Eyes Of World On Spectacular UK Royal Pageant

The Queen sets sail on the luxury barge with the Duke of Edinburgh and waved to the thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Thames

Queen Elizabeth II sparkles on her day for the Diamond Jubilee.

LONDON's gloomy skies and chilly air were never going to rain on the Queen's parade.
 
And so it proved overnight when all of Britain - and much of the world - celebrated her 60-year reign in style.

The Queen has sailed down the River Thames on a luxury barge festooned with flowers, amid a motley but majestic flotilla of 1000 vessels mustered to mark her 60 years on the throne.

Hundreds of thousands of Union Jack-waving spectators formed a red, white and blue wave along London's riverbanks and bridges, cheering the 86-year-old monarch and her armada of motorboats, rowboats and sailboats of all shapes and sizes.

The pageant was a nod to Britain's maritime heritage and one of the biggest events on the river for centuries.

The Queen wore a silver and white dress and matching coat - embroidered with gold, silver and ivory spots and embellished with Swarovski crystals to evoke the river - for her trip aboard the barge Spirit of Chartwell, decorated for the occasion in rich red, gold and purple velvet.

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge - he in his Royal Air Force uniform, she in a red Alexander McQueen dress - and William's brother, Prince Harry, were among senior royals who joined the Queen and Prince Philip.

After a celebratory peal of bells, the boat set off downstream at a stately four knots (7.4km/h), accompanied by skiffs, barges, narrow boats, kayaks, gondolas, dragon boats and even a replica Viking longboat.

The flotilla was sailing past some of the city's great landmarks - including the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral - before ending its journey near Tower Bridge.

Downriver, ships too tall to fit under London's bridges were moored along both banks of the river.

Before Queen Elizabeth II took the voyage of a lifetime in her diamond jubilee pageant, her son raised his voice to lead the tributes to the monarch in song.

Attending the jubilee's biggest and most luxurious street party in Piccadilly, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined a 500-strong crowd for a sit-down lunch.

Standing among the royal fans, he summed up the sentiment of the millions gathered at jubilee events around the country with a rendition of God Save the Queen.

Upstream, more than 1000 boats sailed down the River Thames in a flotilla tribute to the Queen's six decades on the throne that organisers were calling the biggest pageant on the river for 350 years.

The Queen and members of her family led the river pageant aboard a flower-bedecked royal barge, accompanied by skiffs, barges, narrowboats, motor launches, row boats and sailing vessels from around the world.

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