Crowds defy rain, cheer for Queen

[1]

The Gloriana leads part of the flotilla of 1,000 vessels on the Thames in London on Sunday to celebrate Queen Elizabeth

Foul weather refused to dampen the patriotic fervour of Britons and visitors as they gathered along the banks of the River Thames to greet her on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee during the Thames pageant on Sunday afternoon. Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, her son Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, grandson William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry were part of the 1,000-boat flotilla on the Thames as they travelled from Chelsea Harbour on the Spirit of Chartwell till the Tower Bridge.
The Queen, dressed in a white and silver coat and a white hat designed by Angela Kelly, was greeted by the loudest cheers and an impromptu singing of the national anthem, God Save The Queen, by the spectators as she arrived at the harbour on a launch boat of the former royal yacht Britannia.
The Queen waited on the Spirit of Chartwell before the leading boats were in place, including the Gloriana, which had Olympic gold medallists like Sir Steve Redgrave among the 18 rowers on board. The whole flotilla, 1.7-mile long, followed the boat carrying eight specially-cast bells which rang out continuously. In beautiful coordination, churches along the Thames returned the sounding of bells by ringing theirs. The musical bells led to rousing cheers amongst the crowds.
The loudest cheers were reserved for the queen and her family, with Kate, dressed in red Alexander McQueen dress, getting rounds of cheers and applause. Prince William and Prince Harry, dressed in uniforms, were smiling and waving to the crowds.
The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were on board the ship, the Havengore in the flotilla. Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and her husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, both in their uniforms, travelled on Trinity House No. 1 Boat. The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra were on board the RNLI Diamond Jubilee.
The Queen was joined by Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma and his wife, the Bishop of London and other special guests on the royal barge.
The flotilla also included 10 musical barges, with choirs, bands and orchestras. The musical highlight was the presence of Indian-Scottish band, Shree Mukhtajeevan Pipe Band, dressed in Socttish kilts, belting out Bollywood and Scottish tunes. The highlight close to the Tower Bridge was the Avenue of Sail, a mile long stretch downstream of London Bridge of vessels too large to travel with the rest of the flotilla.
The Queen and her guests disembarked from the royal barge just downriver of Tower Bridge and boarded HMS President where the queen inspected the rest of the vessels in the flotilla, which proceeded towards West India Docks before dispersing. The 1.7-mile flotilla also had flags of Commonwealth nations on individual boats as rowing boats, historic, sailing and motorised boats, kayaks and canoes took part in the pageant. London mayor Boris Johnson, with hair flying in all directions, and waving to crowds along with his wife was cheered the most after the royal family.