As the country marks 60 years to the day since the Queen found out about her father 's death and her subsequent ascension to the throne, it has been revealed that more than a million people are expected to flock to London's River Thames for her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June.
The Bank Holiday weekend from June 2 to 5 will be the focus of the 2012 Jubilee celebrations, marking the Queen's 60-year reign with a river pageant featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla on the River Thames.
More than a million people are expected to line the route to witness the spectacle - a tribute to Britain's maritime history - with the Queen's royal barge as the centrepiece.
There will also be global celebrations honouring the Queen - with members of the Royal Family travelling to countries like Canada, Jamaica and Belize, where the monarch is head of state, and the wider Commonwealth.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will also visit every region of the UK from March to July to meet as many people as possible.
The Prince of Wales, patron of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, was the first person to suggest the idea of a water borne tribute to the sovereign.
The £12 million event will feature a seven-mile long procession that will include Dunkirk little ships, historic vessels, steam boats and tugs, rowed shallops and Dutch barges and passenger ships.
Pageant master Adrian Evans has given an outline of the event which will be a focus of the extended Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend in the summer.
He said: 'We're planning for well over a million people to congregate on the Thames bridges, on balconies and riverside properties and the river's edge to watch the pageant and salute the Queen, resplendent on the Thames in her glittering royal barge.
'We'll be placing just under 50 big screens along the pageant's route to help people get the most of the day.
'BBC, ITV and Sky will be broadcasting the event live and distributing their feed worldwide, taking the pageant's audience into the hundreds of millions.
'We hope the buildings along the pageant route will dress out in appropriate jubilee style, with bunting, Union flags and red, white and blue.
'The pageant is a once-in-a-lifetime event, one that will reclaim the Thames as a royal route.'
The Queen will review the flotilla before it sets off from Albert Bridge near Chelsea and when it reaches its final stop, Tower Bridge in the City of London.
The pageant will take place on Sunday June 3 and travel under 14 road and rail bridges, feature 20,000 people on the water and take 90 minutes to pass any given point.
The flotilla will be divided into 10 sections, with the music herald barges separating each group.
It will be led by the Royal Jubilee Bells - eight church bells that will sound a quarter peal and be answered by churches along the route - and Gloriana, a hand-built 88ft rowbarge covered in gold leaf.
Mr Evans, the event's pageant master, said 115 boats which ply their trade carrying tourists up and down the Thames would be included in the event.
He added that he was conscious that boat operators would be losing a day's trade on the river but did not want to see the public charged exorbitant prices and thought that prices asked for New Year's Eve cruises were an acceptable equivalent.
Mr Evans said: 'We don't want them to profiteer - we think it's inappropriate.'
Marking her 60 years today, the Queen released a statement saying she and her husband have been 'deeply moved' to receive so many kind messages about her Diamond Jubilee.
'I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Phillip over these years,' she wrote in a message to the nation.
'In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2097121/Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Plans-river-pageant-unveiled-1m-expected-line-route.html#ixzz1lp4RFfDG
picture:
1.Items from the official range of commemorative china to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is seen in this image received in London
2.Celebrations: The Queen, who has released a new portrait of herself and he husband to mark the Jubilee, will be present at the river pageant on the June Bank Holiday weekend
3.River pageant: The fleet of 1,000 vessels will end their celebratory voyage at Tower Bridge
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