The Thames River Pageant

The day dawned with dull heavy skies, it did not look good, but we had to stick to our plan to be part of the crowd at this historic occasion on the River Thames.

Dressed in several layers of clothes, topped with a sturdy waterproof and a few 'supplies' to keep us going during the day, we joined a packed train with people of all ages who were keen to chat and share plans with complete strangers, such was the excitement and anticipation.

We decided to aim for a spot on the north bank of the river, near to Tate Britain.  People had obviously made a very early start to secure a good spot and plenty were relaxing in their deckchairs, enjoying a picnic.  We found a spot with a good view of the river and then began our two hour wait!  The crowds are always so friendly in these events and we were soon chatting with another couple and sharing our 'supplies'.

Big TV screens had been erected in masses of places all over the capital to make sure no-one missed out on
the view.  With a big screen behind us we joined in the roar of the crowd as the cameras picked up the Royal Family arriving at the riverbank where they were to board The Spirit of Chartwell.

This boat normally operates on the river as a floating restaurant, however during the past months it has undergone a makeover with gold leaf carvings, a tapestry with 500,000 gold buttons, red carpet and two red velvet thrones.  The whole boat was filled with delicate blooms of flowers gathered from the Queen's gardens.

With the crowds cheering, the flotilla began and our first glimpse of action on the water was the floating belfry with a set of eight new church bells, ringing out loud and being answered by bells from the riverbank churches along the route.

This was followed by The Gloriana, a million pound row barge led by Olympic gold medalists Sir Matthew Pinsent and Sir Steve Redgrave along with 16 others.

Photo: Reuters

There then followed hundreds of man powered rowing boats from around the world.  It was a stunning sight of kayaks, dragon boats, war canoes, gondolas, just about any type of rowing boat you can imagine and I don't know how they didn't manage to collide and become caught up in each other's oars.

The lavish Royal Barge lead the way for the groups of pleasure boats, working boats and floating homes making their way past the cheering crowds.  Each group was followed by a musical boat filling the river with music from singers or orchestras.

The final music barge carried the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir whose photo became a popular image of the courage of the day.  They continued with their beautiful singing despite being utterly soaked to the skin and having make-up running down their faces.

Photo: Getty

The Queen looked stunning in her silver and white coat and dress and with her husband, Prince Philip, they stood waving and smiling throughout the whole event despite having two very comfortable looking thrones to allow a few moments of rest.  They looked particularly pleased to see the life-size puppet horse from the play War Horse which was running up and down the rooftop of the National Theatre.

Photo: Daily Mail

It is estimated that over a million people filled London's bridges and embankments, offices and apartments to catch a glimpse of this historic 7 mile long celebration with over 1,000 boats, tugs, narrow boats, pleasure cruisers, steam boats, emergency services and even some of the Dunkirk little ships.

Despite the torrential rain and low cloud which started halfway through the event, the Pageant was a tremendous success and despite the very long queues at stations to get home we felt it had been a once in a lifetime experience to remember forever.