rediff.com
News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Rediff.com  » News » PIX: Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant
This article was first published 12 years ago

PIX: Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Last updated on: June 4, 2012 11:42 IST

Image: Britain's Queen Elizabeth waves from the Spirit of Chartwell during the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on the River Thames, in London on Sunday
Photographs: Reuters

Queen Elizabeth II provided a temporary lift to Britain's economic gloom by leading a unique spectacle of a 1000-strong flotilla to celebrate 60 years of her reign but heavy rains played spoilsport to the finale of the diamond jubilee pageant.

...

Tags: , PIX , Britain

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant


Photographs: Reuters

The pageant and over 10,000 street parties organised across the country generated a wave of patriotism among large sections of the population, while some republicans protested against the monarchy, calling for an elected head of state.

Others preferred to holiday elsewhere during the extra days off work during the extended Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Tags:

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant


Photographs: Reuters

Official sources said 1.2 million people had gathered along the Thames to witness the pageant.

Most of the scheduled events in the pageant passed off amidst dank grey weather, but it poured heavily towards the end as the rain-soaked members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra sang Land of Hope and Glory.

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge board the Spirit of Chartwell for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on the River Thames, in London
Photographs: Reuters

The scheduled finale of the pageant by a helicopter squadron was cancelled as the heavy rain brought to an end the unique spectacle on River Thames that has played a pivotal role in Britain's history over centuries.

Tags: Britain

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, waves as she passes Chelsea Bridge during Queen Elizabeth's Thames river pageant on her Diamond Jubilee in London
Photographs: Reuters

Britain's famously fickle weather was evident as rains and dank grey weather gripped London and other parts of the country, but that did not deter royal enthusiasts camping overnight along the Thames to occupy vantage points.

Tags: Britain , London

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: Detail on the front of the Spirit of Chartwell is seen during the Queens Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames
Photographs: Reuters

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall made a surprise appearance at a street party in Piccadilly, where nearly 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the occasion and sang the national anthem.

Many members of the royal family joined the pageantry celebrations, including Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, as they were cheered by hundreds thousands of flag-waving people along the river.

Queen Elizabeth

Image: Fireworks go off on Tower Bridge to mark the end of the river pageant in London
Photographs: Reuters

One of the smaller boats carried the India flag while other flew flags of various Commonwealth nations. London and the Thames had not seen such a collection of vessels for 350 years.

It was in 1662 that a similar event was held in honour of King Charles II and Queen Catherine of Braganza.

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: The Gloriana leads the manpowered craft towards Westminster Bridge during Queen Elizabeth
Photographs: Reuters

A flamboyant musical event was held on the river in 1717 by King George I.

The event attracted a global audience as BBC and Sky News began live telecast of the event since the morning.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told BBC, "One of the great things that a monarch brings and, particularly a royal family and her majesty the queen personally brings, is this sense of national unity and stability -- someone who the whole country can identify with".

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: Spectators watch from Butlers Wharf, near Tower Bridge, during Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant along the River Thames
Photographs: Reuters

Besides tourists arriving in London for the pageant, Diamond Jubilee celebrations were held in various Commonwealth countries, including 16 in which the Queen remains the head of state.

Holding placards with slogans such as 'Citizens Not Subjects' and 'Power to the People', activists of the anti-monarchy group Republic protested peacefully among the crowds gathered along the Thames.

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: Crowds gather at Tower Bridge on the banks of the River Thames to celebrate Britain's Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee
Photographs: Reuters

Another Republic demonstration was organised near City Hall, calling for a democratically elected head of state, instead of a monarchy that is "expensive, unaccountable and a drag on our democratic process".

Sixth in the pageant order was an Indian music group comprising 50 musicians from the Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band and Shree Muktajeevan Dhol Academy, who played a mixture of traditional Indian melodies, Scottish tunes and Bollywood anthems on bagpipes and percussion.

Queen Elizabeth's 1,000-ship glamorous Thames pageant

Image: A man wearing a mask of Britain's Queen Elizabeth waves while watching a pageant in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in central London
Photographs: Reuters

The oldest boat in the flotilla was built in 1740, and one of the vessels taking part, the Amazon, also took part in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, in 1897.

Besides the nearly a million-strong gathering along the River Thames, hundreds of thousands more watched proceedings on large viewing screens.

TOP photo features of the week


...

Tags: PHOTO , MORE , TOP
© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.