > :24:30.you going to try and match this? I'd say bigger and better! If it

:24:30. > :24:36.can be bigger and better, 260 years after Canaletto's masterpiece, why

:24:36. > :24:41.take on the challenge of a grand river pageant in the 21st Century?

:24:41. > :24:44.We are an island nation. The sea and the rivers are part of our

:24:44. > :24:49.national character. It felt appropriate to be doing something

:24:49. > :24:53.on water. The Thames has been revitalised, reinvented, if you

:24:53. > :24:57.like, in recent years. It felt right to be doing a river pageant

:24:57. > :25:01.for today's generation. What can we expect to see? There's 1,000 boats

:25:01. > :25:06.on the River Thames. That is a scale that has not been seen for

:25:06. > :25:13.generations. There are small boats and big boats and narrowboats.

:25:13. > :25:19.There are motorised boats and man- powered boats and sailing boats

:25:19. > :25:25.interleaved by ten music barges and, at the heart, the jewel, the Royal

:25:25. > :25:29.Barge itself. When this great event is over, what, for you, will

:25:29. > :25:35.constitute success? More than anything, I suppose, if people are

:25:35. > :25:40.still talking about this event 250 years down the line, if you like if

:25:40. > :25:44.it survives as well as Canaletto's image has, I will have made history.

:25:44. > :25:48.That is the challenge. It was a lovely day on the Thames a few days

:25:48. > :25:52.ago. Let's not think too much about that today. If you get the

:25:52. > :25:56.opportunity at any stage to pop along to the National Maritime

:25:56. > :26:00.Museum, it is worth seeing the exhibition, if only to see that

:26:00. > :26:06.Canaletto. I don't think it will be back here for a long time to come.

:26:06. > :26:12.It is a fantastic, splendid, glorious painting. A little plug

:26:12. > :26:16.for that! That is the thinking and the history behind today's

:26:16. > :26:22.spectacular event. The organisers - we heard Adrian there - they want

:26:22. > :26:27.it to be big, memorable and they want it to be lots of fun. So stay

:26:27. > :26:31.with us. It is all about to start. I will hand you over to Sophie and

:26:31. > :26:38.Matt to guide you through the afternoon. Enjoy it.

:26:38. > :26:41.We are at Old Billingsgate. What a view we have got, opposite HMS

:26:41. > :26:45.Belfast, where the grand finale will be in just a few hours' time.

:26:45. > :26:50.This is where all the boats are heading on their five-mile journey.

:26:50. > :26:57.It will be an extraordinary sight. There are huge crowds who have been

:26:57. > :27:01.waiting for hours and hours. Some have camped overnight! We got some

:27:02. > :27:09.great stories from them. Miles back up the Thames, all the way to

:27:09. > :27:12.Putney, are the boats. They are queuing up in what is called the

:27:12. > :27:16.muster. Some have been out there since 10.00am this morning. Your

:27:16. > :27:20.dad is one of them! My dad is one of them. They have been waiting

:27:20. > :27:24.there to take their part in the pageant. Those man-powered boats

:27:24. > :27:28.will be leading the way. How come these boats have been chosen to

:27:28. > :27:36.take part today? Well, all the vessels were selected and invited

:27:36. > :27:41.by the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant Team and the Port Authority.

:27:42. > :27:46.Some have been chosen because of their links with the River Thames.

:27:46. > :27:52.There's every sort of boat that you could possibly imagine. Boat fans

:27:52. > :27:58.are in their elements today. Look out for dinghys, dragonboats,

:27:58. > :28:04.kayaks and many others. Once they are finally released from their

:28:04. > :28:08.moorings, it is going to be a terrific sight. 1,000 vessels on

:28:08. > :28:12.the River Thames, accompanying the Royal Barge as it makes its way up

:28:13. > :28:17.here to Tower Bridge. Only in Great Britain you could get this! In this

:28:17. > :28:20.weather! Indeed. The question is how many umbrellas will be out

:28:20. > :28:23.there? We are showcasing many people who have made their way from

:28:23. > :28:27.all over the UK and the Commonwealth to be here today.

:28:27. > :28:30.the last couple of days, the vessels have had to undergo a

:28:30. > :28:39.rigorous inspection to make sure they are seaworthy. Chris Hollins

:28:39. > :28:46.has been finding out if they are all fit to float.

:28:46. > :28:51.Hundreds of boats will be descending on the Thames. So,

:28:51. > :28:55.imagine what would happen if one of them broke down or sank? The

:28:55. > :29:04.celebration could turn into chaos. The task of making sure that

:29:04. > :29:08.doesn't happen is down to Brian, Jason and their team of inspectors.

:29:08. > :29:15.We are looking at the general arrangements of boat, making sure

:29:15. > :29:20.they have safety equipment on there. Life jackets as well - making sure

:29:21. > :29:28.they fit. That kind of thing. So safety is paramount for this event

:29:28. > :29:33.to be a success. Nearly 200 boats have come here to West India Dock

:29:33. > :29:37.to be inspected. The Marine and Coastguard Agency usually has a

:29:37. > :29:43.team of eight inspectors. For the pageant, they have teamed up with

:29:43. > :29:49.the Port of London Authority. It is a massive job. It has been quite a

:29:49. > :29:55.long process. We know most of the boats now. Inside and out! How many

:29:55. > :30:05.boats have you been looking at? Over 500. I'm not very skilful. Do

:30:05. > :30:11.

:30:11. > :30:17.You must be Sarah, according to our list. Hello. Nice to meet you.

:30:17. > :30:20.you. Can you take us to the engine room? Certainly. We are looking for

:30:20. > :30:25.leakages. Oil. This looks immaculate. It is, yes. A big

:30:25. > :30:28.thumbs up from you? Yes. I'll check out the kettle, the milk and

:30:28. > :30:31.biscuits. No tea and biscuits for the port of London authority,

:30:31. > :30:38.they've now got to get all the boats to the start point of the

:30:38. > :30:43.pageant and lined up safely. Now we are coming up to the busiest bit,

:30:43. > :30:47.right? This bit from tower pier to Westminster Bridge, this is, you

:30:47. > :30:53.know, without doubt the busiest waterway in the UK, probably this

:30:53. > :30:57.little bit here the busiest water port in Europe.

:30:57. > :31:07.The logistics of this event are simply breathtaking. This lot are

:31:07. > :31:09.

:31:09. > :31:12.all lined up and ready. So that's 82 of them. 918 to go!

:31:12. > :31:17.Chris will be a busy man this afternoon. He's on board Constant,

:31:17. > :31:21.the boat that has the flexibility to move throughout different

:31:21. > :31:25.sections of the Pageant throughout the day. Tell us more? Right now,

:31:25. > :31:29.we are just in-between Albert Bridge and Chelsea Bridge and you

:31:29. > :31:32.can probably just make out in the can probably just make out in the

:31:32. > :31:36.distance there that beautiful Royal Barge, The Spirit of Chartwell and

:31:36. > :31:40.we are really just on the south side of the river. You can probably

:31:40. > :31:48.make out there will be an emergency lane there and you probably saw the

:31:48. > :31:51.Port of London Authority, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and

:31:51. > :31:56.the RNLI. We'll be watching and making sure this goes without a

:31:56. > :32:04.hitch. Let's go back to the Royal Barge because I think a few members

:32:04. > :32:10.of the Royal Family have just arrived. Chelsea Bridge is where we

:32:10. > :32:14.are at at the moment and the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of

:32:14. > :32:18.Cornwall being greeted by Sir David Brewer, the Lord lieutenant of

:32:18. > :32:22.Greater London, a great day for him. The gentleman on the right hand

:32:22. > :32:29.side is actually a former Lord Mayor of the City of London. He's

:32:29. > :32:34.certainly used to these regal occasions.

:32:34. > :32:43.The atmosphere, as I was saying, has been building beautifully here

:32:43. > :32:53.at Chelsea. They will take the short walk down the pier in a

:32:53. > :32:54.

:32:54. > :33:02.little while as they wait for Her Majesty the Queen on her great day.

:33:02. > :33:05.Chelsea Hospital Colonel introducing the Prince of Wales to

:33:05. > :33:15.I called them earlier the magnificent Chelsea Pensioners -

:33:15. > :33:16.

:33:16. > :33:25.what a fantastic day for them too. Their home of course is the Royal

:33:25. > :33:30.Chelsea Hospital. It was founded back in 1682 by King Charles II.

:33:30. > :33:35.They provided soldiers with a fitting home in their retirement

:33:35. > :33:40.after service to their country. The hospital is in fact making itself

:33:40. > :33:50.ready to receive soldiers from the current campaigns in Afghanistan

:33:50. > :33:57.

:33:57. > :34:05.and Iraq and those -- when those Just look at the number of

:34:05. > :34:15.spectators in the background there. The Prince of Wales just talking to

:34:15. > :34:16.

:34:16. > :34:22.Dorothy Hope, the only lady in that contingent. And down at Cadogan

:34:22. > :34:27.Pier, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with the Duke's

:34:27. > :34:37.brother, Prince Harry. They're being met by the Deputy Lord

:34:37. > :34:55.

:34:55. > :35:00.Just spending a bit of time walking and talking which they do and have

:35:00. > :35:10.slotted in to this role beautifully. Those people will have been

:35:10. > :35:10.

:35:10. > :35:20.delighted to have met the Duchess today.

:35:20. > :35:22.

:35:22. > :35:31.That's looking back up Cadogan Pier. From where the Queen and the Duke

:35:31. > :35:41.of Edinburgh will ultimately alight. The Spirit of Chartwell which will

:35:41. > :35:59.

:35:59. > :36:06.take them down the river towards The Britannia launch just in the

:36:06. > :36:15.foreground there to the left hand side of that other ship, just at

:36:15. > :36:25.the bottom of the pier. Prince Charles is the man who will meet

:36:25. > :36:34.

:36:34. > :36:38.The atmosphere back at Cadogan Pier, which is about an eighth of a

:36:38. > :36:46.nautical mile away from the Chelsea Pier, absolutely incredible. If

:36:46. > :36:51.this is a sane of things to come, we are in for a fantastic day.

:36:51. > :36:57.-- sense of things to come, we are in for a fantastic day. Michael

:36:57. > :37:01.Locket and his wife, the Chief Executive officer of the Thames

:37:01. > :37:11.Jubilee Foundation. Just walking ahead of Prince Harry

:37:11. > :37:15.

:37:15. > :37:20.And those people who've waited patiently for so many hours have

:37:20. > :37:30.only had a brief glimpse of the Royal party but they'll be

:37:30. > :37:31.

:37:31. > :37:38.absolutely delighted. There is the Spirit of Chartwell. We'll be

:37:38. > :37:45.obviously talking about that a lot more throughout the afternoon. And

:37:46. > :37:55.and that is the boat that will take the Royal party at the Head of The

:37:56. > :38:11.

:38:11. > :38:21.Pageant right down to tower Bridge. The Deputy Lord lieutenant shaking

:38:21. > :38:37.

:38:37. > :38:43.hands there with the Duke of Prince William in his RAF uniform

:38:43. > :38:50.accompanied, of course, by his brother, Captain of the Army air

:38:50. > :39:00.corps in the Blues and Royals, number one ceremonial dress. The

:39:00. > :39:05.gentleman with his back to us, the Pageant master, Adrian Evans. He's

:39:05. > :39:14.been responsible for goodness only knows how long now for putting

:39:14. > :39:24.everything together. The Royal watermen greeting the Royal party

:39:24. > :39:25.

:39:25. > :39:35.as they come on board. So the advanced guard is on the Spirit of

:39:35. > :39:39.

:39:40. > :39:43.Chartwell as they wait for the guest of honour. Princess Elizabeth

:39:43. > :39:51.steam train on Battersea rail bridge. The train has been on the

:39:51. > :39:58.bridge since round about 2 o'clock, just a little while ago. There are

:39:58. > :40:08.four men on board. The chairman of the Princess Elizabeth locomotive

:40:08. > :40:11.

:40:11. > :40:15.society Ltd. He's the main man certainly. The crowd is building up

:40:15. > :40:25.superbly. There's a little bit of wind, but I don't think it's going

:40:25. > :40:29.to affect the passage of all the boats that are going to be on the

:40:29. > :40:34.river in just a little under half an hours' time. Down at Southwark

:40:34. > :40:39.now and the crowds here, goodness me, absolutely huge. Last time we

:40:39. > :40:47.saw crowds on the streets of London this big were back, of course, in

:40:47. > :40:57.April, when we had the London Marathon. And what a year it's

:40:57. > :41:00.

:41:00. > :41:04.We saw some Royals at Wembley yesterday when of course England

:41:05. > :41:09.beat Belgium 1-0. I'm sure football fans will realise that. And we saw

:41:09. > :41:19.some look-alikes there and we have a few here too.

:41:19. > :41:27.

:41:27. > :41:33.There is just a little preview of Pageants on the river have been

:41:33. > :41:39.going on for a long, long time, the first was 1843. And that is the

:41:39. > :41:49.Queen's car coming around the corner very shortly. In fact, it

:41:49. > :41:59.was the Lord Mayor's show that used to start on the river. That's why

:41:59. > :42:10.

:42:10. > :42:20.they were called floats in those Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth

:42:20. > :42:22.

:42:22. > :42:32.II. The Duke of Edinburgh too. Being greeted by Sir David Brewer.

:42:32. > :42:45.

:42:45. > :42:51.I do believe the crowd already are Simon Bait again of Chelsea

:42:51. > :43:01.Hospital introduces the 20 Chelsea Pensioners on what is their great

:43:01. > :43:04.

:43:04. > :43:14.day today as well. And these are all men and women who've seen

:43:14. > :43:16.

:43:16. > :43:26.service, active service for their country. Of course, there's a very

:43:26. > :43:39.

:43:40. > :43:47.strong relationship between the Donald Cosack was one of the

:43:47. > :43:57.gentlemen in the wheelchair. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of

:43:57. > :44:08.

:44:08. > :44:18.Cornwall meeting mother and mother- The Duke of Edinburgh just out of

:44:18. > :44:53.

:44:53. > :45:01.shot wearing his Admiral of the The six trumpeters of the Royal

:45:01. > :45:11.Marines on bought the Connaught. Mr Jason to the Britannia launch

:45:11. > :45:36.

:45:36. > :45:46.Certainly, the Queen will know the Britannia Launch well. Now she

:45:46. > :45:48.

:45:48. > :45:58.meets the Heralds, who are flanking her either side.

:45:58. > :46:16.

:46:16. > :46:23.Well, this is the Britannia Launch, of course, that is going to take

:46:23. > :46:33.the Royal Party about three- quarters of a mile up towards the

:46:33. > :46:34.

:46:34. > :46:44.Royal Barge. She was greeted on board, the Britannia Launch, by

:46:44. > :47:01.

:47:01. > :47:06.The Royal Launch, of course, of Her Majesty's yacht Britannia, was used

:47:06. > :47:15.while the Royal yacht was in service to convey the Queen from

:47:16. > :47:25.ship-to-shore. Decommissioned in 1997. The train sending her message

:47:26. > :48:03.

:48:04. > :48:13.to the Queen. For train enthusiasts, The Duke of Edinburgh recognising

:48:14. > :48:14.

:48:14. > :48:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:48:55. > :48:59.that these crowds are so The flotilla has begun. Amazing.

:48:59. > :49:04.The thing that strikes me is the look on the Queen's face. She looks

:49:04. > :49:14.so happy to be back on the Britannia Launch. Absolutely

:49:14. > :49:14.

:49:14. > :49:19.beaming. Fantastic. We are joined by Dr Anna Whitelock, historian,

:49:19. > :49:25.and also by Wesley Kerr. Amazing scenes. The Queen is thrilled by

:49:25. > :49:32.this. This is one of her favourite boats. Famously, she wept when

:49:32. > :49:38.Britannia was decommissioned in '97. Britannia, they said, was the only

:49:38. > :49:42.house that they owned that they were able to choose the interior

:49:42. > :49:46.furnishings for and they loved that ship. This was the little launch. I

:49:46. > :49:52.have been on that launch. When Britannia was out in the harbour,

:49:52. > :49:56.that will be the launch that would take you to parties. She is almost

:49:56. > :50:03.like a little girl. The wonderful thing I love about the Queen is

:50:03. > :50:07.that she loves every little outing. She loves to be busy. She loves to

:50:07. > :50:10.do her job. They didn't suggest this, the Palace. They have

:50:10. > :50:13.embraced it whole heartedly. She will be thinking of the wonderful

:50:13. > :50:18.enjoyment both the television viewers and the million people who

:50:18. > :50:23.are going to see it in her great capital city. She's opened half the

:50:23. > :50:31.buildings she will be passing today. What an amazing day for her today

:50:31. > :50:36.and for the Duke. To be there, on that launch that took her to the

:50:36. > :50:45.places... All round the Commonwealth. It was a proper ship.

:50:45. > :50:50.It was just so beautiful. 220 sailors it had. No shouted orders,

:50:50. > :50:58.just hand signals. It was their floating home. Anna, put this all

:50:58. > :51:02.in context. We are going to see 1,000 vessels on the River Thames.

:51:02. > :51:10.It is hugely significant. The association between the Royals and

:51:10. > :51:15.the river has gone back centuries, of course. Also, at key moments,

:51:15. > :51:18.the Royals have shown themselves on the river. It has been this great

:51:18. > :51:27.conveyor belt through history. The Royals have turned out on the river

:51:27. > :51:33.at times of celebration. We see that today. Famously, Charles II,

:51:33. > :51:37.after the restoration of the monarchy, he brings Katherine along

:51:37. > :51:46.the river to introduce her to the city at a time when she hasn't been

:51:46. > :51:50.crowned because she is Catholic. So, key moments. Anne Boleyn, of course,

:51:50. > :51:59.travelled along the Thames for her Coronation and then three years

:51:59. > :52:05.later, to the Tower of London. We saw the Canaletto painting. The

:52:05. > :52:09.Pageant Master has said, "What's going to be the Canaletto of

:52:09. > :52:15.today's image?" Who will be the next Canaletto? It will be an

:52:15. > :52:25.iconic moment to catch the Queen getting on and off the barge.

:52:25. > :52:27.

:52:27. > :52:32.Thames is so much narrower? Yes, the 1662 pageant was described by

:52:32. > :52:38.the bloggers of the day as, "The most spectacular pageant ever." Is

:52:38. > :52:42.this going to be a poor imitation? I don't think so! It is much

:52:42. > :52:52.narrower and more intense. The banks of the river are heaving.

:52:52. > :52:55.

:52:55. > :53:04.hope the wind stays down for the rowers. Rowing into a head wind --

:53:04. > :53:10.head-wind is not fun. People will see this as a key moment. The Royal

:53:10. > :53:14.Launch is ferrying the Queen to the Chelsea Pier. Britannia is moored

:53:14. > :53:24.permanently at Leith Docks and we are been finding out from some

:53:24. > :53:29.

:53:29. > :53:33.former crew members why it holds On the working parties that we

:53:33. > :53:37.On the working parties that we attend, it is a pilgrimage now. We

:53:37. > :53:46.all like to work out part of the ship. We have all got stories to

:53:46. > :53:56.tell, stories to relate to. This was my home for 11 years. This was

:53:56. > :53:56.

:53:56. > :54:04.my bunk. I think the great part of being on the Britannia was the soul,

:54:04. > :54:12.which was the people. It was all one big happy family. We worked for

:54:12. > :54:17.the Royal Family. I used to write scripts that involved ten or 12

:54:17. > :54:19.people. The band would assemble here. The audience would be here.

:54:20. > :54:25.Sitting right here would be the Royal Family. One of the greatest

:54:25. > :54:35.things about doing one of these performances was the pleasure to

:54:35. > :54:38.see Her Majesty the Queen laughing. It was a fabulous sensation.

:54:38. > :54:45.Britannia for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was always

:54:45. > :54:51.special. This was really the home that they made, coincident with

:54:51. > :54:59.being a Royal Yacht. She would travel abroad, meet all the people,

:54:59. > :55:05.she would come back, sit in her own quarters, relax, and she really did

:55:05. > :55:08.enjoy coming on board. She would walk around in a jumper and a pair

:55:08. > :55:18.of slacks and a headscarf and be relaxed knowing there was no

:55:18. > :55:19.

:55:19. > :55:29.paparazzi around the corner trying to take photographs. She said, "I'm

:55:29. > :55:34.12-13,000 miles from London. This is my home." This vessel was

:55:34. > :55:40.decommissioned on 11th December 1997. The Queen's Piper had come

:55:40. > :55:45.down from Balmoral. He was playing Highland Cathedral. The piece of

:55:45. > :55:48.music at that time was stunning. That is the time that the tears

:55:48. > :55:52.rolled down everybody's face. will always remain with all of us

:55:53. > :56:02.who were here at the end. It was a very moving day, there is no

:56:03. > :56:03.

:56:03. > :56:08.question about that. It is that line, 11,000 miles away, she felt

:56:08. > :56:14.as if she was at home. It was so important to her, Britannia? When

:56:14. > :56:24.she hosted a reception, she would just wander around like she would

:56:24. > :56:25.

:56:25. > :56:29.do at her house, and they were completely at ease. You could have

:56:29. > :56:33.grand things. They could host 250 people, or you could have intimate

:56:33. > :56:40.things. Famously, the summer holiday began every year going up

:56:40. > :56:45.the Western Isles of Scotland. Then having lunch with the Queen Mother,

:56:45. > :56:50.so they would come aboard on that launch. The Queen would greet them

:56:50. > :56:53.and give the most marvellous meal. This is some of the greatest

:56:53. > :56:58.occasions of their life as a occasions of their life as a

:56:58. > :57:04.married couple. Yeah. As well as being a great flagship for Britain.

:57:04. > :57:10.I remember seeing it in Belize and we had been on tour with her in

:57:10. > :57:20.South America. There was the ship. Her joy as she walked along the

:57:20. > :57:32.

:57:32. > :57:38.gangways. I remember her once saying to me in the Cayman Islands,

:57:38. > :57:46."I'm so glad we brought the boat this time!" She is so happy to be

:57:46. > :57:51.back on it. They love boats. They were on a canal barge in Burnley,

:57:51. > :57:59.an amphibious vehicle in Liverpool and a ship at Els mere port. They

:57:59. > :58:03.love boats. Their -- at Ellesmere Port. They love boats. Her

:58:03. > :58:09.grandfather was a sailor. Two of her kids were sailors. They just

:58:09. > :58:13.love ships. What do you think she will make... She is about to reach

:58:13. > :58:20.the Royal Barge. We can see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. What

:58:20. > :58:23.will she make of that? It's the marvellous combination of spectacle

:58:23. > :58:29.and intimacy, which is the great joy of having a family on the

:58:29. > :58:34.throne. There she is, about to see her kids, her grandkids. It's a

:58:34. > :58:37.family outing. We can all take part in that outing. What a joyous

:58:37. > :58:40.occasion. People say the Queen has seen everything before. She won't

:58:40. > :58:45.have seen anything like today. is an interesting point. This isn't

:58:45. > :58:53.the first time she has been on the water in Jubilee terms? Nothing so

:58:53. > :58:57.grand. In 1977, there was - she progressed from Greenwich to

:58:57. > :59:01.Lambeth for the Silver Jubilee. There was a pageant then. It was

:59:01. > :59:08.only 140 boats. Famously, when she came back from the Commonwealth

:59:08. > :59:12.tour on Britannia in 1954, she came here to the pool of London, where

:59:12. > :59:22.we are, with Churchill on board. It is so much part of our history, so

:59:22. > :59:24.

:59:24. > :59:27.much part of her history, the family history. The Royal Watermen

:59:27. > :59:37.on board the Britannia Launch getting everything absolutely

:59:37. > :59:42.perfect. The Queen will alight a ship she knows so well. Then to

:59:42. > :59:47.move on to the Royal Barge. Everybody is looking forward to

:59:47. > :59:51.seeing this magnificent craft, The Spirit of Chartwell, slip her

:59:52. > :00:01.moorings and head off downstream towards Tower Bridge. That is when

:00:02. > :00:13.

:00:13. > :00:23.the pageant really gets under way. The many guests on board can't wait

:00:23. > :00:44.

:00:44. > :00:54.for the presence of the Queen and 220 feet in length, that's a little

:00:54. > :00:59.under 70 metres. 22 feet wide, just over six-and-a-half metres. Has a

:00:59. > :01:09.maximum speed of 12 knots but I don't think she'll need to go that

:01:09. > :01:10.

:01:10. > :01:20.quick here today. It's a big craft. Looks absolutely resplendent.

:01:20. > :01:21.

:01:21. > :01:31.Bedecked with flowers and plants. And very rich velvet there down the

:01:31. > :01:39.

:01:39. > :01:43.side of the boat. Gold medallions embossing the velvet swags. Luckily,

:01:43. > :01:52.if it starts to rain heavily, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

:01:52. > :02:02.will sit at the top of this craft. The Royal Standard being raised to

:02:02. > :02:02.

:02:02. > :02:12.show the presence of the Queen. That gilding is absolutely

:02:12. > :02:17.

:02:17. > :02:23.A top British craftsman been working on that craft creating

:02:23. > :02:33.magnificent gilded sculptures, just to decorate the boat. Looks

:02:33. > :02:49.

:02:49. > :02:59.The wind seems to be picking up a little bit. As we can see from the

:02:59. > :03:06.

:03:06. > :03:12.Pennants which are almost parallel to the deck. The Queen and the Duke

:03:12. > :03:22.of Edinburgh are on board. Adrian Evans, the Pageant Master greets

:03:22. > :03:51.

:03:51. > :04:01.Gentleman with his back to us there, Admiral Mark Stanner, the First Sea

:04:01. > :04:06.

:04:06. > :04:14.Lord, greets members of the Royal This really must be a fantastic day

:04:14. > :04:22.for the Queen. I'm sure we'll be talking throughout the afternoon

:04:22. > :04:32.about some of the changes she's seen since she came to the throne.

:04:32. > :04:59.

:04:59. > :05:02.I don't think I've seen the Queen smile so much in such a short time.

:05:02. > :05:06.Wonderful to see. And the barge looks amazing. While

:05:06. > :05:08.the Queen greets some of her guests, we'll go to some of London's most

:05:08. > :05:16.famous bridges, because along the Thames, we have, not just hundreds

:05:16. > :05:22.of thousands of people, but also an army of reporters. Let's say hello.

:05:22. > :05:26.Right, I'm on Westminster Bridge, we've got a huge crowd here and

:05:26. > :05:31.they're all... CHEERING Are they ready to cheer?!

:05:31. > :05:34.This is my old stomping ground, the Palace of Westminster, but I've

:05:34. > :05:38.never seen anything like this, we are all excited getting ready for

:05:38. > :05:45.the boats to come up here. I'll be talking about the pomp and

:05:45. > :05:55.pageantry with the actor, Richard E Grant. We are going to be here in

:05:55. > :05:59.

:05:59. > :06:03.the best place on the front row of Over the centuries, hundreds of

:06:03. > :06:08.artists have turned to the River Thames for inspiration. We've seen

:06:08. > :06:12.the famous Canaletto who created a verys a tellically pleasing London,

:06:12. > :06:18.for the may nous 19th century artists like Turner, Whistler and

:06:18. > :06:22.Monet, they wanted realism, they wanted to relish the grimey

:06:22. > :06:28.underbelly of London and most of all, they loved weather. Plenty of

:06:28. > :06:32.that today. The wind, rain, fog, mist, you name it. I'm on the

:06:32. > :06:36.millennium Bridge, it's become the arts and cafs Bridge for today and

:06:36. > :06:42.here with 20 artists, we are all here to capture the moment that the

:06:42. > :06:47.Royal Pageant flows past us -- arts and crafts. We want to put our own

:06:47. > :06:51.unique stamp on this grand moment in history.

:06:51. > :06:55.This impressive London landmark has been painted a good few times. This,

:06:55. > :06:57.of course, is Tower Bridge and I'm in the crowd, we are all very

:06:57. > :07:02.excited because we are going to... CHEERING

:07:02. > :07:06.We are going to be here for a fantastic finale. We are in prime

:07:06. > :07:10.position. Just to let you know what is coming up. We have a man here

:07:11. > :07:13.later who knows everything there is to know about Tower Bridge and all

:07:13. > :07:19.the architectural gems up and down the rufr Thames, Dan Cruickshank

:07:19. > :07:23.will be talking us through that. We'll speak to the tourer Bridge

:07:23. > :07:27.master who'll be feeling nervous, Eric Suthern, because he has the

:07:27. > :07:33.job of raising the bridge to let the flotilla pass through. And, we

:07:33. > :07:40.are going to be entertained this afternoon by the cast of The

:07:40. > :07:49.Horrible Histories. Enchente... Charles II.

:07:49. > :07:53.I know who you are. Sian having a lovely time there.

:07:53. > :07:57.Enchente. Very clever. I have to say, I went

:07:57. > :08:02.on board the Royal Barge about two weeks ago and it did not look like

:08:02. > :08:09.that. That's Gloriana isn't it? That's why it didn't look like that.

:08:09. > :08:15.I thought they were zooming out. That is Spirit of Chartwell. That

:08:15. > :08:19.is it. 24 carat gold. Look at that! Spectacular, absolutely amazing.

:08:19. > :08:23.The flowers done by Rachel de Thame, thousands of blooms on to the decks

:08:23. > :08:27.she's put on there, the thrones which have been specially made. And

:08:27. > :08:32.Adrian who's talking her through all of this, what a moment for him.

:08:32. > :08:35.Can you imagine sleeping last night for him? It's three years in the

:08:35. > :08:39.making this. Three years he's been preparing this, and this is the big

:08:39. > :08:42.day. The weather could have been better but actually, it's holding

:08:42. > :08:47.on. She's just beaming though isn't she, just so can't wait to sit down

:08:47. > :08:53.and get going. Yes, she's just nodding him through now saying, can

:08:54. > :08:57.we sit down and get on with it. She'll spend 75 minutes between

:08:57. > :09:02.Cadogan Pier and up here to Tower Bridge and she'll be spending most

:09:02. > :09:05.of that time, if not all, on deck, very aware that the public have

:09:05. > :09:14.come out thousands and thousands of people on the river banks just to

:09:14. > :09:19.see her on show on the Royal Barge. There we are, setting the tempo.

:09:19. > :09:22.The watermen. The boat that will be leading this historic pageant is

:09:22. > :09:26.called the Belfry, a boat with eight bells on board, each bell

:09:26. > :09:31.named after one of the senior Royals, the biggest being the

:09:31. > :09:34.Queen's. The Belfry weighser in nearly 11 tonnes and will be

:09:34. > :09:38.ringing out pretty much continuously along the way which

:09:38. > :09:42.will be incredible. Along the route, bells in churches in London and

:09:42. > :09:46.across the UK will answer it as it goes. That is something like 1,000

:09:46. > :09:51.bells ringing out. So if you can hear bells wherever you are in a

:09:52. > :09:55.village, you will know what is going on. The sound generator will

:09:55. > :10:00.not need any amplification, but right on board the Belfry leading

:10:00. > :10:04.the way in this pageant is John Barrowman. How are you getting on?

:10:04. > :10:08.I'm doing very well. A little cold, but can I say how amazing and crazy

:10:08. > :10:12.this barge is. Look just above us. We have eight of the most glorious

:10:12. > :10:16.bells that are going to be ringing out in celebration of the Jubilee.

:10:16. > :10:21.They're just starting now. It's going to get very loud. Later on in

:10:21. > :10:28.the pageant, I'm going to give a try at ringing the bells with these

:10:29. > :10:32.guys, dick enson Dickon Love and his Team will be doing this. The

:10:32. > :10:36.tunes are very difficult. I'll hand back to the studio because we are

:10:36. > :10:41.now starting the river pageant, it's going to be amazing and it's a

:10:41. > :10:51.day when we should all be proud to be British! Listen to the bells -

:10:51. > :10:54.

:10:55. > :11:02.What a delight they are. Thanks ever so much, John.

:11:02. > :11:05.Court of Appeal that is going to be, coming up on the Thames -- call to

:11:05. > :11:09.peel. Angelica Bell is at one of the most famous Hospitals in the

:11:09. > :11:12.world, St Thomas', and is hoping to meet some Jubilee babies born on

:11:12. > :11:17.this historic weekend. Any news yet?

:11:17. > :11:20.Lots of news. Hello and welcome to the Garden Room on the maternity

:11:20. > :11:24.ward here. We are on the seventh floor directly opposite the Houses

:11:24. > :11:28.of Parliament and has a spectacular view of the River Thames, as you

:11:28. > :11:31.can see, and of the flotilla that will come by in an hour. St Thomas'

:11:31. > :11:36.Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in the world and during

:11:36. > :11:40.the reign of Queen Elizabeth, they have delivered 250,000 babies. This

:11:40. > :11:48.is the perfect place to be to welcome in our Jubilee babies. We

:11:48. > :11:52.have got a couple here recorded now. Eli here, he was six pounds seven.

:11:52. > :11:56.Down here we have a baby girl, four pounds four ounces, so cute,

:11:56. > :12:00.haven't got a name yet and I'm thinking Elizabeth might work. Over

:12:00. > :12:07.here some new parents, Sian and Graham. Thank you so much for

:12:07. > :12:12.talking to us. Who do we have her? Helena Molly Anne townsend. What

:12:12. > :12:15.did she way? Seven pounds nine ounces. An hour old and you look

:12:15. > :12:20.incredible. Well done mummy and daddy too. It's a great weekend to

:12:20. > :12:23.have a baby isn't it the Unbelievable. We knew about this

:12:23. > :12:26.facility here and it was amazing place and we were hoping we could

:12:26. > :12:29.get here today. As it happens I thought it was game over on

:12:29. > :12:34.Thursday, I got the call back to London, got here, it was a false

:12:34. > :12:39.alarm. Anyway, at that stage, I asked Sian to cross her legs for

:12:39. > :12:43.48-hours knowing we could hold off to get a great view of the pageant

:12:43. > :12:47.today. Fantastic. Helena must have listened to you and done what she's

:12:47. > :12:52.told. The only time she's ever going to pay any attention to her

:12:52. > :12:55.father. We have a present for her here which says "I'm a Jubilee

:12:55. > :13:00.Baby". Excellent. Come back to us and

:13:00. > :13:06.hopefully we'll have some more arrivals, but bye for now.

:13:06. > :13:09.Great! The Royal arrivals have happened, an Eli and baby girl with

:13:09. > :13:13.no name. I love the fact that her husband asked her to cross her legs

:13:13. > :13:19.so they could be here today. Can you imagine when you are out here!

:13:19. > :13:24.There is an estimated 10,000 street parties and celebrations around the

:13:24. > :13:28.country, Tess Daly is getting into the Jubilee spirit at Battersea

:13:28. > :13:34.Park Festival, wonder if she's still jiving, the world's longest

:13:34. > :13:38.jive if she is. Still jiving. Ooh. Thank you very much. That's why you

:13:38. > :13:41.don't see me dancing much on Strictly Come Dancing! This

:13:41. > :13:48.bandstand in Battersea Park is dedicated to the Coronation era. As

:13:48. > :13:50.you can see, it's in full swing right now with music and dancing

:13:50. > :13:57.from every decade since 19 52. There's so much happening here

:13:57. > :14:01.today in the park to celebrate 60 years at the Queen's rule, with

:14:02. > :14:05.music, fashion and food. Fabulous. There is a competition to blow the

:14:05. > :14:12.world's tallest cake coming up. A rumage through vintage memorabilia

:14:12. > :14:16.coming up too. It will be wonderful. I'll join the crowds hoping to

:14:16. > :14:23.catch a glimpse of the Queen when she arrives at Cadogan Pier in a

:14:23. > :14:32.few moments' time. We have a Bird's Eye view here so join us more. I'm

:14:32. > :14:37.dancing! Bye! Fantastic.

:14:37. > :14:42.Brilliant. OK, let's have a quick look out at

:14:42. > :14:46.the river now. This is just fantastic. Albert Bridge. That is

:14:46. > :14:52.the manpowered section you can just catch Gloriana and there's the

:14:52. > :14:57.Belfry which will be leading the way. The bells already peeling out.

:14:57. > :15:03.John Barrowman to the left. That's the Gloriana, that beautiful

:15:03. > :15:11.boat built by Mark Edwards from Richmond who's built a few of these

:15:11. > :15:17.boats actually, The Jubilant also and he did one for the Queen's

:15:17. > :15:22.Golden Jubilee I think it was. A real master boat builder. I think

:15:22. > :15:26.your dad is off to the left. About ten rows back. Dressed like

:15:26. > :15:36.something out of Alice in Wonderland. When he's in vision,

:15:36. > :15:37.

:15:37. > :15:41.We all know about the Royal Barge. On the boat that you just saw, the

:15:41. > :15:51.Royal Row Barge, Gloriana, that has some precious cargo on it, indeed.

:15:51. > :16:05.

:16:05. > :16:10.There's some very special people on there rowing. In the stroke

:16:10. > :16:16.position, to the right-hand side, we have Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir

:16:16. > :16:21.Matthew Pinsent. We also have a couple of Olympic silver medallists

:16:21. > :16:25.behind them. Also, we have Clare Balding.

:16:25. > :16:31.This is extraordinary. Gloriana, built especially for the Diamond

:16:31. > :16:37.Jubilee, named in honour of Elizabeth I, built in honour of

:16:37. > :16:44.Elizabeth II. Look at this, 18 rowers setting the pace for the

:16:44. > :16:50.man-powered division. We have 260 boats in the man-powered. So Sir

:16:50. > :17:00.Matthew Pinsent here setting the pace of four knots. We have Sir

:17:00. > :17:02.

:17:02. > :17:10.Steve Redgrave over here. The tough thing for people as competitive as

:17:10. > :17:20.this is to row steady. Four knots is the pace. We have ex-servicemen,

:17:20. > :17:25.we have the guys who rowed naked across the Atlantic! I will be

:17:25. > :17:35.trying to talk to a few of those. We have just passed the Queen on

:17:35. > :17:41.

:17:41. > :17:51.the Royal Barge. This is the head I have to be honest, the two Sirs

:17:51. > :17:51.

:17:51. > :18:01.are looking a bit puffed-out there! It truly is a beautiful craft. 90-

:18:01. > :18:02.

:18:02. > :18:12.feet-long. The largest road vessel -- rowed vessel in the UK. That is

:18:12. > :18:12.

:18:12. > :18:22.the view the Royal Party have got. Gloriana begins to creep past. A

:18:22. > :18:23.

:18:23. > :18:32.lovely moment for all of those people on board. All the man-

:18:32. > :18:42.powered craft begin to make their way past. The pageant is well and

:18:42. > :18:59.

:18:59. > :19:05.Well, we can see the mass of boats moving down the river towards Tower

:19:05. > :19:08.Bridge. A little bit further up from where we are, currently, as

:19:08. > :19:13.the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh watch on, we have Chris Hollins

:19:13. > :19:18.waiting for the first arrivals. Thank you very much, indeed. You

:19:18. > :19:24.can probably sense and hear the crowd at Battersea Park behind me

:19:24. > :19:31.as the man-powered section, led by the Gloriana, comes towards us. I

:19:31. > :19:37.must say how windy it is down here on the River Thames. It will be

:19:37. > :19:43.extremely hard work, not necessarily for Sir Steve Redgrave

:19:43. > :19:46.and Sir Matthew Pinsent, but let's say for the less-qualified rowers

:19:46. > :19:52.further behind. They have to be speeding along here at four knots

:19:52. > :19:59.for 15 miles! It should be extremely hard work. We are getting

:19:59. > :20:04.very excited as this glorious boat approaches us here. We can see the

:20:04. > :20:10.colour, the splendour. It is a remarkable scene here. The crowds

:20:10. > :20:15.have been waiting so long to see this in the damp and the cold. Now,

:20:15. > :20:19.that glorious moment has arrived for them. A long way to go for some

:20:19. > :20:25.of these rowers. I was talking to them earlier. They were looking

:20:25. > :20:31.forward to it. This is the moment they have been training for for so

:20:31. > :20:37.very long. At the top of the programme, we

:20:37. > :20:44.showed you that wonderful picture by Canaletto and I guess these

:20:44. > :20:51.pictures here are the BBC's Canaletto moment. These beautiful

:20:51. > :21:01.craft just easing past The Spirit of Chartwell, on the left-hand side

:21:01. > :21:07.

:21:07. > :21:12.In a few moments' time, we will be having all of these man-powered

:21:12. > :21:22.craft, with their own special salute to the Queen on her day of

:21:22. > :21:22.

:21:22. > :22:03.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:22:03. > :22:13.There really is smiles all round at Well, in amongst these man-powered

:22:13. > :22:13.

:22:13. > :22:19.boats, is a chap called Ben Fogle. There he is. Can you hear us, Ben?

:22:19. > :22:24.I can, thank you. It is an unbelievable feeling down here. We

:22:24. > :22:34.are going past Her Majesty the Queen, The Spirit of Chartwell. It

:22:34. > :22:36.

:22:36. > :22:46.is absolutely magnificent. I'm just doing my Royal Salute! Hip, hip,

:22:46. > :22:53.

:22:53. > :23:03.hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! That's Garrison Sergeant

:23:03. > :23:05.

:23:05. > :23:09.Major Bill Mott. Those people who remember Ben Fogle and James

:23:09. > :23:19.Cracknell rowing the Atlantic. I'm so glad they have decided to put

:23:19. > :23:27.

:23:27. > :23:35.Absolutely stunning pictures. You can certainly see... Hip, hip,

:23:35. > :23:38.hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! I was about to say you can

:23:38. > :23:45.certainly see how the wind has picked up. Then it struck me, you

:23:45. > :23:55.certainly need a big voice to be a Garrison Sergeant Major! Bill Mott

:23:55. > :24:15.

:24:15. > :24:22.The sight of all these boats takes you back a couple of hundred years,

:24:22. > :24:27.really, when engines were a thing of the future and all power was

:24:27. > :24:36.provided by the human form. Luckily, the Queen doesn't have to worry

:24:36. > :24:46.about that today. You can just sit as a passenger and watch the world

:24:46. > :24:57.

:24:57. > :25:03.go by. The banks of Battersea Park are packed. In the foreground there,

:25:03. > :25:09.Ben Fogle. He looks very comfortable. He is a good all-round

:25:09. > :25:19.sportsman. I think that's Blue Peter's Helen Skelton sitting

:25:19. > :25:32.

:25:32. > :25:38.The five or six miles that Ben and his crew are rowing this time, a

:25:38. > :25:47.far cry from that epic journey that he made a few years ago across the

:25:47. > :25:53.Atlantic. Albert Bridge in the background. It's one of the most

:25:53. > :25:58.beautiful bridges, especially in the evening when it's lit up.

:25:58. > :26:04.Sometimes known as "the trembling lady" because of the tendency to

:26:04. > :26:14.wobble, especially when troops from the nearby Chelsea Barracks go

:26:14. > :26:17.

:26:17. > :26:27.Well, in case you are wondering what's happened to the Royal Barge,

:26:27. > :26:28.

:26:28. > :26:35.it is still moored at Cadogan Pier. As soon as this section of boats

:26:35. > :26:38.has moved past, the Royal Barge, The Spirit of Chartwell, will just

:26:38. > :26:42.ease away from Cadogan Pier into the middle of the River Thames.

:26:42. > :26:52.This is the first of all of the sections of boats that are involved

:26:52. > :27:01.

:27:01. > :27:07.BELLS RING I am sure you can hear - there we

:27:07. > :27:17.are - I was about to mention the bells. The Belfry heading up this

:27:17. > :27:27.pageant here today. They will eventually end up as the Royal

:27:27. > :27:38.

:27:38. > :27:45.Jubilee Bells in their new home at BAND PLAYS

:27:45. > :27:51.We promised you a lot of fun. These guys and girls are certainly having

:27:51. > :27:55.to do a lot of work. You have to say the atmosphere is a real

:27:55. > :28:05.carnival atmosphere down on the River Thames and on the banks, too.

:28:05. > :28:07.

:28:07. > :28:17.Indeed, on the Royal Barge, too. There are still many, many boats to

:28:17. > :28:19.

:28:19. > :28:25.come. There's the Worcester Busters, one of the many dragonboats that

:28:25. > :28:33.are in this first part of the pageant. I have a feeling that one,

:28:33. > :28:43.all the paddlers there are all survivors of cancer. What a

:28:43. > :28:45.

:28:45. > :28:50.beautiful shot. I did mention the number of medallists that were in

:28:50. > :29:00.that boat. As well as Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent,

:29:00. > :29:06.

:29:07. > :29:16.we have the sisters who won a silver medal in Sydney in 2000. The

:29:17. > :29:17.

:29:17. > :29:23.Maori rowers there. Always look war-like. You would hate to play

:29:23. > :29:33.rugby against them after seeing a Haka. I am promised they are all

:29:33. > :29:46.

:29:46. > :29:56.The Spirit of Chartwell just being And some of the Venetians that are

:29:56. > :30:07.

:30:07. > :30:17.It's so, so colourful out there today. Sometimes the River Thames

:30:17. > :30:17.

:30:17. > :30:27.looks a bit grey, looks a bit dark and there's plenty of colour on

:30:27. > :30:36.

:30:36. > :30:41.display here today. Just fabulous. So much response

:30:41. > :30:44.from the crowds on the banks and bridges as well. People on their

:30:44. > :30:48.balconies and flats and just all the way down you are hearing cheers

:30:48. > :30:53.and seaing flags being waved. The make-up of this boat, both in terms

:30:53. > :30:57.of the crew that are rowing it, all 18 people and the guests on board,

:30:57. > :31:00.very much with the message of empowering those who're able-bodied

:31:00. > :31:04.or disabled because we have injured servicemen on board here and

:31:04. > :31:09.encouraging all of them to take to the water and feel the thrill of

:31:09. > :31:19.this motion. In terms of this Royal rowing barge, glor glor, it was

:31:19. > :31:29.

:31:29. > :31:39.years in conception, but it took I think if the Gloriana slows down,

:31:39. > :31:40.

:31:40. > :31:47.somebody should get Clare to to a leg or two. 260 or so manpowered

:31:47. > :31:54.boats. They've already gone past the Spirit of Chartwell, so won't

:31:54. > :32:00.be too long before the Spirit of Chartwell undergoes her journey as

:32:00. > :32:10.all the flags of the Commonwealth countries come past. All the boats

:32:10. > :32:27.

:32:27. > :32:31.crewed by sea cadets from all over Certainly people in the parade

:32:31. > :32:41.today from all over the world representing many, many parts of

:32:41. > :33:05.

:33:05. > :33:11.We've obviously got a little problem. We'll catch up with Chris

:33:11. > :33:19.a little later on as we just concentrate for a little longer on

:33:19. > :33:29.the manpowered boats. There once again are the gondolas with the

:33:29. > :33:29.

:33:29. > :33:35.Italian contingent. Beautiful boats aren't they? Always think they must

:33:35. > :33:40.be devilishly difficult to steer. But these guys are doing a grand

:33:40. > :33:50.job. One of the Maori canoes just on the far side there, the War

:33:50. > :33:54.

:33:55. > :33:57.I think we've solved the problem, so we can now catch up with Chris

:33:57. > :34:01.Hollins. Yes, thank you very much indeed. We

:34:01. > :34:04.had a slight problem with the microphone, probably due to the

:34:04. > :34:08.excitement. The majority of the manpower section going through

:34:08. > :34:11.there, the remnants there as they power their way through, the

:34:11. > :34:15.Venetian gondola just at the end bringing up the rear. But they are

:34:15. > :34:19.working extremely hard. We had a couple of chats with some Indians

:34:19. > :34:23.in the canoes making various noises but they said they might be out of

:34:23. > :34:28.breath at the end. If they get out of breath, these guys will come

:34:28. > :34:31.into action, the RNLI, cruising up and down the emergency lane. If

:34:31. > :34:34.they can't keep up the pace of four knots, they'll just be dragged

:34:34. > :34:40.along. They are on duty, concentrating all the time, and

:34:40. > :34:44.we'll monitor them and the Port of London Authority, as they just help

:34:44. > :34:54.this fantastic sight, the flotilla of boats, make their way up the

:34:54. > :34:58.

:34:58. > :35:02.river. It's fantastic. I hope you The Queen certainly waiting

:35:02. > :35:12.patiently for the Spirit of Chartwell to move out to join its

:35:12. > :35:18.

:35:18. > :35:22.Boris Johnson once again elected as Mayor of London enjoying himself,

:35:22. > :35:30.as he tends to do on these occasions. Also the Lord Mayor of

:35:30. > :35:34.the City of London standing to the right hand side. Of course, the

:35:34. > :35:39.Lord Mayor's pageant every year is another great spectacle in London

:35:39. > :35:49.that we can look forward to later on this year.

:35:49. > :36:01.

:36:01. > :36:06.One of the last occasions when pictures came from the River Thames

:36:06. > :36:13.some years ago now was the funeral of a great statesman, Sir Winston

:36:13. > :36:19.Churchill. It was this boat that brought his coffin down the River

:36:19. > :36:29.Thames. On that occasion, I remember the crowds were absolutely

:36:29. > :36:34.

:36:34. > :36:44.immense. That is Trinity no 1 Bot, Master of the Trinity House. Vice

:36:44. > :36:45.

:36:45. > :36:51.Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence there. And the barge finally moves away from

:36:51. > :37:01.the pier to begin her journey five miles or so down the river, to pass

:37:01. > :37:04.

:37:04. > :37:14.some amazing landmarks. Princess Anne's boat will form part of the

:37:14. > :37:28.

:37:28. > :37:33.squadron of vessels that will be The organisers have done an

:37:33. > :37:40.absolutely magnificent job, not just on the sprirt of Chartwell but

:37:40. > :37:46.on the whole day so far the Royal Barge moving out into the centre of

:37:46. > :37:56.the river where it will join the flotilla of boats. We just saw a

:37:56. > :37:56.

:37:56. > :38:02.glimpse there of all the heralds which will just move ahead of the

:38:02. > :38:09.Royal Barge. The flags of the Commonwealth just

:38:09. > :38:19.ahead of them. I've got a feeling Trinity no 1 with Princess Anne is

:38:19. > :38:37.

:38:37. > :38:41.They're just about there in terms of the Royal Barge moving forwards.

:38:41. > :38:51.The Duke of Edinburgh certainly seems to be enjoying himself here

:38:51. > :39:03.

:39:03. > :39:09.As the Connaught moves ahead of the Absolute precision as the Royal

:39:09. > :39:19.Barge slots into line just behind the four boats that are in front of

:39:19. > :39:31.

:39:31. > :39:38.The Middleton family present, two thirds of the way on the left hand

:39:38. > :39:48.side there, Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge.

:39:48. > :39:49.

:39:49. > :39:55.They're on board the Elizabethan. Mrs Carol Middleton there in the

:39:55. > :40:02.cream top and skirt. Her husband standing too to the right hand side

:40:02. > :40:12.away from her along with sister of the Duchess, Pippa, and the brother

:40:12. > :40:42.

:40:42. > :40:46.Certainly the manpowered boats have I suppose this is one of the

:40:46. > :40:51.occasions where you really have to be there to just soak up the

:40:51. > :40:56.atmosphere and understand what it means to all the spectators. The

:40:56. > :41:06.atmosphere on the banks and on the bridges, absolutely electric.

:41:06. > :41:44.

:41:44. > :41:48.I tell you, Thousands of people standing here on the river banks

:41:48. > :41:52.behind us. They are not seeing these pictures, they have no idea

:41:52. > :41:55.what is heading their way. This is where it will all finish in about

:41:55. > :42:01.an hour and a quarter up at Tower Bridge. Extraordinary scenes. If

:42:01. > :42:05.you are not sure what to expect, this is the order the flotilla will

:42:05. > :42:09.follow. The Royal Jubilee Bells is the first of ten music barges

:42:09. > :42:13.making each of the sections of boats taking part in this

:42:13. > :42:17.procession. That's where John Barrowman is, we saw him earlier

:42:17. > :42:23.having a go at rigging that. Following that, the Gloriana and

:42:23. > :42:28.behind her, the 250 row boats which are actings a the pace setters for

:42:28. > :42:32.the flotilla. Then there are kayaks and dragon boats, as well as other

:42:32. > :42:36.boats in the man-powered section. Flags of the Commonwealth then and

:42:36. > :42:38.the Royal section headed by the Royal Barge carrying the Queen, the

:42:38. > :42:43.Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family. Behind them,

:42:43. > :42:46.we haven't seen much of them yet, but we'll find the Dunkirk litp

:42:46. > :42:50.ships and other historic vessels which make up the biggest

:42:50. > :42:54.collection of historic boats ever to assemble on the River Thames.

:42:54. > :42:59.Then time for the service botss that work on the river on a daily

:42:59. > :43:05.basis -- boats. Steam and working vessels, leisure, recreation,

:43:05. > :43:10.motorboats, narrow boats and barges and then the passenger boats. And

:43:10. > :43:15.bringing it all up at the tail end of this huge procession, 1,000

:43:15. > :43:19.vessels is the London Philharmonic Orchestra who will be entertaining

:43:19. > :43:23.us all along the way marking the end of the pageant when they

:43:23. > :43:28.finally arrive here at Tower Bridge. Amazing. Thankfully they haven't

:43:28. > :43:36.played singing in the rain just yet. All the umbrellas are down, I think

:43:36. > :43:40.we are OK, the rain is holding off. A bit too much rain and wind for my

:43:40. > :43:44.liking for the rowers. Back to Battersea Park, Tess Daly

:43:44. > :43:48.is there soaking up the atmosphere at a huge party.

:43:48. > :43:54.We are all very excited here because we've just this moment seen

:43:54. > :43:59.the Queen going by. Brilliant. Lots of whooping and hollering over

:43:59. > :44:04.here. The last time that Battersea Park saw an event like this was in

:44:04. > :44:07.1951 for the Festival of Britain when the park was turned into a

:44:07. > :44:12.pleasure garden. Margaret and Fred you were here in 1951, you are here

:44:12. > :44:18.today, it must be a very special day for you both? It is, it's very

:44:18. > :44:22.special to be back here. Seeing the Queen again? I didn't see the Queen,

:44:22. > :44:27.I must admit last time, I saw a beautiful festival, but I didn't

:44:27. > :44:32.see the Queen. Fred, does it bring back special memories for you back

:44:32. > :44:37.here today Absolutely. It was a brilliant time, 1951, the war just

:44:37. > :44:43.finished a few years and everybody was really happy. Everyone was

:44:43. > :44:49.celebrating the end of austerity weren't they? Yes. And we have

:44:49. > :44:53.found an MBE. Why are you an MBE? For services to the Lord's justices,

:44:53. > :44:58.I work at the law courts. I believe you met the Queen not once but

:44:58. > :45:04.twice. How was that? Oh, delightful, an occasion never to be forgotten.

:45:04. > :45:07.Did you have a little chat? I did indeed. Shake hands? Yes and it was

:45:08. > :45:11.lovely. Congratulations. And Harold, I believe you are celebrating the

:45:11. > :45:17.diversity of the Commonwealth today. You look fabulous. Thank you very

:45:17. > :45:21.much, so do you. We have another artist, we are doing Commonwealth

:45:21. > :45:26.Queen make-overs. There's a bee on you. So we are transforming people

:45:26. > :45:30.into different Commonwealth and Caribbean and African Queens,

:45:30. > :45:34.Indian Princesses. We are doing that all day in the park. I'll make

:45:34. > :45:40.Weiwei over for a make-over later. It would be great to transform you.

:45:40. > :45:44.And an Italian lady, what are you doing here? I love this country,

:45:44. > :45:52.married an Englishman and aisle here to celebrate with everybody

:45:52. > :45:59.else. This is a piece of history, the Coronation was great, I have

:45:59. > :46:06.memorabilia from that. Look at that. Genuine vintage ribbon from 19 52?

:46:06. > :46:08.As you can see. Head-to-toe, you look gorgeous. Today is a

:46:08. > :46:18.celebration of British culture here at the Diamond Jubilee Festival and

:46:18. > :46:19.

:46:19. > :46:24.the Queen is a huge part of that. Thank you. I can't believe how well

:46:24. > :46:33.The Spirit of Chartwell moved up. We will go back down into the

:46:33. > :46:43.action to see Clare Balding on the Gloriana.

:46:43. > :46:47.

:46:48. > :46:53.We have Will Dixon here. He has rowed the Atlantic, 3,000 miles of

:46:53. > :47:03.it. Will, how much of an honour is it to have been invited to row on

:47:03. > :47:11.

:47:11. > :47:20.board Gloriana? Incredible. We would have been very surprised to

:47:20. > :47:26.be leading on Gloriana. It is an inspiring crew to be part of. A

:47:26. > :47:36.couple of old duffers at the front! A real mix of individuals and

:47:36. > :47:37.

:47:37. > :47:41.stories on board. The man who won his fifth gold medal, he is

:47:41. > :47:47.stroking the boat. How is it feeling? Really good. Amazing

:47:47. > :47:51.crowds. I have rowed in some big crowds before, but not into the

:47:51. > :47:55.millions, as it is here. In terms of things you have done, where does

:47:55. > :48:01.this rank? Very special. It is right up there. As long as we get

:48:01. > :48:07.there first! We are trying not to race. It is a fantastic honour.

:48:07. > :48:10.When I was asked to put a crew together, all my first choices came

:48:10. > :48:20.forward. Everyone was really excited. Were you the chief

:48:20. > :48:27.selector? Sort of, yes. Lord Stirling was the guy that's in

:48:27. > :48:34.charge. I was blown away when I saw the boat in its shell form. To see

:48:34. > :48:38.it now, it is unbelievable! It is a beautiful rowing barge. It has such

:48:38. > :48:43.a great atmosphere on board. All of them putting in a fair bit of

:48:43. > :48:48.effort. Look at Sir Matthew Pinsent, a man who once had the most lung

:48:48. > :48:54.capacity of any athlete, didn't you? That was some record. It was

:48:54. > :48:57.all right. I'm using a bit of it now! Keeping you warm? That is

:48:57. > :49:05.right. You are setting a beautiful pace. Gloriana making its way down

:49:05. > :49:13.the river. We can start to see the London Eye. A magnificent sight.

:49:13. > :49:18.Clare, they are making it look so easy. It looks fantastic. The River

:49:18. > :49:24.Thames was not only a busy route for river traffic, but it is also a

:49:24. > :49:30.source of artistic inspiration. John Sergeant can tell us more.

:49:30. > :49:36.That's right. We have got the audience. CHEERING It's a terrific

:49:36. > :49:42.show. These Royal occasions have a great theatrical side to them. I

:49:42. > :49:47.have invited along one of our great actors, Richard E Grant. He is

:49:47. > :49:55.dressed for the occasion. What have you got on? I have a Union Jack tie.

:49:55. > :50:00.My belt. Yeah? My Union Jack socks and my underwear! Shall I reveal

:50:00. > :50:06.that Richard E Grant is wearing special Royal underpants? I am,

:50:06. > :50:12.indeed. OK. Here we are. Tell us why you are so keen to be dressed

:50:12. > :50:17.for the part? I grew up in Swaziland. This is the perfect

:50:17. > :50:22.place for me to be. We are looking at a theatrical occasion? We are.

:50:22. > :50:25.Incredible. It is about the biggest you could wish for. We can see the

:50:26. > :50:32.beginning of what is going to be the 1,000 ships that are going to

:50:32. > :50:38.come past here. That is quite a moment? Yes. Bigger than Strictly

:50:38. > :50:44.Come Dancing for you! We have got - the river has so many artistic

:50:44. > :50:52.associations. Shakespeare's Globe... The Red Light District! Over there

:50:52. > :50:56.is where Charles Dickens worked as a young boy. It was. So the Thames,

:50:56. > :51:03.really, it runs through the English story all the time, the British

:51:03. > :51:13.story? It does. Yeah. You are going to talk to us about Wordsworth?

:51:13. > :51:28.

:51:28. > :51:36.am. In 1802, he crossed this bridge and wrote a poem. You have that

:51:36. > :51:38.poem? I do. Off you go. Here we go.

:51:38. > :51:41.Earth has not anything to show more fair.

:51:41. > :51:44.Dull would he be of soul who could pass by.

:51:44. > :51:54.A sight so touching in its majesty. This City now doth like a garment

:51:54. > :51:56.wear. The beauty of the morning: silent,

:51:56. > :51:58.bare. Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and

:51:58. > :52:00.temples lie. Open unto the fields, and to the

:52:00. > :52:02.sky. All bright and glittering in the

:52:02. > :52:03.smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully

:52:03. > :52:06.steep. In his first splendour valley, rock,

:52:06. > :52:08.or hill. Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so

:52:08. > :52:10.deep! The river glideth at his own sweet

:52:10. > :52:12.will. Dear God! The very houses seem

:52:12. > :52:22.asleep. And all that mighty heart is lying

:52:22. > :52:25.

:52:25. > :52:32.still! Well done. Thank you very much. APPLAUSE

:52:32. > :52:39.The Royal Barge continuing on its way. I have to say those two, they

:52:39. > :52:49.are almost like mini thrones, not getting a lot of use by the Queen,

:52:49. > :52:59.or by the Duke of Edinburgh. The wind blowing across the bows of the

:52:59. > :53:02.

:53:02. > :53:11.boat. That, presumably, will mean steering is an issue for something

:53:11. > :53:17.as long as this boat. Somewhere on that boat as well is the owner of

:53:17. > :53:23.The Spirit of Chartwell, along with his daughter, Mr Philip Morrell and

:53:23. > :53:33.his daughter, Kim. Along with the ten watermen and the Queen's Barge

:53:33. > :53:38.Master, Paul Ludwig. He must be a The Prince of Wales on the left-

:53:38. > :53:48.hand side. The Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge waving, along

:53:48. > :53:50.

:53:50. > :53:55.with Prince Harry. Good to see the Pageant Master looking quite

:53:55. > :54:00.relaxed as he talks to Prince Charles. I am sure he is delighted

:54:00. > :54:10.with the way things have turned out today. That gives you a good idea

:54:10. > :54:11.

:54:11. > :54:15.as well as to how much preparation - many, many people undertook to

:54:15. > :54:25.get this barge looking its best and they have certainly done a great

:54:25. > :54:36.

:54:36. > :54:41.A big wave from the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Cambridge

:54:41. > :54:46.as well. The Queen went below deck on The Spirit of Chartwell a short

:54:46. > :54:52.time ago. It is an extraordinary barge. I went on it a couple of

:54:52. > :54:56.weeks ago. The transformation has been done by a film-set designer.

:54:56. > :55:04.Below deck has been made to look like the inside of the Orient

:55:04. > :55:09.Express. You feel like you are on a train but on the water! She has 60

:55:09. > :55:15.people down there being served drinks... It is a floating palace.

:55:15. > :55:18.It is. We are seeing so many boats. Let's go to one with a bit of

:55:18. > :55:27.character. Mishal Husain is on a working tug boat that's made its

:55:27. > :55:33.way from Yorkshire and it was quite a journey. Can you hear us?

:55:33. > :55:37.Yes, this is the working boat section of the flotilla. So some

:55:37. > :55:43.noisy vessels around me. Steamboats and tugs. I am on a tug. This is

:55:43. > :55:49.The Wheldale, a coal tug. It was built in 1959. It had the job of

:55:49. > :55:55.pulling pans of coal from the mines to the docks. Never a vessel that

:55:55. > :56:00.was designed for long journeys. Yet, it's made a really remarkable sea

:56:00. > :56:06.journey to get here today. It's gone along the Humber and 300 miles

:56:06. > :56:14.down the coast to make it to the Thames. Its skipper is with me now.

:56:14. > :56:18.What was the journey like? It was beautiful. She is only a little

:56:18. > :56:23.canal boat, really. We got four days in the weather. That is how

:56:23. > :56:29.long it took us. You must have wondered whether she was up to the

:56:29. > :56:34.task? Very much so. We had quite a few critics and people who said we

:56:34. > :56:38.wouldn't get here. We have done a lot of work on her. She's built

:56:38. > :56:44.heavy. She is part of Britain's coal mining heritage, isn't she?

:56:45. > :56:49.She lives in a museum in Goole? That's it. We weren't down the pits,

:56:49. > :56:55.but my dad, my granddad, they all used these. They brought the coal

:56:55. > :57:00.down. It went into the ships at Goole and at Hull. We have done it

:57:00. > :57:05.for the North. And the White Rose of Yorkshire is decked out across

:57:05. > :57:12.the boat. Also here is your mum. Eileen, this is very much part of

:57:12. > :57:19.your family, isn't it, this kind of boat? Yes. Most of the tugs were

:57:19. > :57:28.run by families, fathers, sons, uncles. They all worked on the Tom

:57:28. > :57:38.Puddings, as it was known as. This boat goes back 50-odd years.

:57:38. > :57:43.

:57:43. > :57:47.Amazing. To do this is fantastic. I did the Queen's Coronation street

:57:47. > :57:54.parties. You are soaking up the atmosphere? Absolutely. Amazing, it

:57:54. > :58:00.is. The cheering crowds on the sides, we can hear all the cheering.

:58:00. > :58:05.It is just wonderful. Eileen, Chris, I hope we can speak to you later.

:58:05. > :58:11.Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. No doubt Chris's dad will be

:58:11. > :58:15.watching with a lump in his throat. He couldn't just quite get here.

:58:15. > :58:19.know. Let's look on the river. There are some wonderful shots of

:58:19. > :58:25.The Belfry. There is Westminster Bridge. They are all heading that

:58:25. > :58:30.way. There is The Belfry. A bell for each of the senior Royals. The

:58:30. > :58:36.biggest for the Queen. On board is John Barrowman who is helping them

:58:36. > :58:39.ring the bells. Those bells being answered as they make their way

:58:39. > :58:44.along the shore. It is so important to keep that rhythm when you are

:58:44. > :58:49.ringing the bells. It must be hard, once you are on the water, to keep

:58:49. > :58:52.it going. They are doing a good job. The crowds are... The man-powered

:58:52. > :58:57.section, they are keeping up. They have to keep a good pace. They

:58:57. > :59:02.really have to lead the way here. Four knots they have been told to

:59:02. > :59:07.row at. That is fast walking pace, I think. Can you imagine being in

:59:08. > :59:12.that? The spirit that's carrying you along. You may think, "My arms

:59:12. > :59:15.are a bit tired" but the atmosphere is certainly pushing them along.

:59:16. > :59:19.There is the Gloriana. Let's go from the Gloriana to Anneka Rice

:59:19. > :59:25.who is with a party of artists. They are getting ready for the

:59:25. > :59:30.first sighting of the first boats at the Millennium Bridge. Hello,

:59:30. > :59:33.again. We are having such a brilliant time here. This bridge is

:59:33. > :59:40.getting very busy. We are at the Millennium Bridge. We are calling

:59:40. > :59:48.it the Arts and Crafts Bridge today. I'm here with 20 painters. Come and

:59:48. > :59:58.tell me what you are up to. going for energy of the event. I'm

:59:58. > :00:03.

:00:03. > :00:08.trying to translate that with colour. Turner, you love? I do.

:00:08. > :00:12.is very exciting. They are going to be arriving shortly. You are

:00:12. > :00:14.painting on a door, which is brilliant. All the artists have

:00:15. > :00:24.chosen very, very different styles here. What are you doing with the

:00:25. > :00:26.

:00:26. > :00:30.I am using a door because it symbolises the role that the Queen

:00:30. > :00:34.has played in the emancipation of women in the UK and in Commonwealth

:00:34. > :00:38.countries. She has opened many doors, which in previous decades

:00:38. > :00:43.would not have been possible. is brilliant, I love the way he

:00:43. > :00:48.uses materials he finds on the riverbank. Gillian, you are working

:00:48. > :00:53.on an iPad off. I am the oldest on the bridge, and I wanted something

:00:53. > :00:58.funky to do it on. I'm hoping to catch the Queen as she comes down,

:00:58. > :01:08.because she does such a wonderful job. We are building up to the big

:01:08. > :01:14.The Palace of Westminster on the left-hand side, slightly more

:01:14. > :01:20.modern iconic view of the London Eye on the right hand side there.

:01:21. > :01:30.As the flotilla heads towards Westminster Bridge, and that is

:01:30. > :01:33.roughly where the Queen is right Let's just have a look. Those of

:01:33. > :01:37.you who joined us right at the beginning of the programme would

:01:37. > :01:43.have heard Huw Edwards described the course down which all of these

:01:43. > :01:52.boats are going to follow, and that is where the Queen is at the moment.

:01:52. > :02:02.Past Battersea Power Station. So these people making very steady

:02:02. > :02:08.

:02:08. > :02:14.progress indeed, and luckily so far Pass so many iconic landmarks that

:02:14. > :02:19.Little London. We are so fortunate to have such magnificent buildings,

:02:19. > :02:24.churches of course as well, government buildings and the rest,

:02:24. > :02:30.scattered throughout London. A lot of them overlook the river Thames,

:02:30. > :02:36.a different view of the Palace of Westminster, the background and the

:02:36. > :02:41.London Eye. One of those pods, I think there are 32 on the London

:02:41. > :02:51.Eye, and one of them is serving cream teas to all of the people who

:02:51. > :03:00.

:03:00. > :03:10.are trying to get a much better That is the boat which the Duchess

:03:10. > :03:19.

:03:19. > :03:22.of Cambridge's parents and brother That, I think, was the swan up

:03:22. > :03:27.those that we just saw in the picture a moment ago. That is Ben

:03:27. > :03:37.Fogle running pretty well, still smiling, plenty of energy left. He

:03:37. > :03:44.

:03:44. > :03:47.Well, back at Chelsea, some of the public service craft just moving

:03:47. > :03:55.past, moving up towards Cadogan Pier, and they are certainly going

:03:55. > :04:05.to be one of the features this afternoon, the fire bodes saluting

:04:05. > :04:05.

:04:05. > :04:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:04:46. > :04:56.Well, so many photographs will be taken of what is going to be a very

:04:56. > :05:02.

:05:02. > :05:05.And the bells, complete with John Barrowman on board, I hope he has

:05:05. > :05:15.got some earplugs, because they have been going ever since we saw

:05:15. > :05:18.

:05:18. > :05:26.And there will be peals of bells heard not just in London but all

:05:26. > :05:31.over the country, as we mentioned at the top of the programme, too.

:05:31. > :05:41.This certainly is a Canaletto moment, isn't it? So many iconic

:05:41. > :05:41.

:05:41. > :05:50.buildings flanking this mass of vessels, all powered by the human

:05:50. > :05:56.arm, shoulder, back and legs. Just looking down the pageant, we then

:05:56. > :06:06.come to the flags of the Commonwealth, and the Trinity 500s,

:06:06. > :06:14.

:06:14. > :06:24.they are called, from sea cadets Back to the Royal squadron, the

:06:24. > :06:24.

:06:24. > :06:29.most magnificent boat on display here today. As you can see, the

:06:29. > :06:39.tower of the Palace of Westminster on the left-hand side of the screen

:06:39. > :06:42.

:06:42. > :06:45.just ahead as we head down towards And this is the first opportunity

:06:45. > :06:52.we have really had to see the Dunkirk Little Ships, there are

:06:52. > :06:58.about 40 or 50 of their there today behind the Royal Squadron, and boy,

:06:58. > :07:08.oh boy, have they put some service in! On behalf of everybody in the

:07:08. > :07:13.

:07:13. > :07:17.United Kingdom. Then can the Each of the ships, or each of the

:07:17. > :07:23.Saxons of ships, should I say, is preceded by a group of musicians,

:07:23. > :07:33.to. -- sections. They will certainly be earning their money

:07:33. > :07:34.

:07:34. > :07:44.today, playing music for the way So the working boats and the Fire

:07:44. > :07:44.

:07:45. > :07:54.boats we saw before now passing Cadogan Pier, recreational motor

:07:55. > :08:17.

:08:17. > :08:24.boats, leisure boats, too. A lot of Well, this is where we are all

:08:24. > :08:32.going to end up, as we here one of the salutes to the Queen that have

:08:32. > :08:39.happened over the last two days. Just outside the Tower of London,

:08:39. > :08:49.part of a 41 gun salute, followed by a special summit by the

:08:49. > :09:10.

:09:10. > :09:20.The Royal barge there just going underneath Lambeth Bridge, so the

:09:20. > :09:38.

:09:38. > :09:45.next target will be Westminster There are so many churches, of

:09:45. > :09:50.course, close to the banks of the River Thames and so many bells can

:09:50. > :10:00.be heard, as well as the bells that are already on the river and they

:10:00. > :10:14.

:10:14. > :10:19.The Palace of Westminster, and in the Clock Tower there, of course,

:10:19. > :10:29.Big Ben, the bell which strikes the hour, created in the same foundry

:10:29. > :10:38.

:10:38. > :10:42.that created the bells on the river Yes, thanks very much, you just

:10:42. > :10:49.join us here at Vauxhall Bridge. We have got the band going past us on

:10:49. > :10:53.the left-hand side, and crowds behind me at the MI6 building just

:10:53. > :11:00.waiting to see the historic boats who are just about to come under

:11:00. > :11:03.the Vauxhall Bridge. Amongst them, of course, the Dunkirk Little Ships,

:11:03. > :11:08.part of Operation Dynamo when the United Kingdom, the allied forces

:11:08. > :11:12.were in such desperate need for help, and they are part are a

:11:12. > :11:17.fantastic society that makes annual trips to Dunkirk. I went on board

:11:17. > :11:21.as part of the scrutiny during process earlier this week, and they

:11:21. > :11:24.are all in such fantastic shape. They worked so hard on them, and as

:11:24. > :11:31.you can see, they are all receiving a warm welcome from the crowds

:11:31. > :11:36.behind us. If you can see behind me, up into these flats behind me,

:11:36. > :11:39.flags flying everywhere, everywhere just trying to get a glimpse of the

:11:40. > :11:43.river and all these wonderful boats making their way down as part of

:11:43. > :11:48.this pageant. As you can see, a few of the little ships making their

:11:48. > :11:51.way through now, just under Vauxhall Bridge. An update, we did

:11:51. > :11:58.have one little gentleman in his Venetian gondola was struggling a

:11:58. > :12:03.little bit, and one of the marshals gave a NATO, so far no worries to

:12:03. > :12:08.report. Look at the crowd behind me, just all waving away, really

:12:08. > :12:18.enjoying the whole occasion here. And as we can see, the little ships

:12:18. > :12:21.

:12:21. > :12:29.just coming through, so I will hand Well, the wind just picking up now,

:12:29. > :12:33.drops of rain starting to fall, but still so much... Particularly here

:12:33. > :12:37.on Gloriana, this bird very much inspired by the mind and the money

:12:37. > :12:42.of Lord Sterling, who is with me now. What did you want to achieve

:12:42. > :12:49.with Gloriana? I think it says it all today. You look at the crowds,

:12:49. > :12:55.the people on board, the marvellous bunch of oarsmen that we have. It

:12:55. > :13:01.says it, and in practice I think we created it as a lasting legacy, and

:13:01. > :13:06.basically inspired by the great Canalettos and the National

:13:06. > :13:09.Maritime Museum, if you see what is happening there, see all about it

:13:09. > :13:13.at the Great Exhibition, it is all about pageantry and the Thames and

:13:13. > :13:17.what it is all about through history. I have his say that if we

:13:17. > :13:21.can have the opportunity of lifting people's interest in the Thames,

:13:21. > :13:26.and for youngsters to have the opportunity of growing up, then we

:13:26. > :13:30.will have done something in the years to come. There are so many

:13:30. > :13:35.young faces are on the boats, the bridges, on the banks of the river,

:13:35. > :13:38.high-pitched voices screaming out as we come by, and it is just a

:13:38. > :13:43.wonderful, wonderful feeling, and we are certainly not going to let a

:13:43. > :13:47.few spots of rain dampened our enthusiasm, not on Gloriana at any

:13:47. > :13:57.rate, not for the whole of this river pageant. It is a fabulous

:13:57. > :14:03.

:14:03. > :14:08.Well, it is a fantastic scene here, look at that, just look at it.

:14:08. > :14:13.There is the Spirit of Chartwell, what we now know as the Royal barge,

:14:13. > :14:17.and we can just see the Queen, and we can see everything. I have to

:14:17. > :14:21.say that we will probably see more this evening when we watch it all

:14:21. > :14:27.on television, but that is a terrific sight, and you have got

:14:27. > :14:30.all these boats behind, coming up later on. The cheering and the

:14:31. > :14:35.crowd... We have been cheering pictures are the big screen on the

:14:35. > :14:42.other side of the bridge, there is any excuse for cheering, like now,

:14:42. > :14:48.come on! We are all raring to go, all we want to do is cheer, come on,

:14:48. > :14:51.hurray, hurray, hurray! It is a wonderful atmosphere, and the whole

:14:51. > :14:56.bridge, you can imagine it, the whole of the bridge from one side

:14:56. > :15:06.to the other is covered with people, and we are just having a good time,

:15:06. > :15:21.

:15:21. > :15:27.it is a simple, straightforward, And there are the Commonwealth

:15:27. > :15:37.lives. I have to say, at the pageant is pretty much spread out.

:15:37. > :15:51.

:15:51. > :16:01.Princess Eugenie there with her The Duke of York.

:16:01. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:43.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:16:43. > :16:48.The rest of the Royal Family making I'm standing on a Dutch barge,

:16:48. > :16:53.which is twice as wide a narrow boat. Am I right? I am learning all

:16:53. > :16:59.sorts of things from the owner, Caroline. Good afternoon. It is

:16:59. > :17:03.wonderful to be here. It is amazing. Unbelievable. We are not in the

:17:03. > :17:07.main bit, but it has been incredible so far. The difference

:17:07. > :17:14.with this boat, as compared to other boats is, this is your home?

:17:14. > :17:18.It has been for 13 years. If you take a look inside... Can we do

:17:18. > :17:25.that? It is luxury. They have sofas, they have everything. Downstairs,

:17:25. > :17:31.you have even got, if I understand it, an oil-powered stove, a range,

:17:31. > :17:38.we cannot mention the name and you also have a water bed? Indeed. It

:17:38. > :17:44.is the only reason we have it... Tell me, why did you choose life on

:17:44. > :17:51.board? I did not have an option. My husband asked if I would fancy

:17:51. > :18:00.living on a boat. I had to have my range cooker, my spa bath and

:18:00. > :18:09.heated towel rail. You could have had that in a semi detached house!

:18:09. > :18:15.But maybe not a husband. Tell me about Gigi? She is a Dutch dog, a

:18:15. > :18:22.dog kept on barges, traditionally in Holland as a barge dog. She is

:18:22. > :18:29.very well behaved. She has taken to the water so well. We are very

:18:29. > :18:36.pleased with her. We love her to bits. She looks like one of our

:18:36. > :18:46.microphones, which is fantastic! We will see you later.

:18:46. > :18:50.

:18:50. > :18:55.The Spirit of Chartwell, with the Palace of Westminster in the

:18:55. > :19:00.background. When that building first appeared

:19:00. > :19:07.on the landscape, on the banks of the River Thames, what five

:19:07. > :19:10.centuries ago, longer than that, Edward The Confesser, who founded

:19:10. > :19:19.the Palace of Westminster. For a long, long time it became the seat

:19:19. > :19:23.of power of royal power, until it - it is now identified with

:19:23. > :19:29.representative Government and Parliament. Almost fading away into

:19:29. > :19:35.the background... At this point, let me introduce you to a gentleman

:19:35. > :19:40.who has sat beside me in the commentary box. Tom Cunlif. He

:19:40. > :19:43.knows everything there is to know about boats, but more importantly

:19:43. > :19:47.navigation, and because of the twists and turns in the river, are

:19:47. > :19:51.any of these boats going to have a problem today? What is interesting,

:19:51. > :19:55.is I am watching the flags and they are blowing across the boats, which

:19:55. > :19:59.is making it gentle at the moment, but when they turn to the right at

:19:59. > :20:03.Westminster, they will have it smack on the nose, which means Her

:20:03. > :20:06.Majesty will get chilly and the man-powered boats will have more of

:20:07. > :20:16.a struggle than so far. Looking at them, they seem to be managing

:20:17. > :20:29.

:20:29. > :20:32.The Royal Festival Hall. We have on the top level of the Royal Festival

:20:32. > :20:39.Hall... Tom I think you can understand that, can't you? I don't

:20:39. > :20:49.have a clue. I was thinking we have an expert in the room! It is

:20:49. > :20:49.

:20:49. > :20:54.sending best messages to Her Majesty, the Queen.

:20:54. > :20:59.It's not just people waving flags, it all means something to those

:20:59. > :21:07.people who understand it. An invaluable way of communication

:21:07. > :21:17.between ships. Certainly before the invention of radios, et cetera.

:21:17. > :21:42.

:21:42. > :21:51.I think that would probably mean Princess Beatrice, with her sister,

:21:51. > :21:55.part of the Royal Party. Seeing the boats come through the

:21:55. > :22:00.Thames is fascinating. Shutting the Thames barrier means there is

:22:00. > :22:05.little current. Some of these boats would otherwise be in danger of

:22:05. > :22:10.being swept on to the pontoons of the bridges. An effort has been

:22:10. > :22:14.made to cut the current by manpower, which has made this whole thing

:22:14. > :22:19.less dramatic than it otherwise would have been.

:22:19. > :22:24.Certainly, the Thames barrier, which we will not see today is a

:22:24. > :22:29.masterpiece of engineering. It just makes you wonder, actually,

:22:29. > :22:32.how they managed when the Thames Barrier was not there to have

:22:32. > :22:35.pageants on the river, which of course they did a long time ago.

:22:36. > :22:40.And there were less bridges in those days and the river was wider,

:22:40. > :22:45.so the currents would have been slower. Today, to put something

:22:46. > :22:55.like this on would have been hairy. There would certainly have been

:22:56. > :23:13.

:23:13. > :23:23.some incidents. Now the National Theatre and a very

:23:23. > :23:25.

:23:25. > :23:34.special moment for the Queen. The home of that great production

:23:34. > :23:44.of War Horse, which I understand the Queen is a fan of.

:23:44. > :23:50.

:23:50. > :24:00.There it is on top. Even the horse saluting.

:24:00. > :24:01.

:24:01. > :24:11.That moment has taken them nine months to prepare.

:24:11. > :24:26.

:24:26. > :24:31.We certainly know what a passion I hope the Queen enjoyed that

:24:31. > :24:41.moment. The horse, the star of the show, if you like is called Joey. I

:24:41. > :24:43.

:24:43. > :24:49.understand she had a visit from Joey at Windsor a little while ago.

:24:49. > :24:55.There is Joey. He is making his own little bow to

:24:55. > :25:05.the Queen and the rest of the guests on the Royal Barge.

:25:05. > :25:20.

:25:20. > :25:30.They are now heading out towards the City of London, the real

:25:30. > :25:33.

:25:33. > :25:42.financial power of the country. Waterloo Bridge in the background.

:25:42. > :25:47.That was completed, this version of it, completed in 1944.

:25:47. > :25:57.It replaced the stone bridge which opened in 1817. Westminster Bridge,

:25:57. > :25:59.

:25:59. > :26:07.absolutely packed with people. Dunkirk Little Ships just going

:26:07. > :26:16.They are a great sight, aren't they?

:26:16. > :26:23.Without them, there would be no British Army.

:26:23. > :26:28.We are back to hell sea now and the narrow boats.

:26:28. > :26:33.-- back to Chelsea now and the narrow boats. We had an interview

:26:33. > :26:38.with a nice lady earlier on, who was saying that she was given a

:26:38. > :26:42.choice, either a husband or a life on a boat, I just wonder how many

:26:42. > :26:48.people could conceive of living on a boat. If it is something you are

:26:48. > :26:54.very passionate about, I guess fantastic. The rain now is

:26:54. > :26:59.beginning to come down quite heavily. 43 narrow boats all

:26:59. > :27:05.together and 20 barges. They have come from many parts of the UK.

:27:05. > :27:08.They carry an impressive contingent of Lord Lieutenants representing

:27:08. > :27:13.Merseyside, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Shropshire and

:27:13. > :27:22.Staffordshire. Lovely to see the artwork on these

:27:22. > :27:26.vessels. The two on the back have lovely writing on them and this in

:27:26. > :27:33.the foreground, signifying how these boats work.

:27:33. > :27:37.When you consider the sort of network of canals we have got all

:27:37. > :27:43.over this country, which really created the wealth of many, many

:27:43. > :27:48.parts of the country, didn't it? The narrow boats carried the

:27:48. > :27:56.commerce of the nation before we had railways and Rhodes.

:27:56. > :28:03.-- and roads. There we are, she is saying, "yes,

:28:03. > :28:09.I am at the front, waving." It is great that the narrow boats

:28:09. > :28:19.are able to do this. If it was windy they could be blown out. The

:28:19. > :28:32.

:28:32. > :28:38.Thames can get pretty rough. We Meanwhile, back at Westminster, and

:28:38. > :28:45.all the Watermen delighted with the progress The Spirit of Chartwell is

:28:45. > :28:51.making. No-one has sat down, no-one has disappeared off that top deck.

:28:51. > :28:55.Everybody wants to get a fantastic view. Well, the longest, one of the

:28:55. > :29:05.largest pictures ever created on the side of the sea containers

:29:05. > :29:05.

:29:06. > :29:15.building. I think it is a picture of the

:29:16. > :29:26.

:29:26. > :29:31.I hope that was a nice surprise for the Royal Party.

:29:31. > :29:38.I was down on the water yesterday - and I have to say that picture is

:29:38. > :29:44.enormous, enormous! Well, I think instantly

:29:44. > :29:50.recognisable as the Royal Party at the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977,

:29:50. > :29:55.stretched right over the whole building face, almost 100 metres in

:29:56. > :30:00.width and 70 metres in height. The total weight of a couple of tonnes

:30:00. > :30:10.or there abouts. The largest photograph ever, ever of the Royal

:30:10. > :30:16.

:30:16. > :30:20.We just had a quick shot there, I am sure we will see it again, of

:30:20. > :30:28.the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, where of course the Queen will be

:30:28. > :30:38.visiting on Tuesday. That is one of the iconic sites not just of London

:30:38. > :30:42.

:30:42. > :30:47.And some of the smallest boats in the whole pageant moving on past

:30:47. > :30:52.with the flags of the Commonwealth countries. Of course, these

:30:52. > :31:02.pictures going all over the world, not just to Commonwealth countries

:31:02. > :31:06.

:31:06. > :31:11.Somewhere ahead of them, HMS Belfast on the right hand side and,

:31:11. > :31:21.well, we're going to mention this word time and time again, iconic,

:31:21. > :31:46.

:31:46. > :31:48.and Tower Bridge is about as iconic And approaching us here, the

:31:49. > :31:56.Gloriana, it is the most spectacular sight as they make

:31:56. > :32:02.their way appear towards Tower Bridge. There passing HMS Belfast,

:32:02. > :32:07.and it really is amazing! We have been waiting for some time, and we

:32:07. > :32:12.have is very expectant crowd just below the studio, and suddenly this

:32:12. > :32:19.wave of energy approaches, and it is like a floating cathedral. The

:32:19. > :32:23.sound is just magical. You know, put this in terms of history, this

:32:23. > :32:29.is the People's pageant now. That was my line, it is the People's

:32:29. > :32:34.pageant! It is the Queen's pageant, of course, but the people on the

:32:34. > :32:38.river, people at the sides cheering, the Queen, the pride which she is

:32:38. > :32:47.going to look out over the river, see everybody waving, look at the

:32:47. > :32:52.cameras. I have just spotted my seven-year-old dad! He has made it!

:32:52. > :32:58.It is Canaletto brought to life. All the colours, and it is just so

:32:58. > :33:02.undemocratic. Of course we have got the cream in the middle. Even the

:33:02. > :33:06.rain is here now, so British. Adrian Evans, the man who came up

:33:06. > :33:11.with this, three years in the making, he wanted it to be even

:33:11. > :33:14.longer. He wanted it to start at Hampton Court Palace, it was slim

:33:15. > :33:19.down a little bit but not that much. The vision has been totally

:33:19. > :33:23.fulfilled. Look at all the cheering crowds, it doesn't get much better

:33:23. > :33:28.than this. This is what the Queen's reign has been building towards.

:33:28. > :33:31.This must be one of the biggest things she has witnessed.

:33:31. > :33:35.Absolutely, and of course there must be a sense of trepidation,

:33:35. > :33:39.what is it going to be like, how will people react? We have got the

:33:39. > :33:44.diaries of Queen Victoria after her Diamond Jubilee which have just

:33:44. > :33:49.gone online, and she talks about nobody having such an ovation, the

:33:49. > :33:52.pure joy in people's faces. She has not sat down, we have been watching

:33:53. > :33:57.her standing, 86 years old, she looks like she's having a wonderful

:33:57. > :34:03.time. They are genuinely engaged and enjoying it. She is not going

:34:03. > :34:09.through the motions, she is loving it. She is pointing, did you see

:34:09. > :34:16.that?! And it has got historical precedents. Anne Boleyn had a fire-

:34:16. > :34:24.breathing mechanical dragon on her bhaji -- barge. As they reached

:34:24. > :34:30.Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast... tyred rowers and heir. This is

:34:30. > :34:35.almost the finished point, the end is in sight for them. An amazing

:34:35. > :34:42.job that they have done, and the Royal Barge will be inside shortly.

:34:42. > :34:46.There it is, the Manpower Section coming past HMS Belfast. Our wonder

:34:46. > :34:51.if Clare Balding has had a go yet. You have to remember that those

:34:51. > :34:56.rowers have been at there since 10 o'clock this morning. I know it

:34:56. > :35:00.sounds silly to say this, but toilet breaks and stuff like that.

:35:00. > :35:04.It is a big consideration, what would you do? I do not think we

:35:04. > :35:14.would go to that one! Then maybe some indiscreet moments. You will

:35:14. > :35:22.

:35:22. > :35:29.Making very good progress indeed as the barge, bells still ringing

:35:29. > :35:34.underneath Tower Bridge, and eventually the royal party will be

:35:34. > :35:38.tying up at HMS President, which we just saw on the right hand side of

:35:38. > :35:48.the screen mayor, which is home to the London Division of the Royal

:35:48. > :36:01.

:36:01. > :36:05.Navy Reserve's and has been since Well, I think we can see the Belfry

:36:05. > :36:09.has just passed under Tower Bridge. Let me take you to meet someone

:36:09. > :36:13.really special, this is the bridge control room, and I'm going to

:36:13. > :36:18.introduce you to someone has an incredible job today, Tower Bridge

:36:18. > :36:24.Master Eric Sutherns. You are going to be raising the bridge and the

:36:24. > :36:28.bascules to let the flotilla through. In about four minutes.

:36:28. > :36:34.roared going to be raising the bridge in Royal salute. Slightly

:36:34. > :36:39.higher than normal? It is a full lift for the Royal salute. Most

:36:39. > :36:46.ships do not need that, but we actually lift the bascules to suit

:36:46. > :36:49.the size of the vessel, but the Queen gets the full lift. You do

:36:49. > :36:54.not seem nervous at all? You are going to be releasing the bolts,

:36:54. > :36:58.the counterweights lifting the bascules. We are already unlocked,

:36:58. > :37:03.ready to go. Is that the leave their you are going to be pulling?

:37:03. > :37:08.And then the bascules will raise. You have done this many times

:37:08. > :37:13.before, are you feeling a little bit nervous? No, it is an exciting

:37:13. > :37:18.day, everybody is having lots of fun. It just makes it more special.

:37:18. > :37:22.So nothing can go wrong? Keeping our fingers crossed. Can anything

:37:22. > :37:26.go wrong? Anything can go wrong, we're working with machinery, but

:37:26. > :37:30.it is very reliable, hopefully everything will go find in a couple

:37:30. > :37:40.of minutes' time. I am going to get out of your way and let you get on

:37:40. > :37:48.

:37:48. > :37:58.Well, those bascules will be moving Of course, all of those craft

:37:58. > :38:00.

:38:00. > :38:10.totally and utterly dwarfed by HMS It was commissioned in 1938, 91,000

:38:10. > :38:11.

:38:11. > :38:16.tonnes, the largest cruiser in the So not too much wind, Tom,

:38:16. > :38:20.everything looking pretty good so far. No, it has really worked out

:38:20. > :38:24.for the best. I cannot believe how lucky we have been, because the

:38:24. > :38:27.weather forecast looked extremely dodgy, nobody could have predicted

:38:27. > :38:32.what was going to happen with the weather over London, but isn't it

:38:32. > :38:36.great to see all of these boats Road by these strong people? They

:38:36. > :38:40.could have accrued HMS Belfast in World War II, they would have been

:38:40. > :38:47.signed up, and here they are celebrating the Queen instead.

:38:47. > :38:53.might have taken quite a few walls to shift 91,000 tonnes! We just saw

:38:53. > :38:56.the Shard in the background, the tallest building in Western Europe,

:38:56. > :39:03.just beginning to take shape. It is supposed to be completed this

:39:03. > :39:08.summer, when summer eventually comes to our country! Certainly it

:39:08. > :39:13.is going to have a fabulous view from the top of that. The pictures

:39:13. > :39:18.we are getting, the overhead view of the boats, shows the diversity

:39:18. > :39:21.of the boats and how hard they have had to work to stay together. Some

:39:21. > :39:28.of the boats are slow and some are seriously fast, and yet they have

:39:28. > :39:33.done it, all of them, these different vessels. There are some

:39:33. > :39:38.magnificent craft there, a huge variation of boats, 2. Yeah, that

:39:38. > :39:43.is the wonder of it, really, to me. Some of them can really fly, and

:39:43. > :39:47.some of the rowing boats, we have got a replica of the original Boat

:39:47. > :39:52.Race boat that could actually fly over the course. They will be

:39:52. > :40:02.struggling to keep it down to four knots. That Cornish gig can do

:40:02. > :40:08.

:40:08. > :40:14.Well, in salute to the Queen, the drawbridges, the bascules as we now

:40:14. > :40:24.know they are caught, will be raised to their full extent in

:40:24. > :40:39.

:40:39. > :40:48.honour of the chief guest on the Of course, these craft have already

:40:48. > :40:51.been passed Tower Bridge, and we heard a lot earlier on about the

:40:51. > :40:56.master, in other words the bringing together of all the craft ready to

:40:56. > :41:00.take part in the pageant. What happens to them afterwards? Well,

:41:00. > :41:05.they despairs into their various places, and the Organisation for

:41:05. > :41:09.that has been fantastic. -- disperse. There is not going to be

:41:09. > :41:14.chaos, the whole thing has been planned to a tee, but it was nice

:41:14. > :41:24.seeing those Venetian gondoliers, wasn't it? They will be pretty

:41:24. > :41:49.

:41:49. > :41:53.Well, Tower Bridge has always been best known for its impressive, very

:41:53. > :41:58.impressive central drawbridge, despite the fact that it has a bit

:41:58. > :42:02.of a medieval appearance, the drawbridge was built to be operated

:42:02. > :42:12.by the most advanced technology available in the 19th century, and

:42:12. > :42:22.

:42:22. > :42:32.The flags of the Commonwealth once more, still flying proudly on top

:42:32. > :42:34.

:42:34. > :42:39.of those Trinity 500s, doffing their caps as they pass the Royal

:42:39. > :42:49.Barge, there we are, some of the guests just sheltering from the

:42:49. > :42:52.

:42:52. > :42:59.Of course, the weather is the one thing that nobody has got any

:42:59. > :43:02.control of at all. Being head of state in 16th of the 54

:43:02. > :43:10.Commonwealth member countries, all of them now fully independent,

:43:10. > :43:15.apart from the UK, she is represented by a Governor-General.

:43:15. > :43:25.I promise you that those bascules will lift! In just a couple of

:43:25. > :43:34.

:43:34. > :43:41.1,200 tonnes, each arm, if you like, each drawbridge section of the

:43:41. > :43:51.Tower Bridge. They can be raised to their fullest extent, 80 degrees,

:43:51. > :43:57.

:43:57. > :44:04.And the dispersal now begins, a lot more boats to come through Tower

:44:04. > :44:09.Bridge obviously, and they will all be watched eventually by the Queen

:44:09. > :44:12.when she leaves the Royal Barge. But the weather really has

:44:12. > :44:17.deteriorated. The rain is coming down now, but mercifully it does

:44:17. > :44:21.not seem to have produced a lot of breeze to go with it. We have seen

:44:21. > :44:26.one or two smaller boats been taking in tow, which was all part

:44:26. > :44:30.of the plan. It is great to see what good spirits people are in,

:44:30. > :44:34.even when they are being towed. There is no sense of humiliation

:44:34. > :44:38.because there has been no failure, this has been tough. If there had

:44:38. > :44:43.been any more breeze, they would have had to scratch the events for

:44:43. > :44:47.the rowing boats, so huge credit to them, even the ones that have ended

:44:48. > :44:53.up and their tow. I am sure that some of the active role as... One

:44:53. > :44:55.of the many music sections, I'm sure they would have appreciated

:44:55. > :45:00.the tough challenge that lay ahead and will be very satisfied with

:45:00. > :45:04.what they have achieved so far. Most of these boats are not racing

:45:04. > :45:09.skips. Some of them are actually working boats that were built to

:45:09. > :45:15.carry stuff, so they are really heavy. There is a Yorkshire cobbler,

:45:15. > :45:19.that is very heavy, I can tell you that personally. One from the

:45:19. > :45:24.rivers of western England was built to carry a heavy load of cargo.

:45:24. > :45:28.just saw a brief glance there of Handel's Water Music been played by

:45:28. > :45:38.the Academy of Ancient be sick on board the Edwardian, quite

:45:38. > :45:44.

:45:44. > :45:48.appropriate, really, under the We have glanced a new home of

:45:48. > :45:54.London Government - City Hall on the south side of the River Thames.

:45:55. > :46:04.The home for Boris Johnson for a further term. He's on the river too,

:46:04. > :46:13.somewhere. A gentleman who received the

:46:13. > :46:23.Victoria Cross. I have seen him on television some times. What an

:46:23. > :46:33.achievement, at some cost. A VC holder.

:46:33. > :46:41.

:46:41. > :46:45.And the pageant is simply full of On board this ship, one of the

:46:46. > :46:51.bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines. There are a couple of

:46:51. > :47:00.bands on the river today. We heard them giving the Queen a

:47:00. > :47:06.fanfare a little while ago too. And right at the back end of the

:47:06. > :47:10.parade, we'll be finishing off with some very special music, delivered

:47:10. > :47:20.by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

:47:20. > :47:20.

:47:20. > :48:03.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:48:03. > :48:09.So, 30 musicians from the Band of HMS Belfast is about to be flanked

:48:09. > :48:19.by the Royal Barge and the Royal Barge is about to receive a very

:48:19. > :48:27.

:48:28. > :48:37.impressive salute from some of the Veterans and Sea Cadets on board

:48:38. > :49:03.

:49:03. > :49:13.We got off to a bit of a false start, but they are about to be

:49:13. > :49:13.

:49:13. > :50:49.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:50:49. > :50:59.An extraordinary machine, lifting Once again the Royal Marines

:50:59. > :50:59.

:50:59. > :51:44.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:51:44. > :51:48.Now, Jim, how was that to cheer the Queen and have her acknowledge HMS

:51:48. > :51:53.Belfast? It was wonderful I is something I thought I would never

:51:53. > :52:00.see. It is something I'll always remember. You joined the Navy when

:52:00. > :52:07.you were 15 and you told me some amazing stories, one when aor peddo

:52:07. > :52:13.hit your ship. You were -- when a torpedo hit your ship. You had to

:52:13. > :52:18.cling on to a dead shark - was that enough to put you off diving?

:52:18. > :52:23.from 16-and-a-half until I was 85. I enjoyed every minute of it.

:52:23. > :52:28.lovely speaking to you, Jim. We will chat you to more later. John,

:52:28. > :52:33.hello, John. You are a little wet there, aren't you? This ship is

:52:33. > :52:41.obviously a huge, huge ship, over 10,000 tonnes, when it was out and

:52:41. > :52:45.you were serving on the ship, it was thrown around like a toy?

:52:45. > :52:50.time she was 14,500 tonne. Since then the weight has been reduced on

:52:51. > :52:57.the ship. That is why it's at 10,000. Many time when we were in

:52:57. > :53:00.the heavy seas with the Russian convoys, we were picked up... Just

:53:00. > :53:05.imagine, you see these highest buildings and there were rollers

:53:05. > :53:10.coming in on you. You would they, oh, she'll never get through that.

:53:10. > :53:18.But the old girl did. She just picked up like a toy and you knew

:53:18. > :53:27.that because you could hear the propellers of the ship. Then she

:53:27. > :53:33.just got through. She went at all the storms. I think this ships

:53:33. > :53:39.11,500 tonnes. It is a weighty ship. Have you enjoyed your day here

:53:39. > :53:44.today? Fabulous. I must reiterate my colleague here, never in my

:53:44. > :53:49.wildest dreams did I think I would see such a pageant as that. We've

:53:50. > :53:59.got a diamond pageant and a diamond as a Queen. We certainly have, John.

:54:00. > :54:07.

:54:07. > :54:17.Enjoy the rest of your day today. The Spirit of Chartwell has to make

:54:17. > :54:26.a tight turn now to bring it up alongside HMS President, sometimes

:54:26. > :54:36.described as the stone frigate. It is a naval store establishment at

:54:36. > :54:40.

:54:40. > :54:44.As you have probably seen it is getting a little bit wet. If it

:54:44. > :54:49.were not wet enough, we have all the working ships coming through, a

:54:49. > :54:54.fire boat there, spraying the crowd, having a great time. You probably

:54:54. > :54:58.noticed that it has all slowed down a little bit. We have a backlog

:54:58. > :55:04.coming through Waterloo Bridge here. Some of the rowers are getting off

:55:04. > :55:08.the water. Still a great atmosphere. Sock at them there, in the Pride of

:55:08. > :55:12.London. Can sue see them in the kitchen. They may be making

:55:12. > :55:16.sandwiches, but they are getting a good view. The national theatre,

:55:16. > :55:23.over in the background, they are still enjoying it. They are getting,

:55:23. > :55:28.I have to say, a little bit tired as they come through under the

:55:28. > :55:36.bridge. The marshals are telling them to slow down, be a little

:55:36. > :55:40.careful. A few are managing to blow their horn loudly. They have to be

:55:40. > :55:44.very, very careful through here. It narrows down. But I don't think

:55:44. > :55:54.they are worrying about going too slowly through here. They are

:55:54. > :55:55.

:55:55. > :56:00.having a great time and enjoying That is part of the reason

:56:00. > :56:05.everybody is laying up a wee bit, as The Spirit of Chartwell

:56:05. > :56:12.manoeuvres, as she did so beautifully when she joined from

:56:12. > :56:22.Chelsea Pier a little while ago. And the Avenue of Sail, in the

:56:22. > :56:22.

:56:22. > :56:27.background there, these were ships which could not come through Tower

:56:27. > :56:32.Bridge. They have very high masts on. The Avenue of Sail awaits all

:56:32. > :56:42.of the ships as they head towards their dispersal points. Meanwhile,

:56:42. > :56:47.the Royal Barge is just negotiating the river at the moment. A

:56:47. > :56:52.beautiful shot there. How difficult will it be for them to go to the

:56:52. > :56:57.side of HMS President, Tom? I am watching this manoeuvre and it is

:56:57. > :57:03.remarkable. This is a very well chosen vessel. What he's doing

:57:03. > :57:11.appears to be defying gravity. It is very impressive. The whole boat

:57:11. > :57:18.is going side ways. I think we better send you down there in a

:57:18. > :57:24.hurry and you better ask him. There is a great feat of

:57:24. > :57:27.engineering and seamanship as well to steer something that big in a

:57:27. > :57:33.relatively short space, in a relatively confined area, shall we

:57:33. > :57:38.say? That is why they are ship's captains and I am not. The vessel

:57:38. > :57:43.has been very well chosen. Certainly the Master is handling it

:57:43. > :57:47.beautifully. You would expect nothing else in the circumstance s.

:57:47. > :57:52.You would not want to crash with such a precious cargo? It is

:57:52. > :57:58.something you would want to avoid for all your life. He has those big

:57:58. > :58:02.balls hanging down the side. They are the crunchers. The way

:58:02. > :58:06.this chap handles the boat I think you would be able to put an egg

:58:06. > :58:16.down there. Her Majesty won't even notice she has come alongside. Nice

:58:16. > :58:19.

:58:19. > :58:28.So, salutes to the Queen and to The Spirit of Chartwell.

:58:28. > :58:38.She gets ready to deliver her cargo to HMS President in just a while

:58:38. > :58:39.

:58:39. > :58:44.while. Albert Bridge is pretty much where

:58:44. > :58:50.we started. It was the first bridge that all of the pageant had to

:58:50. > :58:57.contend with. A Port of London Authority diver - I suppose that's

:58:58. > :59:07.the equivalent of the clear-up van, as they call it at the end of the

:59:08. > :59:29.

:59:29. > :59:39.London Marathon. Maybe he's part of So HMS President completing to the

:59:39. > :59:39.

:59:39. > :59:43.That breeze has dropped right away now. It's such a critical thing the

:59:43. > :59:47.wind on the water. We think these chaps manoeuvre their boats and

:59:47. > :59:54.there's nothing in it, but he will be very glad it's not blowing hard.

:59:54. > :00:04.You can see the flags are hanging limpy. He's moving in side ways.

:00:04. > :00:18.

:00:18. > :00:28.You cannot do that normally with a Just at the side of Tower Bridge

:00:28. > :00:28.

:00:28. > :00:31.there, another part of the Royal Squadron. A very clever bit of

:00:31. > :00:37.manoeuvrability that the Spirit of Chartwell has undertaken there,

:00:37. > :00:45.absolutely perfect so far. I hope I have not put the kiss of death and

:00:45. > :00:49.it now! But such precision. It is a pleasure to watch, isn't it? And

:00:49. > :00:54.that some of the other people in the flotilla would be pleased if

:00:55. > :00:59.they could handle their boats like that. I cannot even park my car as

:00:59. > :01:04.neatly as that? And boats work in a medium that is moving around all

:01:04. > :01:07.the time. If they stop, they tend to blow about. There will be a

:01:07. > :01:14.little bit of current moving past, and if you look at the Pontin's,

:01:14. > :01:24.there is some movement on the water, a little bit of a sea running. --

:01:24. > :01:31.

:01:31. > :01:41.So the Royal party will be watching the remainder of the pageant from

:01:41. > :01:51.

:01:51. > :02:01.Well, I think the captain of that ship can be very pleased with his

:02:01. > :02:24.

:02:24. > :02:31.Beautiful pictures of AP double boat. Shame, such a shame that the

:02:31. > :02:35.weather has taken a turn for the worse. -- of a beautiful boat. It

:02:35. > :02:45.has probably put a dampener on some of the things going on, but not all,

:02:45. > :02:48.

:02:48. > :02:52.certainly. No, sailors are used to Pouring with rain here at Tower

:02:52. > :02:56.Bridge, absolutely pouring, but it is not dampening the spirits. The

:02:56. > :03:01.people here waving as the boats go by, an amazing procession of

:03:01. > :03:06.vessels going past. It is the characters on board, not just the

:03:06. > :03:10.boats which make up the flotilla. They are a likely bunch.

:03:10. > :03:17.detoxes Vic is a little bit further back from Tower Bridge, but she is

:03:17. > :03:21.going to tell us plenty more. -- Sandi Toksvig. Hello and welcome of

:03:21. > :03:23.all these air fare in the heart of the Historic Ships section, an

:03:23. > :03:28.international occasion, I am delighted to be representing

:03:28. > :03:32.Denmark. The Danes swept up the Thames many times in their Viking

:03:33. > :03:37.longships ready to pillage the place, a jolly long time ago, it

:03:37. > :03:43.would be a good time to say an sorry about that. We have come in

:03:43. > :03:46.from the rain. Every single boat has been waterproofed, that is the

:03:46. > :03:51.kind of forethought and planning that has gone into this pageant. It

:03:51. > :03:56.is a place for glamorous guests on this boat, but instead I have got

:03:56. > :04:01.Griff Rhys Jones, Maureen Lipman and Omid Djalili. How are you

:04:01. > :04:06.doing? We have kept our station all weighed down, which has been

:04:06. > :04:14.marvellous. We have been in a gigantic convoy. You came here from

:04:14. > :04:19.on TV. It was windless and sunny. We have got sunshine in our hearts.

:04:20. > :04:23.Always, I come from Hull, we never forget the sun! Are you having a

:04:23. > :04:30.good time? You really have to be here to feel the excitement. If

:04:30. > :04:33.people do not feel it, go and jump into a bat, get some flags and

:04:34. > :04:37.waving furiously, get the excitement that we are feeling.

:04:37. > :04:42.are actually watching it on the television, which is really good.

:04:42. > :04:45.It is an international event, it is going around the world, although we

:04:45. > :04:51.are hearing that in Greece it is pay-per-view, not many people are

:04:51. > :04:56.watching. I get it! What do you reckon to these historic boats?

:04:57. > :05:01.This is the nicest one, because it has got a roof. We have discovered

:05:01. > :05:05.that as historic boats go, it is quite a handy one, because you can

:05:05. > :05:10.go below and see the world passing by. It has got rock and roll

:05:10. > :05:16.pedigree, because it belonged to Pete Townshend. Pinball, that is

:05:16. > :05:20.the answer! That is the way forward. And it rocks. It has not dampened

:05:20. > :05:25.anyone's spirits. We have all been laughing, cracking the most

:05:25. > :05:30.wonderful jokes, you should have been here! We have been having fun.

:05:31. > :05:35.I think my, it was very funny, if I may say. You had to be here. This

:05:35. > :05:39.is the BBC, but on Channel 4 there is an alternative version of this

:05:39. > :05:49.flotilla given by the Iranian President from the London Dungeon,

:05:49. > :05:53.in the torture chamber giving his address. And Michael Portillo.

:05:53. > :05:58.boat, the Zephyr, the harbinger of spring, the Greek god of the

:05:58. > :06:03.Western wind, I like that idea. What do we do? Is the intention

:06:03. > :06:08.that when we get to the Royal Barge, we come around, pass through the

:06:08. > :06:13.entirety of London, all the bridges, and then the Queen will be on the

:06:13. > :06:17.barge. Will she be below decks having their tea? We will be filing

:06:17. > :06:23.by? I am not entirely sure what will happen, but we are all

:06:23. > :06:33.swimming back. The advice on David Walliams, do not swallow. See you

:06:33. > :06:38.

:06:38. > :06:42.And there is the Queen, still on board the royal barge, shortly

:06:42. > :06:46.about to watch these wonderful boats as they keep coming past, and

:06:46. > :06:51.they do keep coming. We are just reaching the historic section now,

:06:51. > :06:58.they are coming past us here at Tower Bridge, and there are many,

:06:58. > :07:04.many, many more boats to come behind them. The ideal weather for

:07:04. > :07:09.watercolours, but Anneka Rice is are on the Millennium Bridge, let's

:07:09. > :07:12.Sea and the paintings are going! Hello again. Yes, this is the

:07:12. > :07:16.Millennium Bridge, the Arts and Crafts Bridge today, because I have

:07:16. > :07:21.been here with 20 painters recording this glorious celebration

:07:21. > :07:25.of the pageant. It has not just been about celebration, it has been

:07:25. > :07:29.about the extraordinary British spirit. It is cold here, it is very

:07:29. > :07:34.wet, Turner would be proud of us. My new job is just sort of

:07:34. > :07:38.sheltering Haley as she tries to finish. How has it gone? It is

:07:38. > :07:43.going well, it would be easier without the rain, but we soldier on.

:07:43. > :07:48.You always say that you enjoy the Impressionist style of painting

:07:48. > :07:55.outside, but this is taking it to park, do you think? I prefer snow

:07:55. > :07:59.to rein, but I'm used to being out in all weathers. It is amazing,

:07:59. > :08:04.because there are 20 artists, all under umbrellas, or feeling very

:08:04. > :08:11.soggy, but the work that is being produced is just fantastic. I do

:08:11. > :08:18.not know whether we can move down. How are you doing there? I have not

:08:18. > :08:23.done so well with the Reina. no! I am loving that. It could look

:08:23. > :08:27.quite interesting if we take it out, maybe we could do that. I think we

:08:27. > :08:33.are British, it is a man's day, it is raining, the painting has

:08:33. > :08:37.suddenly become very impressionistic indeed! It is the

:08:37. > :08:44.acrylics, and usually a dry incredibly quickly, but because of

:08:44. > :08:49.the rain... I love it, that is so Monet, isn't it? Every single

:08:49. > :08:53.painting that he ever painted had some sort of fog effect of sunlight

:08:53. > :08:58.through the fog, and I think he would be proud. A little bit of

:08:58. > :09:05.remedial work when I get back, I can rescue it! Have you got

:09:05. > :09:09.something? Hello! How was it for you? Fantastic, fantastic day. I

:09:09. > :09:14.have had to put mine away because of the rain. Very quickly, try to

:09:14. > :09:20.get it out. They have had to pack up because it is so wet. Oh, my

:09:20. > :09:24.goodness. Art it comes, here it comes. Oh, my goodness, are you

:09:24. > :09:31.pleased? I am very pleased with it, I will take it away and finish it

:09:31. > :09:36.off. Amazing stuff. We have had the most hilarious wet, glorious,

:09:36. > :09:40.fantastic celebration today. Very soggy about there. I'm

:09:40. > :09:45.starting to feel guilty that we are the only dry people in London right

:09:45. > :09:49.now. Look, one person who can tell us all about the weather, I do not

:09:49. > :09:55.know, she might be feeling a little bit responsible for it, John

:09:55. > :09:59.Sergeant is without. Right, thanks a very much. Well, I admitted, it

:09:59. > :10:04.is raining pretty badly here, but we have had a very good time and

:10:04. > :10:08.time with an expert, Carol Kirkwood, what did you think? We were all

:10:08. > :10:12.right for most of it? The forecast was spot on today, we had a lovely

:10:12. > :10:16.period, but now the rain has come down and the wind has picked up as

:10:16. > :10:20.well. It is rather chilly, but it could have been a lot worse,

:10:20. > :10:25.couldn't it? This is one of these weather fronts coming from the

:10:25. > :10:29.Atlantic, we couldn't have started. And no, much as we would have liked

:10:29. > :10:34.to. It would have been fantastic if we had the weather that we did last

:10:34. > :10:38.week, but it didn't dampen any spirits. No, and the Queen has to

:10:38. > :10:42.turn up and put up with the weather, and she looked very protective. I

:10:42. > :10:48.noticed on the barge, no question of her getting wet. A very wise

:10:48. > :10:55.lady, she was well covered up. was at Greenwich when she came to

:10:55. > :10:59.reopen the Cutty Sark last month, and it absolutely poured. In terms

:10:59. > :11:09.of the good and bad on royal occasions, I put that the lowest, I

:11:09. > :11:16.

:11:16. > :11:24.would give that zero, or if you How do you rate previous riot

:11:24. > :11:29.occasions? The previous Jubilee was sunny, dry, 26 degrees, lovely and

:11:29. > :11:35.warm. The Silver Jubilee was sunshine and showers, and it was a

:11:35. > :11:41.lot cooler, about 14.7 degrees. Bronze medal for today. It is

:11:41. > :11:49.actually quite similar to her own coronation day, wasn't it? I of

:11:49. > :11:55.course remember that, you might remember, too! Far too young, and I

:11:55. > :11:59.am telling the truth! That was June 2nd, 1953, what was the weather

:12:00. > :12:05.like then? It was cloudy, a little bit of drizzle, quite a brisk

:12:05. > :12:09.north-easterly wind as well, and it was cold, only 11.7 degrees. The

:12:09. > :12:19.average at this time of year should be about 18 degrees, so it was well

:12:19. > :12:20.

:12:21. > :12:26.below. OK, well, anyway, we have had thank you.

:12:26. > :12:33.We can look behind us now and waved to Fearne Cotton, who was on HMS

:12:33. > :12:37.Belfast through the rain. Can you see us? Yes! I can clarify that it

:12:37. > :12:43.is definitely raining, but we shall sing, because as well as being

:12:43. > :12:48.joined by the HMS Belfast veterans today, we have got the Fisherman's

:12:48. > :12:54.Friends, hello, chaps. These are sea shanty singers from Port Isaac

:12:54. > :12:57.in Cornwall. I imagine a few of you are fishermen. And friends as well.

:12:57. > :13:02.The four guys on the end of fishermen, and we are friends today,

:13:02. > :13:07.rather soggy. Have you had a lovely day? She turned and looked at us

:13:07. > :13:11.just as she went past and gave us a little wave, fantastic, what a day.

:13:11. > :13:16.How long have you been singing together? Nearly 20 years, but you

:13:16. > :13:20.cannot tell that from the way we do it! You have been keeping spirits

:13:20. > :13:30.up, all the veterans have been loving watching using, so would you

:13:30. > :13:59.

:13:59. > :14:08.like to give us a glass now? # We are bound to South Australia.

:14:08. > :14:18.# Heave away, all away. # We are bound for South Australia.

:14:18. > :14:28.

:14:28. > :14:32.# Heave away, all away. What they sound! It is so British,

:14:32. > :14:38.nothing is dampening their spirits. That is the whole spirit of this

:14:38. > :14:41.flotilla, the music, wonderful. Pouring with rain! I am just

:14:41. > :14:51.surprised that Paul Dickenson hasn't joined in with the old sea

:14:51. > :14:58.

:14:58. > :15:03.Well, you have both obviously never Fabulous stuff, the weather

:15:03. > :15:07.certainly has deteriorated, and in preparation for today, as you can

:15:07. > :15:12.imagine, a huge amount of research has had to be undertaken, really,

:15:12. > :15:19.to make sure that we put a correct perspective on everything that is

:15:19. > :15:24.going on. When you consider the reign of Queen Elizabeth II,

:15:24. > :15:27.everything that she has seen and witnessed, you go back through the

:15:27. > :15:35.record books, if you like, the compendium of everything that has

:15:35. > :15:43.happened during her reign, even back in 1953, the very first ascent

:15:43. > :15:53.of Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, his famous

:15:53. > :15:58.

:15:58. > :16:06.1963 the death of President John FKennedyT first supersonic airliner,

:16:06. > :16:13.Concorde, making its maiden flight in 1969 and in the same year Neil

:16:13. > :16:23.skp armstrong becoming the first man to set foot on the moon. The

:16:23. > :16:28.Queen has presided over many sporting events. 1966, a red letter

:16:28. > :16:32.day, when England beat Germany. I am saying this when England embark

:16:32. > :16:39.on their campaign to win the European Championship, we wish all

:16:39. > :16:47.of them luck. And of course her daughter and granddaughter indeed,

:16:47. > :16:53.great horse women during their lives. Becoming European three-day

:16:53. > :16:58.event champions and Princess Anne has maintained her association with

:16:58. > :17:03.sport with the Olympic association. If it has not been already, it will

:17:03. > :17:10.be a very, very busy year for her indeed, with London 2012. How many

:17:10. > :17:20.days away? Less than 60. It is around 53-54

:17:20. > :17:30.

:17:30. > :17:34.days left before the opening There are many boats to come past.

:17:34. > :17:39.HMS President, that is where the Queen will be for a little while

:17:39. > :17:46.yet with her guests and the rest of the Royal Family. We are still

:17:46. > :17:52.waiting for a number of the sections and their bands, the music

:17:52. > :17:59.barges. We have already seen the Dunkirk

:17:59. > :18:05.Little Ships and the manpowered and pedal boats. We still have the fire

:18:05. > :18:12.boats, leisure vessels, narrow boats and larges. The passenger

:18:12. > :18:21.boats and Thames clippers. And of course the very last pageant

:18:21. > :18:31.float, which will be the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

:18:31. > :18:35.

:18:35. > :18:44.That is what everybody needs - a Out there somewhere is the Shree

:18:44. > :18:50.Muktajeevan pipe band. I hope their bagpipes are not too soggy,

:18:50. > :18:54.otherwise they will be hard to play. There are still great sights on the

:18:54. > :18:59.river. These are historic vessels. Probably part of the national

:18:59. > :19:04.historic fleet. The nice thing is, when it is raining this hard, and

:19:04. > :19:14.it has gone through your oil skins and is dripping down your neck, at

:19:14. > :19:25.

:19:25. > :19:30.Just to the left is HMS Belfast, as another section begins to make its

:19:30. > :19:40.way through Tower Bridge. We think it's the service, steam and working

:19:40. > :19:50.vessels. We are waiting for leisure vessels,

:19:50. > :20:02.

:20:02. > :20:12.narrow boats and barges and Thames A great collection of lifeboats

:20:12. > :20:14.

:20:14. > :20:16.going through here. It is fantastic to see them. Here's a steam vessel.

:20:16. > :20:26.The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is part of British life,

:20:26. > :20:31.

:20:31. > :20:40.Since we started, the Duke of Edinburgh has only had one

:20:40. > :20:48.expression on his face and that is a big, broad smile. Lovely to see.

:20:48. > :20:56.The RNLI, the charity which saves lives at sea - and still provides

:20:56. > :21:02.an on-call 24/7 lifeboat service around the coast.

:21:03. > :21:10.A staggering 95% of all the personnel involved on board ships

:21:10. > :21:16.are on board boats, should I say, are all volunteers.

:21:16. > :21:26.Wonderful institution. They have saved 60,000 lives during our

:21:26. > :21:54.

:21:54. > :21:58.All the way along this flotilla we've seen a wonderful conversation

:21:58. > :22:03.between the Queen and all the people on the Bankside. There is a

:22:03. > :22:13.constant echoing going around. Amazing! Indeed. We have seen all

:22:13. > :22:13.

:22:13. > :22:16.sorts of personnel, as the public went up, to the war horse -- War

:22:16. > :22:21.Horse. You had an interesting conversation with the Queen. She

:22:21. > :22:25.ended up at your wedding. How did that happen? Basically we got told

:22:25. > :22:30.after a few weeks of actually booking the wedding there would be

:22:30. > :22:34.an important person coming. Now, at that time I thought it might be

:22:34. > :22:39.Alex Ferguson. I got very excited. I didn't find out it was the Queen

:22:39. > :22:43.and the Duke of Edinburgh. So I decided to write a letter to say,

:22:43. > :22:48.congratulations on the jubilee and actually invited them to our weding

:22:48. > :22:53.if they had a couple of minutes spare.

:22:53. > :22:58.So I thought, if you don't ask, you don't get. I got a lovely letter

:22:58. > :23:04.back and on the day, it was a great surprise to us that she actually

:23:04. > :23:14.asked to meet us both. What was she like? Very few people actually get

:23:14. > :23:16.

:23:16. > :23:22.to meet her, let alone have her at their wedding. She was very grey

:23:22. > :23:27.shous -- gracious, very kind. long did she stay for? Five minutes.

:23:27. > :23:32.We have a video. One of our friends has got a video.

:23:32. > :23:38.We have lovely photos from the Town Hall itself. People always talk

:23:38. > :23:42.about her sense of humour and the twinkle in her eye. She looks like

:23:42. > :23:47.she's enjoying this afternoon. first meet her it was such an

:23:47. > :23:52.honour. When you see her today, she's one happy lady. She is

:23:52. > :24:02.extraordinary, when you think how old she is, she is 86 years old,

:24:02. > :24:09.out here in the pouring rain. Fantastic! The boats keep coming.

:24:09. > :24:19.The historic section finally passing us. The rain keeps coming,

:24:19. > :24:25.

:24:25. > :24:28.Another fire boat there, just paying tribute to the Queen.

:24:28. > :24:38.I don't suppose Tower Bridge has been up this long for many, many

:24:38. > :24:48.

:24:48. > :24:53.years. As the boats go underneath the

:24:53. > :25:03.raised draw bridge of Tower Bridge, the first ship they see, sailing

:25:03. > :25:06.

:25:06. > :25:16.ship is the Great Tenacious, which we will see later on.

:25:16. > :25:22.

:25:22. > :25:27.Goodness, the Shard. We did see it before - it was quite clear. It

:25:27. > :25:31.gives you an indication as to the deterioration of the weather. I

:25:31. > :25:38.guess when you are the tallest building in Western Europe that is

:25:38. > :25:43.one of the down sides, isn't it? There's an interesting craft.

:25:43. > :25:50.That's the only hovercraft in the whole pageant. She is supposed to

:25:50. > :25:57.be at the end. It looks like she's under tow. There's the Cornish

:25:57. > :26:05.lugger, flying the biggest flag of the lot - the flag of Cornwall. She

:26:05. > :26:15.has a special mast. Right now, she's got it lowered. She's flying

:26:15. > :26:44.

:26:44. > :26:48.Well, I have to say I am sure this is a day that many people will

:26:48. > :26:52.never forget. Not least the parents of the babies who have been born

:26:52. > :26:58.today at a hospital looking right out on to the River Thames. They

:26:58. > :27:03.certainly will have a claim to fame - jubilee babies. Any more new

:27:03. > :27:09.arrivals? We love a claim to fame. We've had some additions. We've had

:27:09. > :27:14.Rachel arrive, Ahmed and Santiago. He is here with his family as well

:27:14. > :27:20.as his brother, who was born at St Thomas'. You look raidant.

:27:20. > :27:25.Congratulations. He's so cute, look at him! A

:27:25. > :27:32.fantastic day, you have just seen the Queen? Having my son is a great

:27:32. > :27:40.event. Having the boats go by is great. I gave birth five months ago,

:27:40. > :27:42.I have only eaten cake since I have given birth. We want to give you a

:27:42. > :27:47.jubilee bib. Congratulations.

:27:47. > :27:53.Over here we have Lynn, who is director of midwifery here at St

:27:53. > :28:00.Thomas'. You have a great job, haven't you? A busy job, the

:28:00. > :28:05.busyest maternity unit in London. We have 245 midwives working here.

:28:05. > :28:10.Is there a time of year you see more babies pop out than others?

:28:10. > :28:14.have some months, some weeks busier than others. We have seen a bit of

:28:14. > :28:20.a rise nine months after the Royal Wedding. So, wondering if early

:28:20. > :28:25.March next year, we might see another peak after today. I will

:28:25. > :28:29.bare that in mind for this weekend. What is happening with the new

:28:29. > :28:35.arrivals? We had 24 babies born yesterday. We've had ten so far

:28:35. > :28:42.today. One born since our last broadcast. Excellent! So lots of

:28:42. > :28:51.babies. Hopefully we'll meet more babies later.

:28:51. > :28:59.There's the scene right back at Westminster, St Thomas, -- thom

:28:59. > :29:02.masses. These are behind the -- Thomass. These are the ones behind

:29:02. > :29:11.the London philharmonic. It will come to an extraordinary

:29:11. > :29:15.close. These are the pleasure boats coming

:29:15. > :29:17.through to Tower Bridge, making their way slowly up the River

:29:18. > :29:24.Thames. Even though the Royal Barge has passed where we are, there are

:29:24. > :29:27.plenty of people on the banks of the river, under their umbrellas,

:29:27. > :29:32.but waving away to this extraordinary sight of these

:29:32. > :29:42.vessels - 1,000 vessels. Still the crowds are not tiring,

:29:42. > :29:49.

:29:49. > :29:53.they are waving. They are there And there, still on board, still

:29:53. > :29:59.standing, Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Charles with her, the Duke

:29:59. > :30:06.of Edinburgh, waving to all the vessels as they pass by. A big

:30:06. > :30:10.moment for every single boat, every single vessel which has taken part.

:30:10. > :30:15.The manpowered section has taken months and months of training -

:30:15. > :30:25.this has been three years in the making. She has not sat down there.

:30:25. > :30:27.

:30:27. > :30:37.She is still there, happy enough, And a little while longer as the

:30:37. > :30:46.

:30:46. > :30:56.final stages of this pageant make Some of the historic vessels here

:30:56. > :31:07.

:31:07. > :31:12.A parade site, what a sight of the River Thames! Well, are slightly

:31:12. > :31:22.drier terrain, but I'm not sure, we can go over to Tess Daly in

:31:22. > :31:37.

:31:37. > :31:42.Battersea Park. How are you getting Hello! Name? Tess Daly. I believe I

:31:42. > :31:51.am mighty New for services to working in the rain. That is right,

:31:51. > :31:55.yes! Congratulations, may I done the game tears for services to

:31:55. > :31:59.working in the rain? Congratulations! Can I get you a

:31:59. > :32:03.copy? A hot-water bottle and a blanket. How long have you been

:32:03. > :32:08.working in the rain? Just about an hour. You certainly deserve this,

:32:08. > :32:13.try not to fall over when you walk backwards. Bruce, if you are

:32:14. > :32:18.watching, I have a game of sorts now! The Battersea Park festival

:32:18. > :32:21.has been talked into a veritable cake, a feast for cake lovers like

:32:21. > :32:27.myself. There is a competition going on to build the world's

:32:27. > :32:33.tallest cakes, carp cakes, candy floss, chocolate cakes, it looks

:32:33. > :32:37.divine. If you like cakes, you need to talk to the Women's Institute.

:32:37. > :32:42.Can I borrow your umbrella? I believe you have been selling 1,000

:32:42. > :32:47.today. Hundreds of cakes, Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle, chocolate

:32:47. > :32:52.fudge cake, all sorts, we are selling them, but they sold out in

:32:52. > :32:59.a few hours. We've decorated some of the Diamond Jubilee theme.

:32:59. > :33:04.are going to find the cake! We need cake! Everybody is sheltering from

:33:04. > :33:13.the rain, as you can see, in the marquee. Trying to stay dry. If

:33:13. > :33:22.there is any cake left, we want it! Look at the Royal Corky! Hello,

:33:22. > :33:27.ladies of the WI, keeping dry, we are rather envious! That is our

:33:27. > :33:33.portrait of the Queen. Lovely, I am very impressed. She is a member of

:33:33. > :33:37.the Sandringham branch of the WI since 1943. She joined as a girl

:33:37. > :33:42.died at the age of 17, did she? It would be rude to leave without

:33:42. > :33:47.having a little piece. Thank you very much. Did you save that for

:33:47. > :33:52.me? We will see you later! Hopefully the rain might stop.

:33:52. > :33:57.That is definitely the WI version of keeping dry, stay in the tent

:33:57. > :34:02.and eat cake. At least they are enjoying themselves and keeping dry.

:34:02. > :34:07.Back out on the Thames, the shots are just so amazing, more boats

:34:07. > :34:13.coming up, a music barge passing us as we speak. The sound has been

:34:13. > :34:19.just echoing across the river banks of the Thames. And what an honour

:34:19. > :34:23.for them all to be passing beneath Tower Bridge. Sian Williams is

:34:23. > :34:29.there somewhere. Where she standing now the bridge has gone up? She is

:34:29. > :34:35.getting ready, she is with the Horrible Histories team. They

:34:35. > :34:40.promised us a little bit of history. Interesting to think that in a few

:34:40. > :34:44.hundred years time, there will be a reconstruction of this. Coming up

:34:44. > :34:50.the Thames, these are the narrowboats. There are about 40 or

:34:50. > :34:54.so narrowboats, and 20 barges behind them. They have come from

:34:54. > :34:59.all over Britain, all down the inland waterways, making their way

:34:59. > :35:03.down here to take part today. Somewhere amongst that lot is Alex

:35:03. > :35:07.Jones, who was patiently waiting. Trust her to pick a vessel that is

:35:07. > :35:13.called Hollywood, I think she's doing a bit of cooking. She told me

:35:13. > :35:19.she would be, let's find out what she has got on the menu. Well,

:35:19. > :35:23.eventually! Hello! Yes, welcome to the Hollywood, not quite as

:35:23. > :35:29.glamorous as it sounds, but we do have a red carpet and some palm

:35:29. > :35:35.trees. We are not going to let the rain get us down, are we? No, we

:35:35. > :35:40.are not. We have the three main ingredients of any party, food,

:35:40. > :35:44.conversation and a great crowd. Our first guest on the red carpet is

:35:44. > :35:50.celebrity chef Angela Hartnett. She is going to be making some classic

:35:50. > :35:54.British dishes. How are you? Fabulous! You are looking so

:35:54. > :35:59.glamorous. I will be with you shortly. The second guest is author

:35:59. > :36:04.and travel guide extraordinary Christopher Whitley. Just to prove

:36:04. > :36:08.you know your stuff, what bridge is this? This is Waterloo Bridge.

:36:08. > :36:12.course it is! You have got a vast knowledge of the Thames, and we

:36:12. > :36:18.will be putting it to the Thames, but you and Angela Mengele for a

:36:18. > :36:23.second. It is not raining at all, we are not put off at all! What we

:36:23. > :36:30.are doing is a take on classic afternoon tea. I have done my

:36:30. > :36:40.version of chicken coronation salad. Smoked almonds, hazelnuts, loads of

:36:40. > :36:44.

:36:44. > :36:49.Well, apologies for that, we seem to have lost the sound to the

:36:49. > :36:53.Hollywood, very wet at there, so a few problems with communications.

:36:53. > :37:03.Let's take another look at the Royal Barge, because it is such a

:37:03. > :37:06.

:37:06. > :37:11.wonderful sight. Waving to those And there you go, you can see the

:37:11. > :37:16.rest of the pageant still making its way slowly up the River Thames.

:37:16. > :37:20.It really does give you an idea of just how enormous it has been. Huge,

:37:21. > :37:24.five miles, but they have been even further than that. Paul was talking

:37:24. > :37:30.about what will happen once they go through Tower Bridge and sort

:37:30. > :37:39.themselves out, but do you know, to get this many boats off the water,

:37:39. > :37:43.we heard about Bill boats coming from Yorkshire, you know. -- tug.

:37:43. > :37:49.The Queen is looking resplendent today. We have with us Paula Reed

:37:49. > :37:54.from grassy a magazine. Style director! An expert on all these

:37:54. > :37:57.things. She does look amazing, doesn't she? She does, and the only

:37:57. > :38:02.concession to the weather is a bit of a cosy rap, and that has only

:38:02. > :38:08.come on in the last hour or so. does look like the jewel in the

:38:08. > :38:11.crown of this whole thing. White was a great choice. Absolutely,

:38:11. > :38:16.because I am sure that she did not know the weather would be this

:38:17. > :38:20.great, but she stands out amongst the red and gold. And then all the

:38:20. > :38:28.little crystals, she is sparkling. We have got to ask about the

:38:28. > :38:32.Duchess of Cambridge. A lot of red around today. Perhaps it is the

:38:32. > :38:35.obvious choice, but the Duchess of Cambridge has taken a leaf out of

:38:35. > :38:40.the Queen's book and realised how a bit of slimline tailoring is the

:38:40. > :38:43.best way to keep yourself looking sharp and cool in a situation like

:38:43. > :38:47.this, where the weather can throw anything at you. Did you have any

:38:47. > :38:51.idea what the Queen would be wearing? Way had a bit of an

:38:51. > :38:54.inkling about what the Queen would be wearing, but nothing from Kate,

:38:54. > :38:59.so I was watching Twitter all afternoon to make sure I was up to

:38:59. > :39:04.date. Interesting that she did not go for anything weather proof at

:39:04. > :39:07.all. She looks fantastic in red. And a tartan scarf. That is their

:39:07. > :39:11.concession to the weather. The Queen famously hates age,

:39:11. > :39:14.apparently, so at the Derby yesterday we had set up a Tote to

:39:15. > :39:19.find out what colour she was wearing. Ivory and white were the

:39:19. > :39:26.favourites. The Duchess of Cornwall looking rather glamorous today.

:39:26. > :39:29.in cream, with a Philip Treacy hat, her favourite milliner. And the

:39:29. > :39:32.Duchess of Cambridge is wearing Sylvia Fletcher, Locke and company

:39:32. > :39:38.are one of the oldest milliners in the country, they made hats for

:39:38. > :39:42.Nelson at the Battle of Waterloo. Military and ladies milliners,

:39:42. > :39:47.wearing it with the Queen, one of our most modern designers. --

:39:47. > :39:50.McQueen. The Queen has been a real trend setter over the years.

:39:50. > :39:54.has, and while we were doing research for this, we did not

:39:54. > :39:59.realise how many knots to fashion she had made. In a way, hairstyle

:39:59. > :40:03.stands alone, it moves forward independently of fashion,

:40:03. > :40:08.regardless of how trends come and go. She is always constant in the

:40:08. > :40:11.middle of it. She is an icon, historic. I cannot tell you how

:40:11. > :40:17.many designers she is inspiring at the moment. Catt works are taking

:40:17. > :40:22.their lead from her all the time, Dolce and Gabbana dedicated an

:40:22. > :40:27.entire collection to are not so many years ago. We can catch up

:40:27. > :40:32.with Sian Williams at Stourbridge with horrible histories now. --

:40:32. > :40:35.Tower Bridge. The River Thames RC lots of changes over the past

:40:35. > :40:42.centuries, and we could not possibly putt at all into two

:40:43. > :40:47.minutes or so, could we? We have with as the hit sketch show

:40:47. > :40:52.horrible histories, and we have a Ten's report. Thank you very much,

:40:52. > :40:55.lovely weather for it! This is the River Thames, which started life

:40:55. > :41:00.flowing into another river that is now in Germany. It is slightly

:41:00. > :41:06.confusing. Up until the last Ice Age, Europe was a giant land mass,

:41:06. > :41:11.and water from the Thames flowed into the river Rhine. They made the

:41:11. > :41:14.cut my water turning into rind joke, which is a shame. At the end of the

:41:14. > :41:19.Ice Age, the Thames started to attract a bit of attention. There

:41:19. > :41:24.is evidence of settlement as far back as Iron Age man, a common book

:41:24. > :41:28.series that never took off. The Romans put London on the mark --

:41:28. > :41:33.map, naming it Londinium and building the first London Bridge,

:41:33. > :41:36.which Kubica probably burned down. So another one came down as London

:41:36. > :41:39.became the capital of Roman rule Britannia and other Romans stop

:41:39. > :41:43.ruling Britannia, the Saxons abandoned London and build their

:41:43. > :41:47.own version a mile outside the city. But not for long, because the

:41:47. > :41:50.Vikings attacked and the Saxons moved back inside the Roman city

:41:50. > :41:55.walls, and for good reason, because the Vikings do not hang around.

:41:55. > :41:58.They come over, Paul down the support of the bridge and in a

:41:58. > :42:02.moment London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling Down,

:42:02. > :42:07.inspiring a nursery rhyme which I can never remember. But another

:42:07. > :42:11.bridge is built, the world-famous London Bridge, the only bridge in

:42:11. > :42:14.the city until the 1700s. It saw the Golden Jubilee for Edward the

:42:14. > :42:23.Third, the first River Bourne coronation for Richard the Third,

:42:23. > :42:28.and of course Henry VIII's funeral procession. It got a bit messy when

:42:28. > :42:31.supporters exploded and were eaten by dogs. I think he went to the

:42:31. > :42:34.dogs at some point in his 30s. It is not just the royals who are

:42:34. > :42:37.using the river, by Stuart times it has become one of the world's

:42:37. > :42:45.busiest stocks. There are so many boats that they have traffic jams

:42:45. > :42:49.on the water. Really? When it gets cold, the river would freeze

:42:49. > :42:55.completely. You could drive karts up and down at four months at a

:42:55. > :42:58.time and they even put a funfair on it. In Georgian times they used

:42:58. > :43:01.boats inside Westminster Hall when it flooded. Not all of that water

:43:01. > :43:07.was water if you know what I mean. Yes, with the population booming,

:43:07. > :43:11.sewage became a major problem. In 1858, there was so much botty grot

:43:11. > :43:16.in the Thames that the Houses of Parliament themselves was overcome

:43:16. > :43:19.by the stench. When people started dropping like dodos from the

:43:19. > :43:25.disease in the doo-doo, Joseph Bazalgette invested a new drainage

:43:25. > :43:29.system which choke the pea out of London. Yes, this incredible system

:43:29. > :43:33.transformed the banks of the Thames, naming new embankment after

:43:33. > :43:38.Victoria and Albert. Why say it with flowers when you can pronounce

:43:38. > :43:42.it with Pooh pipes? It is so romantic, isn't it? And the Thames

:43:42. > :43:45.remains this wonderful thing to this day because of those buried

:43:45. > :43:50.doo-doo ducts which are still doing the business, which is why it is

:43:50. > :43:55.now full of ships instead of... Anyway, that is the history of the

:43:55. > :44:02.Thames in a soggy nutshell, a very happy Jubilee to you, ma'am, and it

:44:02. > :44:07.is that you, Sian! It is close enough! Sunday or news will be like

:44:07. > :44:11.that. More from the horrible histories team a little bit later.

:44:11. > :44:21.It has not dampened enthusiasm, this driving rain. Thank you very

:44:21. > :44:21.

:44:21. > :44:25.much, lots of smiles, see you a Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic,

:44:25. > :44:31.how did they do that so quickly? think we should go over some of

:44:31. > :44:34.those key points. A little bit slower! I am out of a job now.

:44:34. > :44:40.Great stink he mentioned, you forget the history of the Thames,

:44:40. > :44:44.what it used to be like. Yes, if we had smelly vision, everyone would

:44:44. > :44:50.be burying their heads in handkerchiefs, which is what the

:44:50. > :44:54.MPs had to do back in 1858, because the Thames was basically a

:44:54. > :45:00.silhouette for a lot of history. It was where all the cesspits would

:45:00. > :45:05.flow into the Thames. The smells were absolutely horrendous. People

:45:05. > :45:09.were tipping their sheets in chlorine. The MPs tried dipping the

:45:09. > :45:14.curtains into lime and chloride to hang them at the windows to get rid

:45:14. > :45:21.of the stench. But they can procrastinate sometimes, but the

:45:21. > :45:26.things did get them moving his smells! When the smell came in the

:45:26. > :45:30.heat of the summer in 1858, Disraeli, the Chancellor, went into

:45:30. > :45:34.the library at Parliament and just had to run out with a handkerchief,

:45:34. > :45:44.it was awful, so they decided that action had to be taken, and the

:45:44. > :45:45.

:45:45. > :45:51.And that is when the Thames - because it was twice as wide as

:45:51. > :45:57.this and swallower as well. Then the enbankments came in with the

:45:57. > :46:02.sewer system, so the Thames completely, as you said, got

:46:02. > :46:08.narrower. We have this much narrower spectacle than we would

:46:08. > :46:13.have in the 1700s. During the winter time this place was just

:46:13. > :46:18.magical. Think of the Frost Fairs. Some of the best stories in the

:46:18. > :46:25.world. Imagine the Thames frozen over, so everybody could get on the

:46:25. > :46:30.Thames, buy things. Shops were set up, bars, skating, rides, even,

:46:30. > :46:37.even, in the last frost fair in 1814, would you believe this an

:46:37. > :46:46.elephant crossed the Thames. Never! It was really that thick. Shops

:46:46. > :46:52.were set up as if it was normal thoroughfares. People would have

:46:52. > :46:57.certificates saying "I was on the Thames when it was frozen." It does

:46:57. > :47:02.not freeze any more. No ice. Let's go back to Paul, who will tell us

:47:02. > :47:07.what is happening on the river. We will see the finale of all of this

:47:07. > :47:11.quite soon, when the London Philharmonic Orchestra arrives at

:47:11. > :47:16.Tower Bridge - the big final barge. That is what we're waiting for out

:47:16. > :47:21.here. It is tempting not to wave at all these wonderful barges. They

:47:21. > :47:31.are coming up, slowly, but surely. When they get here that is when you

:47:31. > :47:32.

:47:32. > :47:36.Thank you very much. We all enjoyed watching Horrible Histories here in

:47:36. > :47:43.our commentary position. Jolly good fun, it was. We have narrow boats

:47:43. > :47:48.and barges. We have 43 narrow boats, 40 barges out there. Some of these

:47:48. > :47:52.are special. Narrow boats are remarkable things. It is easy to

:47:52. > :47:56.imagine, how do you make a narrow boat. In the olden days, long and

:47:56. > :48:00.saw them off to length. It is not like that at all. Look at that bow,

:48:00. > :48:04.look at that closely, the artwork and the careful way it is swept up

:48:04. > :48:10.at the front. That is just so beautiful. That is what it was all

:48:10. > :48:16.about, the whole folk art developed around these boats. You can see it

:48:16. > :48:19.on the roof of this one. It would be quite normal to see a

:48:19. > :48:24.few little plant pots and stuff up there, people enjoy them. These are

:48:24. > :48:31.for the fields and by-ways, but they carried the commerce of the

:48:31. > :48:36.land for centuries. They are going past, or underneath

:48:36. > :48:40.Tower Bridge and past the Royal Family in HMS President. Very soon

:48:40. > :48:45.we shall see the first of the up- river passenger boats and the

:48:45. > :48:50.clippers. That one has come from Merseyside,

:48:50. > :48:54.by the look of it. It is a lovely vessel. It looks like a working

:48:54. > :49:04.vessel. You can tell the working ones. They've got a rough look

:49:04. > :49:09.

:49:09. > :49:14.about them. There's guts there. The one in the background there,

:49:14. > :49:22.the one with the steam engine is certainly a working vessel.

:49:22. > :49:26.The whole of her hull is clothed in black canvass to keep the cargo dry.

:49:26. > :49:29.These are the first of the barges coming along. Many of these would

:49:29. > :49:39.have been working barges in their day. People take them over and they

:49:39. > :49:40.

:49:40. > :49:46.live on them. I have to confess, unlike Tom, I am

:49:46. > :49:49.not an expert. I will tell you the Elizabeth we saw a few moments ago

:49:50. > :49:56.may look like a classical Belgium spit, but she is British through

:49:56. > :50:02.and through and the hull was constructed in 2004 and abandoned

:50:02. > :50:06.near Nottingham and bought by her owners in 2010, who have now made

:50:06. > :50:11.her sea worthy. She sailed down these coasts to the Thames, where

:50:11. > :50:21.they are now in the final stages of her renovation. They look good to

:50:21. > :50:28.

:50:28. > :50:35.The Neeltje, that is a classic Dutchman. If she has not been

:50:35. > :50:45.working, she looks like one. She has that lovely Dutch curve. The

:50:45. > :50:56.

:50:56. > :51:03.And the duch are -- Dutch are famous for their canal system too.

:51:03. > :51:07.Ours are well looked after, aren't they. There is a authority which do

:51:07. > :51:11.a fantastic job. They do pretty well, but the Dutch are still

:51:11. > :51:15.commercial, of course. They are maintained to a very, very high

:51:15. > :51:19.standard indeed. When you go down a Dutch one in your boat you know how

:51:19. > :51:28.deep it will be. It tells you on the chart and that is how deep. If

:51:28. > :51:32.it says two metres and you draw 1.9, you will be all right. Not quite

:51:32. > :51:40.like that here. The culture on the canals is very strong. There are

:51:40. > :51:46.some wonderful characters. always terrifys me watching one of

:51:46. > :51:49.these vessels and, you know, they have to go around some tight bends,

:51:49. > :51:52.especially ones in city centres. You have this system in Birmingham

:51:52. > :51:57.and Manchester, of course. There are some tight turns there. You

:51:57. > :52:01.have to be a bit of an expert to see them absolutely perfectly.

:52:01. > :52:05.the old days they were pulled by horses, so it was not much of a

:52:05. > :52:09.problem. You could drag them around. Now they are propelled by a

:52:09. > :52:16.propeller, which is at the back. Crow cannot always get them around

:52:16. > :52:25.the corn -- you cannot always get them around the corners.

:52:25. > :52:33.Maxine is passing by now. She's owned by Paul Weston and another

:52:33. > :52:43.new comer, she is permanently moored at Heritage Wharf. They have

:52:43. > :53:22.

:53:22. > :53:28.got to know the place well and they The sights and sound of the River

:53:28. > :53:34.Thames. We're not going to see anything like this again in most of

:53:34. > :53:39.our lifetimes. High spirits, we hope, from all of

:53:39. > :53:49.the Royal Party. Certainly first prize for stamina

:53:49. > :54:11.

:54:11. > :54:16.There's Tenacious, just on the right-hand side. Yes a large

:54:16. > :54:22.sailing ship, you can see there, is owned by, I believe by the Jubilee

:54:22. > :54:28.Trust. She is specially rigged so she can be sailed by disabled

:54:28. > :54:31.people. Her crew are small permanent, and the volunteers are

:54:31. > :54:39.half-abled people and half disabled. It's a remarkable achievement they

:54:39. > :54:43.manage to do this. The technicallys are -- technicalities are

:54:43. > :54:53.fascinating. I was on board a couple of weeks ago and it was an

:54:53. > :55:16.

:55:16. > :55:22.Well, the last two sections coming past now. The last two or three

:55:22. > :55:28.music barges and the passenger boats are coming past, so not long

:55:28. > :55:32.to go. It is still going. I cannot tell you, the rain coming down here

:55:32. > :55:42.is extraordinary. Just further down river from here is Sian Williams,

:55:42. > :55:44.

:55:45. > :55:48.on Tower Bridge, with Dan. It is coming down in bucket s here.

:55:48. > :55:54.I am joined by Dan to tell us about the changing face of the Thames.

:55:54. > :55:58.Over the years it has changed substantially. Tremendously. The

:55:58. > :56:04.great Port of London, a place of trade and commerce, but now a place

:56:04. > :56:08.where people live and offices. If you think, down there, the South

:56:08. > :56:12.Bank, Festival of Britain, 1951, that came when the river was still

:56:12. > :56:18.a place of commerce and trade. Bomb damage. The great festival took

:56:19. > :56:23.place. That transformed that area in the 1950s. Now the arts centre -

:56:23. > :56:28.that is wonderful. It is a new mark of the Thames, I suppose of the

:56:28. > :56:34.arts. It is a place of entertainment. The London Eye is

:56:34. > :56:40.turning around. Come up further, towards us here in the east - St

:56:40. > :56:48.Paul's, an ancient mark of the old history. 17th century, a place of

:56:48. > :56:52.trade and commerce. Think of the Tate Modern, and the power station,

:56:52. > :56:55.marking the trade and industrial aspect of London and here, where we

:56:55. > :57:00.are standing now, it was transformed again. The ancient Port

:57:00. > :57:05.of London over there, the Port of London, for 2,000 years a place of

:57:05. > :57:10.trade. Now that is entertainment again. High living, high rise and

:57:10. > :57:14.behind you is the tallest building in Europe, disappearing into the

:57:14. > :57:21.clouds now. Normally you would see the top of the Shard because it's

:57:21. > :57:26.what just over 300 metres high? 1,000 feet. An incredible structure,

:57:26. > :57:31.now dwarfed by the clouds. That symbolises the different nature of

:57:31. > :57:38.buildings around the Thames. Started as industry, and now high-

:57:38. > :57:47.rise living and high commerce and banking towers. Amazing! The Shard

:57:47. > :57:53.was designed to look like a sail going down the Thames? Partly to

:57:53. > :57:59.evoke the Thames in the time of Canaletto. And a strange image of a

:57:59. > :58:04.shard of glass. Do you like it? Artisticly. I think it is a strange

:58:04. > :58:09.building to create at this moment. When you think of sustainability

:58:09. > :58:14.and so forth, a great shard of glass will not be the easiest

:58:14. > :58:20.building to maintain. You think it fits with everything? This skyline

:58:20. > :58:26.has had so many different bits of architecture nestled up among one

:58:26. > :58:29.and other. That is London, always absorbing and creating. The tallest

:58:29. > :58:33.building in Europe is very appropriate for London.

:58:33. > :58:37.Thank you very much. I don't know where everybody has gone, to be

:58:37. > :58:42.honest. Nobody is here any more because the rain is just pelting

:58:42. > :58:51.down. We're enjoying ourselves, aren't we? We are.

:58:51. > :58:59.Rain on us, go on... Rain on us. We are still here and so is the Queen.

:58:59. > :59:03.Hollywood has just zipped past us. Earlier we lost Alex Jones. Can we

:59:03. > :59:07.go back to her? Do you know what, I think we lost

:59:07. > :59:12.you when we went underneath Waterloo Bridge. Even though it is

:59:12. > :59:21.lashing it down. Here on Hollywood, we laugh in the face of rain. Yes,

:59:21. > :59:28.we do. Now Angela has been very kind and fed us all afternoon some

:59:29. > :59:33.lovely food. We've had fantastic quails Scottish eggs, wrapped in

:59:33. > :59:38.thyme, finished with rock salt and pepper. We will pass them to the

:59:38. > :59:44.guys now. A little bit damp now. It doesn't matter. Here we had my

:59:44. > :59:54.version of a coronation salad, with salted almonds, smoked chicken,

:59:54. > :59:55.

:59:55. > :00:05.vegetables and an apple vein gret. We have some of these, and just

:00:05. > :00:10.

:00:10. > :00:18.Alex, I know you have been waiting, we have some love -- lovely

:00:18. > :00:21.Over here we have Christopher. He's been bamboozling us with Thames

:00:21. > :00:25.facts all afternoon. We thought we'd set you a challenge and give

:00:25. > :00:30.you 20 seconds to give us facts about where we are right now. Sarah,

:00:30. > :00:33.our new friend, with a spot watch and bell can count how many facts

:00:33. > :00:37.Christopher delivers. Three, two, one, off you go. Under London

:00:37. > :00:44.Bridge just now, the first place in the world where it was made

:00:44. > :00:49.compulsory to drive on the left. Suthack ka reed cal is the oldest

:00:49. > :00:53.gothic church in London -- cathedral. We are about to go past

:00:53. > :01:00.the Tower of London, the first bridge to be latrineed and we are

:01:00. > :01:06.about to go under Tower Bridge which in 19 52. Stop! How many

:01:06. > :01:10.facts? Five. You have been fantastic all afternoon. We are

:01:10. > :01:20.having a party despite the rain. Back to you in your warm dry studio

:01:20. > :01:29.

:01:29. > :01:35.and Matt, see you tomorrow. Have We are getting towards the end of

:01:35. > :01:40.the pageant now. These are the passenger boats. They are passing

:01:40. > :01:49.through Tower Bridge on the way to the dispersal area. There's about

:01:49. > :01:54.40 passenger boats all together. Some stately passenger cruisers too.

:01:54. > :01:57.And they're going to be very, very busy, of course, in 53 days' time I

:01:57. > :02:05.think we worked out when the Olympics start. It's going to be

:02:05. > :02:12.quite a raut to some of the Olympic venues -- route. And at Greenwich

:02:12. > :02:19.and what was the 02 Arena is now the North Greenwich Arena and into

:02:19. > :02:23.the City of London too. Despite the rain - well we are British! Despite

:02:23. > :02:29.the rain, we like a little bit of dampness. I have to say, one or two

:02:29. > :02:37.people are a little bit more than just being a bit damp, but they're

:02:37. > :02:42.sticking with it in tribute, of course, to this wonderful Diamond

:02:43. > :02:47.Jubilee and of course the Queen. Lovely to see in the background the

:02:47. > :02:57.launch with the paddles. She's disappeared now, but cutting

:02:57. > :03:05.

:03:05. > :03:12.through the water so sweetly, the Very shortly, we'll be getting to

:03:12. > :03:15.the point where, as Sian said, we'll be seeing the London

:03:15. > :03:20.Philharmonic Orchestra. It's remarkable seeing these Clippers

:03:20. > :03:29.coming up the river, the catamarans coming up the riv. Shows you how

:03:29. > :03:35.far things have developed from the long slender boats of yesteryear.

:03:35. > :03:38.That's where all the cookery was going on with Alex Jones on The

:03:38. > :03:45.Hollywood there. Despite the fact that it's raining hard, everybody

:03:45. > :03:49.on the City Cruises ship behind, out on the top deck, they're a

:03:49. > :03:54.leading provider of river boats in the UK, have quite a number of

:03:54. > :04:01.vessels, and one of two in this pageant too. But everybody's out

:04:01. > :04:11.there enjoying the atmosphere. Her Majesty is having a bit of a

:04:11. > :04:24.

:04:24. > :04:30.chuckle there. And very shortly, the London tp Philharmonic will be

:04:30. > :04:34.playing a very famous tune by Holst. It will be playing Jupiter, an

:04:34. > :04:44.excerpt from the Planet Suite as we have what has been loosely

:04:44. > :04:47.

:04:47. > :04:52.described as our wow moment of the And just having been told about the

:04:52. > :04:55.wow moment, it's just been mentioned in my head phones that in

:04:55. > :05:00.fact the wow moment may be cancelled because of the weather

:05:00. > :05:04.but I'm sure you can totally understand that.

:05:04. > :05:09.Tell you what, I could tell you what it was going to be and you

:05:09. > :05:14.could just imagine the rest. We were going to see a sword fish by

:05:14. > :05:24.plane weren't we? Yes, and a lot of people were looking forward to that.

:05:24. > :05:24.

:05:24. > :05:29.A big moment for me. We still have the London

:05:29. > :05:34.Philharmonic. There was also, from various squadrons throughout the UK,

:05:34. > :05:37.in diamond formation, nine helicopters were going to fly over

:05:37. > :05:41.as well in tribute to the Queen but that has gone as well. Once again,

:05:41. > :05:51.I'm sure you will be able to understand precisely the reasons

:05:51. > :06:05.

:06:05. > :06:12.The passenger boats, Tom, are coming thick and fast. They've had

:06:12. > :06:16.to wait a long time but they're there. Not too far out of time.

:06:16. > :06:20.are a little bit over time at the minute, but I think the organisers

:06:20. > :06:25.can give themselves a pat on the back really. Yes, not much at all.

:06:25. > :06:28.I could name one or two professionals who said they would

:06:28. > :06:34.be at least an hour late at this stage but look at what they've

:06:34. > :06:44.done! Fantastic. Well done to the PLA and the organisers actually for

:06:44. > :06:48.

:06:48. > :06:53.So many servicemen we have seen today, so many former servicemen.

:06:53. > :06:59.Rights from the moment when the Royal party began to make their way

:06:59. > :07:05.down to Cadogan Pier with the Chelsea Pensioners, all the way up

:07:05. > :07:13.to HMS President and HMS Belfast too. As well as everybody on the

:07:13. > :07:17.riv of course, let's not forget them. When I was just dog a bit of

:07:17. > :07:21.research leading into this, I was reading about an event that takes

:07:21. > :07:25.place down in Sydney in Australia. Of course, they would love to know

:07:25. > :07:28.that they do something bigger and better than we do, but they have

:07:28. > :07:33.something like 5,000 boats in one of their parades down there. They

:07:33. > :07:38.do, but they don't have to do it on the Thames River do they in the

:07:38. > :07:42.pouring rain. They have a different set of issues, but it's interesting

:07:42. > :07:45.seeing these passenger craft coming up because a number of the older

:07:45. > :07:49.ones were Dunkirk little ships and they've actually stayed with the

:07:49. > :07:52.passenger fleet, rather than go with the Dunkirk little ships which

:07:52. > :07:56.is lovely. They make perfect vessels for getting in amongst it

:07:56. > :07:59.on the beaches there because they don't draw water. They could cram a

:07:59. > :08:09.lot of troops on board. They withstood the dive bombers and

:08:09. > :08:30.

:08:30. > :08:34.shell fire and now here they are in In just a moment, one of the

:08:34. > :08:44.Pleasure craft that will pass by the Royal party is called Queen

:08:44. > :08:49.Elizabeth which was built in 1926. It was charted on this day by the

:08:49. > :08:59.Royal Overseas League of Which the Queen is the patron, so that's most

:08:59. > :09:15.

:09:15. > :09:22.I don't think there's any doubt about it at all, the Royal Barge

:09:22. > :09:28.has been an absolute smash hit here today with spectators and those

:09:28. > :09:32.people who've been on board too. It looks stunning. They had to be very

:09:32. > :09:36.careful because she looks very high compared with a lot of the other

:09:36. > :09:39.vessels and what is called air draft, that's how high the boat is

:09:39. > :09:44.in terms of metres, is very significant on the Thames because

:09:44. > :09:49.of some of the low bridges. It could almost have been touch-and-go

:09:49. > :09:55.whether the Royal Barge got under but kfs very carefully calculated.

:09:55. > :09:58.I think one of the reasons why the barrier was closed, another plus of

:09:58. > :10:02.closing it was that they could control the height of water as well

:10:02. > :10:08.as the depth of water the vessels had to float in so it worked out

:10:08. > :10:12.well for the Royal Barge. Certainly the pageant Master and all the

:10:12. > :10:16.partners in the Organisation of This fantastic event have left

:10:16. > :10:21.nothing to chance, have they? Nothing at all. I've been privy to

:10:21. > :10:24.most of the paperwork that's involved and it's absolutely

:10:24. > :10:27.unbelievable. Never seen anything like it in my life and I can see

:10:27. > :10:31.why it's worked out so well and they really deserve that it should

:10:31. > :10:36.have worked out well because it's not been, there's been nothing half

:10:36. > :10:39.baked about this. You see the Royal weddings on land and think, how on

:10:39. > :10:42.earth do they organise all that, yet organising something on the

:10:42. > :10:45.water in many ways is more difficult just because of the

:10:45. > :10:49.nature of the beast, the water drifts about in all directions and

:10:49. > :10:58.nothing can control the weather which controls the vessels.

:10:59. > :11:04.Fantastic. One of the spectators who has a real connection to the

:11:04. > :11:11.navy and everything nautical pretty much is the Lord High Admiral, the

:11:11. > :11:16.Duke of Edinburgh. He celebrated his 90th birthday last year. I

:11:16. > :11:21.sincerely hope he's in good health now. Joined the Royal Navy as a

:11:21. > :11:27.cadet. We have seen many cadets here today graduating way back in

:11:27. > :11:33.1939 from the Royal naval College down in Dartmouth. He was in fact

:11:33. > :11:38.the best cadet on his course. He's been standing there for 90 minutes

:11:38. > :11:48.now and he's straight as a ram rod and I just saw him enjoy a joke

:11:48. > :11:51.

:11:51. > :11:59.with his wife. Later on in his career he was promoted to Commander

:11:59. > :12:09.to HMS Frigate Magistrate pyre. His career eventually came to an end on

:12:09. > :12:38.

:12:38. > :12:44.More happy spectators, as well as participants. As this historic day

:12:44. > :12:49.draws to a close on the River Thames, which is described by some

:12:49. > :12:54.as the spine of London, it's worth reflecting that this City is one of

:12:54. > :12:58.the most iconic, historic and powerful cities in the world, but

:12:58. > :13:01.it's provided the perfect backdrop, minus the weather of course, but

:13:01. > :13:05.it's provided the perfect backdrop, the perfect setting for these

:13:05. > :13:15.Diamond Jubilee settings in celebration of our Queen. What a

:13:15. > :13:28.

:13:29. > :13:33.Well, commander Ian Clark and Steven Prince join us now in the

:13:33. > :13:35.studio, so, as Royal Navy Commanding officer, it's been your

:13:35. > :13:41.sailors that have been kind of floating along sued the Queen all

:13:41. > :13:44.the way up here? That's right -- alongside. HMS Diamond is the

:13:44. > :13:49.navy's newest operational ship and some of my sailors have been the

:13:49. > :13:53.Royal guard at honour, the protection around the barge and

:13:53. > :13:57.it's been a great chance for them to be involved in a fantastic event

:13:57. > :14:01.on this. How have you thought the event has gone so far today?

:14:01. > :14:05.think it's gone off wonderfully and the great thing about the maritime

:14:05. > :14:10.community is they are not dampened by the weather. By comparison if

:14:10. > :14:13.you look back to the Coronation or Silver Jubilee, this is much larger,

:14:13. > :14:18.perhaps only 150 or 200 vessels for those and very, very inclusive.

:14:18. > :14:22.are getting towards the end now, we are getting the London Philharmonic

:14:22. > :14:27.Orchestra who're just on their way up to Tower Bridge, the last of the

:14:27. > :14:35.passenger boats. When they arrive, explain what will happen?

:14:35. > :14:40.Once they arrive, we have the Sword Fish Aircraft plan to overfly and

:14:40. > :14:44.the formation... It's a bit like a swan this whole thing, the Queen is

:14:44. > :14:47.graceful and lovely, then everything's paddling away

:14:47. > :14:57.underneath and we think the flypast has been cancelled. Would cloud

:14:57. > :15:00.cover be the reasons for that? It's a shame because we had a

:15:00. > :15:06.diamond-shaped formation flypast with Merlyn aircraft, some of which

:15:06. > :15:13.are deploying next week to the Middle East, youngly Sea King and

:15:13. > :15:16.three of the links helicopters that we fly off the Frigates and

:15:16. > :15:20.Destroyers. The Queen will get to HMS President where she'll meat a

:15:20. > :15:23.range of sailors there and the Royal Guard. What an honour for

:15:24. > :15:26.everybody who's been involved today? Fantastic and good to see a

:15:26. > :15:29.maritime event at the heart of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. A shame we

:15:29. > :15:35.won't get the wow moment but they've trained long and hard for

:15:35. > :15:43.it. Too bad, the weather got the better of us on that one. Thank you

:15:43. > :15:49.We are not going to have our wow moment here this afternoon. You

:15:49. > :15:54.have to think back to the immense effort that's been put into this

:15:54. > :16:04.day. The last moment, the final moment, only to be spoilt by the

:16:04. > :16:07.

:16:07. > :16:12.weather. As we mentioned earlier, we were due to see the London

:16:12. > :16:22.Philharmonic Orchestra, who will still pass by the Royal Barge, with

:16:22. > :16:43.

:16:43. > :16:53.their 64 players. And they will Every one of those boats trying to

:16:53. > :16:54.

:16:54. > :16:58.send their own signal to the Royal Party. They head off past the

:16:58. > :17:08.Avenue of Sail which, I guess, has been slightly overshadowed. You can

:17:08. > :17:31.

:17:31. > :17:41.understand why. What a magnificent We just saw Royalty. That was built

:17:41. > :17:42.

:17:42. > :17:52.in 1913. Also registered as a historical ship, too, as many on

:17:52. > :18:20.

:18:20. > :18:26.the boats on the River Thames this The RNLI, who are well-known all

:18:26. > :18:33.over the country because of their presence on every coastal region of

:18:33. > :18:43.the country. And in Ireland, too. They have looked after everybody on

:18:43. > :18:56.

:18:56. > :19:01.There is certainly nothing dampening the spirits of everybody

:19:01. > :19:11.who has taken part in this day. It has certainly been an historic day.

:19:11. > :19:21.

:19:21. > :19:31.It will take something to duplicate What a shame, just thinking back to

:19:31. > :19:32.

:19:32. > :19:42.a week ago when everybody was walking around in shorts and T-

:19:42. > :19:43.

:19:43. > :19:53.shirts. Still incredible sounds coming from the vicinity of the

:19:53. > :19:55.

:19:55. > :19:59.River Thames. I mentioned earlier we've got Tom sitting next to me.

:19:59. > :20:06.You are itching to get down on the river, aren't you, as your

:20:06. > :20:14.favourite environment is being on the water? It's been a bit strange

:20:14. > :20:24.being up here in the box, Paul. Looking at the boys down there, yes.

:20:24. > :20:31.

:20:31. > :20:40.That is the London Philharmonic Orchestra. They have been playing

:20:40. > :20:46.non-stop since Cadogan Pier. They have covered UK themes. They have

:20:46. > :20:56.covered very famous tunes - Nimrod. That is associated with the

:20:56. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:07.military. As well as Fantasia on Sea Songs, Pomp and Circumstance,

:21:07. > :21:08.

:21:09. > :21:18.Henry V and a little ditty called The Pad doe Life -- the Padstow

:21:19. > :21:21.

:21:22. > :21:31.Lifeboat. And the James Bond theme. She rejoiced in the name of Shaken

:21:32. > :21:38.

:21:38. > :21:48.The glass-fronted vessel Symphony, hosting the musicians from the

:21:48. > :22:14.

:22:14. > :22:17.We saw a brief glimpse of the orchestra there. Please don't think

:22:17. > :22:22.that we switched them off deliberately. You can imagine, with

:22:22. > :22:32.the rain, the way it is, there are a few technical problems. We have a

:22:32. > :22:33.

:22:33. > :22:42.wonderful crew here looking after us. And there's some very brave

:22:42. > :22:52.people on top of that craft. Exposed to the elements, they are,

:22:52. > :23:31.

:23:31. > :23:37.but it didn't dim their enthusiasm # Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of

:23:37. > :23:42.the Free, # How shall we ex-xtol thee, who

:23:42. > :23:50.are born of thee? -- extol thee, who are born of thee?

:23:50. > :24:00.# Wider still, and wider, # Shall thy bounds be set

:24:00. > :24:02.

:24:02. > :24:12.# God, who made thee mighty # Make thee mightier yet!

:24:12. > :24:34.

:24:34. > :24:44.# God, who made thee mighty, make I hope they get a thunderous round

:24:44. > :24:44.

:24:44. > :25:45.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:25:45. > :25:55.of applause because they do deserve # Land of Hope and Glory

:25:55. > :25:56.

:25:56. > :26:06.# Mother of the Free # How shall we extol thee

:26:06. > :26:06.

:26:06. > :26:15.# Who are born of thee? # Wider still, and wider, shall thy

:26:15. > :26:25.bounds be set # God, who made thee mighty, make

:26:25. > :26:27.

:26:27. > :26:37.thee mightier yet! # God, who made thee mighty, make

:26:37. > :26:37.

:26:37. > :27:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:27:26. > :27:33.One of the gentleman on The Spirit of Chartwell slinking into the

:27:33. > :27:38.background, really. The chairman of the Thames Diamond Jubilee

:27:38. > :27:43.Foundation. He has done an enormous amount of work to get this pageant

:27:43. > :27:49.up and running and then to completion. A nice little side

:27:49. > :27:54.comment was that he was the great- great-grandson of the current Lord

:27:54. > :28:04.Salisbury who was Prime Minister at the time of Queen Victoria's

:28:04. > :28:07.

:28:07. > :28:17.Diamond Jubilee. Certainly, that moment from the orchestra and the

:28:17. > :28:17.

:28:17. > :33:37.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:33:37. > :33:47.singers, a mildly eccentric moment, As you can see, things have come to

:33:47. > :33:49.

:33:49. > :33:55.an end, but the salute to Queen It's hard to say, hard to imagine

:33:55. > :34:05.that things can go back to normal after this. It's been such an

:34:05. > :34:05.

:34:05. > :35:10.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:35:10. > :35:16.The Queen about to leave HMS President. Still smiling. I hope

:35:16. > :35:20.she's had a fabulous day. Still a lot to look forward to just outside

:35:20. > :35:27.of Buckingham Palace, this amazing stage that has been built bringing

:35:27. > :35:37.a host of international stars to London for a live concert tomorrow.

:35:37. > :35:47.Then, of course, on Tuesday the service of Thanksgiving taking

:35:47. > :35:55.

:35:55. > :36:02.Not only is this a way of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, I

:36:02. > :36:12.think from a personal perspective it's a way of saying to the Queen,

:36:12. > :36:33.

:36:33. > :36:39.Well, this certainly has been a day that will live long in my memory,

:36:39. > :36:44.just in terms of the preparation and the preparation to get this

:36:44. > :36:48.pageant right that has been going on for years. I think despite the

:36:48. > :36:51.weather, they got it right and it will be something that the

:36:51. > :37:01.population of this great City and the rest of the country and

:37:01. > :37:04.

:37:04. > :37:07.worldwide will remember for many What a finale to the most memorable

:37:07. > :37:13.of days. Extraordinary. We are just opposite Belfast and the studio

:37:13. > :37:17.lifted didn't it? It did. Absolutely.

:37:17. > :37:21.Anna we have just seen a bit of history being made there, haven't

:37:21. > :37:25.we? Absolutely and 60 years on, the Queen's pledged herself again to

:37:25. > :37:30.her people. She stood up the whole way through which says everything

:37:30. > :37:36.and in this long conversation that's been going on for centuries

:37:36. > :37:40.between the Royalty and the public, it's been cathartic the way it's

:37:40. > :37:43.been played out between the monarchy and us today. The Queen

:37:43. > :37:47.with step down from the barge feeling like another day, you know,

:37:47. > :37:51.job well done and she's been on her feet the whole way through. Indeed.

:37:51. > :37:55.Thank you for joining us all the way through as well. Who cares what

:37:55. > :37:58.happens with the weather, long may she reign that,'s what I say.

:37:58. > :38:08.Thanks Anna and thanks so much to our Team of reporters and the many

:38:08. > :38:09.

:38:09. > :38:15.guests who've joined us this afternoon as well as part of our

:38:15. > :38:18.coverage on the BBC. Now back to Huw who's getting ready for the

:38:18. > :38:21.next installment. The concert tomorrow evening will take place

:38:21. > :38:25.right outside Her Majesty's front door at Buckingham Palace. It's set

:38:25. > :38:28.to be a star-studded show. Thank you to everyone who joined us today

:38:28. > :38:33.for the spectacular if a little soggy event on the River Thames,

:38:33. > :38:38.but do enjoy the rest of your extended Bank Holiday. Bye-bye.

:38:38. > :38:42.Matt and Sophie and Paul as well with all that commentary to do,

:38:42. > :38:46.thank you very much. I'm going to let you into a secret OK, as

:38:46. > :38:50.someone brought up in South Wales, I know all about rain, OK. I'm an

:38:50. > :38:54.expert on rain, I'll even say to you and I hope it doesn't annoy

:38:54. > :38:57.anyone, I kind of love the rain, but even in my book, today has been

:38:57. > :39:01.a little on the extreme side. Let's not pretend, it has got in the way

:39:01. > :39:06.a bit. I should say as well, letting you into a little secret,

:39:06. > :39:10.when you have got cameras and sound cables and all the rest of it out

:39:10. > :39:13.right across London in this kind of rain and in these extreme

:39:13. > :39:16.conditions, it's a miracle, honestly, to keep it going, so to

:39:16. > :39:21.all of our Teams out there, I want to say a big thank you.

:39:21. > :39:25.The other thing I want to say is this - we have got lots of very

:39:25. > :39:29.memorable images of today. I know that some of them are a bit wet. We

:39:29. > :39:32.started off what, four-and-a-half hours ago, looking at that

:39:32. > :39:35.magnificent Canaletto image and I've been trying to match up some

:39:35. > :39:39.of the images as we have gone through the afternoon. Let's have a

:39:39. > :39:44.look at one of them, because this kind of does convey, before all

:39:44. > :39:49.that awful rain came, the kind of scene and the expanse of the Thames,

:39:49. > :39:55.if you like, the broad stretch of the Thames with this criss-crossing

:39:55. > :39:58.of boats of all sorts of shapes and sizes, colourful flags, a great

:39:58. > :40:03.sense of celebration and style with the Gloriana, the row boat there

:40:03. > :40:11.leading the way. That's a great scene and for me, the one that

:40:11. > :40:15.matches the Canaletto. Yes, of course, the weather started well

:40:15. > :40:20.pretty benignly I think. We were all thinking that at this stage

:40:20. > :40:25.we'd be relatively dry. Suddenly, the gusts of wind started to arrive

:40:25. > :40:29.and then the camera lenses told their own story with big drops of

:40:30. > :40:37.water telling us that frankly the rain was here to stay.

:40:37. > :40:44.Other memorable images for me today were clearly the moment when Tower

:40:44. > :40:48.Bridge rose in salute, it opened. It was a very dramatic moment. For

:40:48. > :40:51.people in London, they are used to this scene, but to see it today as

:40:51. > :41:01.the pageant took place was a special moment. That was when the

:41:01. > :41:06.

:41:06. > :41:11.And one of the really happy scenes during the pageant today, the Queen

:41:11. > :41:15.really taking it all in and clearly enjoying the event again before the

:41:15. > :41:21.driving rain came in. But it was a great start to the pageant at that

:41:21. > :41:24.time when things just moved off very elegantly and again just to

:41:24. > :41:29.pay tribute to those who arranged this pageant today, a lot of hard

:41:29. > :41:32.work went into it, a lot of detail. So to Adrian Evans and husband tame

:41:32. > :41:36.who put in two years of work, I have to say, they never wanted

:41:36. > :41:40.these conditions clearly, but they really did perform miracles to get

:41:40. > :41:43.it all to work. Yes, tomorrow, a host of stars from

:41:43. > :41:48.all over the world will be performing right here, Matt and

:41:48. > :41:53.Sophie mentioned it. There's the stage. I hope you can see it in all

:41:53. > :41:58.the kind of mist and haze of the rain, but a very clever stage

:41:58. > :42:02.constructed around the Queen Victoria Memorial. That is going to

:42:02. > :42:06.be THE performance area tomorrow evening, a great backdrop of

:42:06. > :42:09.Buckingham Palace, 10,000 people who've enjoyed a picnic beforehand

:42:09. > :42:19.watching it in the stands. Why don't I give you a taste of what's

:42:19. > :42:48.

:42:48. > :42:51.to come? Take a lack at this. There's an intriguing thought isn't

:42:51. > :42:54.it. Will we see Prince Harry on the tambourine on that stage tomorrow

:42:54. > :43:00.night? I don't know, but Gary Barlow, the creative director of

:43:00. > :43:04.all of it, we saw a glimpse of Gary there, has been keeping that secret

:43:04. > :43:09.and tells us we'll have to see whether Prince Harry is one of the

:43:09. > :43:14.performers. I listed some others earlier on. It's a galaxy of stars.

:43:14. > :43:17.I mentioned Gary Barlow. 7.30 tonight, his documentary on Her

:43:17. > :43:21.Majesty's Service. That's Gary basically travelling around the

:43:21. > :43:24.world and looking for talent for that new Jubilee single which is

:43:24. > :43:30.called Sing. That's the story coming up this evening on BBC One.

:43:30. > :43:34.Don't miss that, it's a tale really well told. Of course, tomorrow,