Crowds Build For Thames Jubilee River Pageant - Sky.com
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1:46pm UK, Sunday June 03, 2012
Crowds are building along the Thames as a thousand boats prepare to take to the river for what will be the major public event of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Up to a million people are expected to watch from the river banks and public spaces in London as a flotilla stretching for miles travels towards Tower Bridge.
At the centre of the flotilla will be the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are expected to arrive at Chelsea Pier at 2.10pm ahead of boarding their vessel, which is due to join the flotilla at 3pm.
Jubilee bells will ring out to mark the start of the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant, which features historic vessels, steam boats, barges and tugs.
The royal couple will be joined on their barge by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who earlier attended a special Jubilee lunch on London's Piccadilly Circus, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Grenville Houser is the pageant's beach master at Putney, the start-point, and has the job of making sure everything happens on time.
He told Sky's Emma Birchley: "It's going really, really well. All the crews are here.
"They're terribly excited and we are on schedule, in fact a little ahead of schedule.
"The wind is also dropping which is the most important thing for the rowing boats. It's looking good."
For those lucky enough to bag a place in the pageant it has been months of hard graft to get their boats ready.
David Sowter, who will be steering his narrow boat Orlando up the river beside 999 others, said: "We've gone from excitement to exhaustion to excitement again.
"We've had to repaint, get the engine checked, we've lost sleep getting down here. But it's something different. It is never going to happen again."
His wife Rosie talked with excitement about "making history".
She said: "This is a once in a lifetime. The last time this sort of event happened was 350 years ago.
"It's so lovely to see all the Union Jacks out and see all the people. I come from a generation where we liked street parties and royal celebrations. It's so exciting to see that again."
The Sowters will be just two of 20,000 people aboard the 1,000 vessels.
And in the countdown to the moment, the Thames gave a taste of what is to come.
Vessels from all over the nation converged on the capital and made their way along the river to take up their positions for the start of the pageant.
Family boats, barges, motor boats, vast sailing ships will join some of the iconic craft of British history in a flotilla which will travel 25 miles along the Thames.
The boats will pass under all 13 central London river crossings from Battersea Bridge and Tower Bridge in what could turn out to be the largest live public event ever held in London.
Boats gather at Hammersmith Bridge ahead of the river pageant
It is not only a logistical but a huge security challenge. Safety on the water and in the crowds is paramount and will involve a massive police effort.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "This is a pretty unique event for us.
"Bigger than Notting Hill, bigger than the Royal Wedding. Six thousand officers along the line of the Thames working with thousands of stewards.
"Eighteen months of work with the pageant organisers, Transport for London, Port of London Authority, it's been pulling together a unique set of challenges with that number of craft on the Thames."
But if preparation is the key then what is set to be biggest public event of the Diamond Jubilee should go swimmingly.
At least that is what those who have put in blood, sweat and tears over the last year are hoping.
They know the pressure is on. It will not be just the Queen casting a critical eye but, via the airwaves, a global audience of billions.
Meanwhile, millions more people were due to attend street parties up and down the country as part of 'the big Jubilee lunch'.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were the first royal guests to venture out into the rain on Sunday as they arrived at a special picnic stretching along London's Piccadilly.
Charles, wearing his trademark double breasted suit, and Camilla, dressed in a raincoat, stopped to chat to revellers in the street.
The royal couple later took their seats at a table where the table cloth, plates and even a cake were decorated with the red, white and blue union flag.
:: Read more the Diamond Jubilee:
:: Jubilee Celebrations: Full Schedule Of Events
:: In Detail: Diamond Jubilee River Pageant
:: Prince Charles In Tribute To 'Devoted Mama'
:: Picture Perfect: Photos Of The Queen's Reign
Boats take to Thames for queen's jubilee flotilla - The Guardian
JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press= LONDON (AP) — More than 1,000 boats were to sail down the River Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest pageant on the river for 350 years.
Despite cool, drizzly weather, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the riverbanks between Hammersmith and Tower Bridge in London, feting the British monarch whose longevity has given her the status of the nation's favorite grandmother.
The queen and members of her family will lead 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.
"We in Britain are experts at not letting the weather spoil our fun," said Adrian Evans, pageant master for Sunday's flotilla. "The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing 'Singin' In The Rain' as they travel down the river, and the crowd can sing along with them."
Hundreds of people ignored the persistent rain and camped out overnight to secure prime riverside spots. Crowds swelled into the thousands Sunday, with revelers in hats, flags, leggings and rain ponchos adorned with the Union flag mixing with burger and cotton candy vendors along the 7-mile (11-kilometer) route.
"It would have been wonderful if it had been sunny like last Sunday but we have come prepared," said 57-year-old Christine Steele. "We have got blankets, brollies (umbrellas), flags and bunting. We even got our glittery Union Jack hats and wigs, and the Champagne is on ice."
The spectacle is a tribute to Britain's past — monarchs used the river as their main highway for centuries, and naval power built the island nation's once-great empire — as well as to its abiding love of boats and the sea.
River processions were once common in London. The last comparable royal pageant was held for King Charles II in 1662, when diarist Samuel Pepys recorded boats so numerous he could "see no water."
Sunday's flotilla will include more than three dozen "Dunkirk Little Ships," private boats that rescued thousands of British soldiers from the beaches of France after the German invasion in 1940 — a defeat that became a major victory for wartime morale.
The four-day Diamond Jubilee celebrations also include thousands of street parties across the country on Sunday. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, joined hundreds of people for a damp al fresco lunch on Piccadilly, one of London's main shopping streets.
Not everyone in Britain is celebrating. The anti-monarchist group Republic held a riverbank protest Sunday to oppose the wave of jubilee-mania.
"People are sick and tired of being told they must celebrate 60 years of one very privileged, very remote and very uninspiring head of state," said the group's chief executive, Graham Smith. "The hereditary system is offensive to all the democratic values this country has fought for in the past."
Jubiliee celebrations kicked off Saturday with a royal day at the races, as the queen watched a horse with the courtly name of Camelot win the Epsom Derby.
The 86-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, visited Epsom racecourse south of the capital for the Derby, one of the year's biggest horse-racing meetings.
The queen is a racing fan and horse breeder who has attended the Derby for decades and reads the Racing Post each day over breakfast, although unlike many of her subjects she does not gamble.
"She's incredibly knowledgeable. Her knowledge of thoroughbreds and breeding goes way back," said Anthony Cane, chairman of Epsom Downs Racecourse.
On Monday the queen will attend a pop concert in front of Buckingham Palace featuring Elton John and Paul McCartney.
Jubilee events end Tuesday with a religious service at St. Paul's Cathedral, a carriage procession through the streets of London and the queen's appearance with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren on the palace balcony.
The queen took the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI, and most Britons have known no other monarch.
Prime Minister David Cameron — the 12th British leader of the queen's reign — paid tribute to the monarch's "extraordinary level of physical energy, mental energy, and above all devotion to her people, to the institutions of this country, to the way our democracy works."
In a jubilee gift from Britain's politicians, lawmakers from the three main parties have backed a motion calling for the tower housing Big Ben — the beloved London bell that chimes the quarter hour — to be renamed the Elizabeth Tower in the queen's honor. It's currently called the Clock Tower.
While many Britons used the long weekend to relax — and an estimated 2 million left the country on vacation — writers and religious leaders used the occasion to reflect on how Britain has changed over the queen's reign, from a war-scarred imperial power to a middle-sized power with oversized cultural clout.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the Anglican Church, expressed a widely held view when he said Britain had been lucky to have Elizabeth as monarch throughout a period of rapid change.
"It seems to me that what her importance has been for most people in this country has been as a sign of stability, a sign of some kind of security," Williams said in a jubilee video message.
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Associated Press Writer Cassandra Vinograd contributed to this report.
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Online: http://www.thediamondjubilee.org
Diamond Jubilee: River Thames pageant to honour Queen - BBC News
The BBC's Simon McCoy describes the scene as boats gather for the royal pageant on the Thames
Thousands of people are lining the Thames in London for the Jubilee river pageant despite wet weather, as street parties take place nationwide.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the Queen's barge lead a 1,000-strong flotilla.
The nautical parade, marking 60 years of her reign, promises to be the most spectacular in London for 350 years.
Prince Charles has joined a London street party in Piccadilly and concerts and events are taking place UK-wide.
Meanwhile, some people heading into London for the celebrations have been delayed because they have been unable to get on crowded trains.
When the pageant begins, the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other senior royals will travel from Albert Bridge to Tower Bridge aboard a lavishly adapted royal barge - the Spirit of Chartwell - decorated with almost 10,000 cut flowers.
At the scene - Hammersmith
The drizzle has stopped and things are looking up.
At around 12:00 BST, to get people this end of the river into the spirit of what is to come, dozens of boats from the man-powered section rowed past Hammersmith in formation to join the head of the flotilla.
Boats that are still moored up in this stretch of the river waiting for their turn sounded their horns and blew their whistles, while their crews cheered and clapped the rowers on.
There are rowboats large and small, most flying flags or bunting. There's even a Viking-style boat. Their different-coloured oars dip in and out of the water, adding much needed colour to this grey day.
The lucky ones even have a canopy to protect them from the elements. Meanwhile, on the towpaths, people stop to look and take pictures. It looks impressive, and the pageant proper hasn't even started yet.
The spectacle, which began with mustering at 11:30 BST, will end at about 17:30 after the last vessel completes the seven-mile route at Tower Bridge.
The Thames barrier is being lowered to slow the river's flow. Some 20,000 people are expected to be in the boats of the flotilla, which will travel at 4 knots (4.6 miles) an hour.
Boats heading to the muster points at Hammersmith and Battersea bridges sounded their horns and were met with cheers from crowds on the banks as bells from churches sounded. A steady stream of rowing and paddle boats headed up to the front of the flotilla.
"They will set the pace and behind them will be the Queen... with what is called the VIP squadron, and behind that historic boats and passenger boats," said Richard Everitt, chief executive of the Port of London Authority.
Mr Everitt said a "safety hard shoulder" was being set up on the north side of the Thames so any boats that broke down or experienced problems could be assisted.
Vessels have to stick to a pre-arranged formation, keeping a boat's length apart from those in front of and behind them, because "if one boat starts to veer, they all will", said pageant co-ordinator Ian Welsh.
Adam Kerr, the skipper of a restored 19th Century Cornish fishing lugger, the Barnabas, sailed 400 nautical miles to participate, and predicted a "pretty colourful spectacle".
"I'm sure they're very worried about the security of boats crashing into each other. I think we'll be okay - we're a pretty well-controlled boat, good crew and nice engine to drive us along," he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the 86-year-old Queen during an interview on BBC One's Andrew Marr programme, saying: "Her insight and her sharpness is extraordinary and I don't see any sign of her working less hard." But his own Jubilee party in Downing Street has been moved indoors because of the weather.
In Piccadilly, central London, the BBC's Sangita Myska said there was a "huge crush" as well-wishers flocked to greet the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall at the street party where 500 tables have been set up.
In other news:
- There are reports of people heading to Jubilee events having difficulties getting to London because of overcrowded trains. A BBC reporter says scores of people have been left on platforms on stations en route from Birmingham, with 150 unable to board a train at Banbury, Oxfordshire. Elsewhere, services out of Peterborough were delayed by over-running engineering works
- BBC Big Screens are transmitting live coverage of the pageant in 22 locations around the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Middlesbrough
- The Big Jubilee Lunch initiative is encouraging people to share food with neighbours and friends in street parties and picnics
- Thousands will watch the flotilla from Battersea Park, at a festival celebrating music, food and fashion from the past 60 years
- Morecambe, Lancashire, is aiming for the longest street party by beating the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) event held in Combe Martin, Devon, for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002
- Almost 9,500 road closure applications have been made across England and Wales, with Hertfordshire topping the street party list with 451 event licences
- Glenn Allison, the commanding officer of the 727 Naval Air Squadron, says he will realise a life's ambition when he takes to the skies in the cockpit of a Swordfish bi-plane for the flypast to mark the pageant's finale
- A third of all of Scotland's street party applications have been made in Edinburgh, where 10 official events are scheduled
- Hundreds of street parties are taking place in Wales but the weather has forced some to be postponed
- Jubilee events are being held across the Commonwealth. In the Arctic, explorers from Devon are holding a party. In New York, 10 UK-registered yachts will fly union jack spinnaker sails in a salute. In Afghanistan, troops at Camp Bastion held parties complete with bunting
The £10m cost of the event has been met by private donations but the security costs will be paid for by the taxpayer.
At the scene - Piccadilly
The party is well under way in Piccadilly. People are taking lunch at the long tables, or foraging at the many stalls which are spewing smoke as they cook their food.
A band has struck up next to the fairground, adding to the party atmosphere. There was real excitement as Charles and Camilla arrived earlier, their visit being shown on the big screen put up for the occasion.
The national anthem was well observed, and accompanied by some furious flag-waving. There are many hundreds of people here, and among them are council workers busily grabbing litter almost before it hits the floor. Union jacks are everywhere - on hats, flags, umbrellas, even some jackets.
If Her Majesty would like to see some of her most loyal subjects, she need only look down Piccadilly.
Anti-monarchy group Republic is holding a demonstration against what it calls an unelected, unaccountable monarch.
Pageant watchers were advised to wrap up with waterproofs and wind proofs amid temperatures of around 11C.
BBC Weather presenter Sara Thornton said there would be dry interludes but it was "going to be cloudy and will feel cold and damp" in London.
Party-goers in most of England and Wales should expect cloud and the threat of rain, while Scotland and Northern Ireland would be dry with some sunshine.
Rainy weather was not enough to deter hundreds of people who camped out overnight along the Thames to claim the best spots to view the flotilla.
A collection of small ships used to rescue stranded troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 will also take part, led by the Motor Torpedo boat 102, the flagship of the officer who co-ordinated the evacuation.
A boat carrying eight specially cast Jubilee bells will lead the water-borne procession, and churches along the river bank will return the peal as it passes. There will be 10 musical barges, carrying choirs and orchestras.
On Monday, a concert will be held in front of Buckingham Palace, ending with a firework display and more than 4,000 beacons are due to be lit in the UK and around the world.
See all the latest Diamond Jubilee news and features at bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
London 2012 Olympics: Rebecca Adlington hits back at Twitter abuse after latest insulting taunts - Daily Telegraph
Adlington quickly received support from many of her Great Britain team-mates.
Former world 100m freestyle silver medallist Fran Halsall tweeted: "what a small insignificant life that person must lead", echoed by former double Commonwealth champion Caitlin McClatchey, who wrote: "his parents must be so proud to have raised such a pathetic idiot! Well done for ur amazing 800 hun BOOM! Good luck today xx"
Olympic open water bronze medallist Cassie Patten addressed the perpetrator directly, saying: "It must be hard for you, you obviously have achieved nothing in your life, as you feel the need to Insult @BeckAdlington."
It all follows the revelation by Adlington to a number of reporters that she has been subject to abuse on Twitter as well as negative comments online.
She had said: "I love the block button on Twitter.
"I don't know how people expect to send a nasty comment and not get blocked.
"With Twitter I think it's one of those things if you like it like Liam (Tancock) who is on it every two minutes - 'just having my lunch, just doing this' - he loves it, he is like that in real life.
"Whereas I am on Twitter every now and again, I tweet here and there but not every day all the time.
"I think I will be going on every now and again but I won't be checking it.
"I want to stay focused - obviously the messages of support are absolutely amazing and I love reading all of those but you have got the chance of somebody saying something just to annoy you and you don't want that added stress.
"For myself, I think I'll Tweet once it's over."
She added: "I used to (read articles) when it first happened but I am one of those people I then scroll down to the bottom and read the comments and I learned very quickly not to do that. Because it is awful and I get angry: even if there are 10 nice comments you always get one idiot.
"It makes you angry and frustrated. I've now given up because it upsets me or makes me angry."
Diamond jubilee rain fails to dampen Thames flotilla fervour - The Guardian
The poor souls who braved central London's grey, sodden dawn to get the best vantage point for Sunday's 1,000-boat flotilla to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee found the banks of the Thames already lined with revellers.
Scores who had camped overnight were inadequately protected by tents, umbrellas, cagoules, and bin bags. The most organised brought camping stoves and sausages, bacon, and eggs for a jubilee fry-up.
There were reports of many people dressed in red, white and blue left standing on station platforms across the Midlands, unable to get onto jammed trains to London. In the city centre the train and tube platforms nearest the river were packed as soon as public transport began.
The Thames barrier was lifted at 9am to reduce the flow of the incoming tide, as the crews – from historic motor launches to small rowing boats – struggled to organise into an orderly procession. As the flotilla set off downstream, the tide had turned and the challenge for engines or tiring arms was to keep to an absolutely steady four knots an hour – essential to allow so many boats get through the narrow arches of the bridges without causing massive traffic jams.
The flotilla of 1,000 ships recreates the spectacle of royal pageants of old, inspired by a Canaletto painting now on display at the Maritime museum in Greenwich. More than 20,000 people will be on the boats, watched by at least 1 million people lining the river's banks and bridges as central London comes to a virtual standstill.
Up to 50 large screens have been placed along the river for people to view the spectacle, which sets off from Putney at 2.30pm and finishes at Tower Bridge at 5.30pm when the last of the vessels arrive.
The flotilla, the largest such pageant for 350 years, will range from rowing boats to military boats, including the Spirit of Chartwell, which was transformed over six months from a river cruiser into a royal barge fit to carry the Queen and her family – complete with gold leaf, ornamented carving and more than 1,000 plants and cut flower arrangements.
The leader of the flotilla is Gloriana, a spectacular new, but historic-looking, rowed barge built on the Thames as a jubilee gift for the Queen.
Other vessels will include a contingent of Dunkirk "little ships" and tall ships such as the Southampton-based Tenacious, which will be sailed by a mixed crew of able-bodied and disabled people.
More than 20 vessels from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are being drafted in for the occasion to help with safety on the river. Another vessel will take on a ceremonial role during the pageant in celebration of the 60,000 lives saved by the RNLI during the Queen's reign.
The £2.7m boat, renamed diamond jubilee in honour of the Queen, patron of the RNLI, will join the flotilla. Allen Head of the RNLI said: "We have got 24 lifeboats on the river and they will be looking after the vessels that are part of the event but also the general public that will be enjoying the spectacle."
Despite the gloomy truth of the forecasts of chilly rain, Battersea and Hyde parks were also filling early for day-long family festivals, while thousands of street parties also take place around the country. Some were hastily reorganised into village halls, as the jubilee coincides with the Big Lunch, a charity initiative designed to get communities to spend time together.
The planned giant beach party on Anglesey, near the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was one of those transferred indoors.
More than 9,500 applications for road closures have been approved across the UK, almost twice as many as for last year's royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The beginning of the jubilee weekend was marked on Saturday by the Queen's traditional visit to the Epsom Derby to watch the thoroughbreds race. The Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins had the honour of performing the national anthem in front of 130,000 patriotic racegoers after the monarch had driven on to the course in a Bentley customised with a Royal Standard on the roof.
Buckingham Palace becomes the centre of attention on Monday with the BBC jubilee concert getting under way at 7.30pm, when conditions could be drier and brighter.
More than 10,000 ticket holders will see artists including Robbie Williams, Dame Shirley Bassey, Stevie Wonder, JLS, Jessie J and Elton John perform. One of the highlights will be the group Madness, performing their hit Our House on the roof of the palace. A visual tribute will also see diamond jubilee beacons light up the night sky across the UK on Monday, with more than 4,000 expected to be lit here and in the Commonwealth.
Festivities climax on Tuesday with a religious service, a procession through the streets of London and the royal family's appearance on the palace balcony to acknowledge the tens of thousands expected to fill the Mall.
By the end of the weekend, an estimated 2 million people are expected to have left the country, with many republicans perhaps among them.
The anti-monarchy group Republic has promised the "biggest anti-monarchy protest in living memory" at the Thames pageant. A jubilee pub night organised by the group takes place later on Sunday evening.
The British Monarchist Society was entrenched in force near Tower Bridge by early morning, predicting that the republican protest would be a washout — but highly indignant that their large laminated God Save The Queen banners had been banned as too large and likely to prove a hazard in the crowds.
Jubilee spirits not dampened by rain: River pageant Queen fans shrug off wet weather ahead of 1,000 boat flotilla - Daily Mirror
Diamond Jubilee river pageant spectators have shrugged off the cold, damp and wet conditions that have shrouded London.
The gloomy weather is in contrast to the recent heatwave but the river banks in central London are already filling up with crowds.
Organisers remain upbeat despite rain and drizzle being forecast for most of the day, with Pageant Master Adrian Evans declaring preparations were in hand.
Mr Evans said: "There is some rain around, but it has not dampened any spirits.
"We in Britain are experts at not letting the weather spoil our fun. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing Singing In The Rain as they travel down the river, and the crowd can sing along with them.
"We are all set to have one of the most spectacular pieces of river theatre that London, and the world, has ever seen. Excitement is building, and everything is ready."
The water-borne extravaganza will be one of the highlights of the four-day Diamond Jubilee weekend with organisers hoping to recreate scenes not seen since the reign of Charles II.
With the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh onboard the lavishly decorated royal barge will be the Prince of Wales, the pageant's patron, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Every conceivable vessel will be afloat on the Thames from kayaks, skiffs, Dunkirk little ships and dragon boats to tugs, barges, rowed shallops and passenger vessels.
At its head will be a floating belfry with each bell named after a senior member of the Royal Family.
People have been gathering along the seven-mile course of the river pageant since first thing, with a few hardy souls sleeping overnight to get a good spot.
Many of those were wrapped up against the cold weather but looking forward to the spectacle.
Karen Chen, 32 and David Ip, 31, from Streatham, south London, said the rain had not put them off coming to the river early to get a prime spot.
"We got here just after 7.30, it would have been earlier if we thought we would have more competition.
"The rain actually works to our advantage," Ms Chen said.
The pair have bagged a prime spot on a bench next to Battersea Bridge and said they were ready for the long-haul.
"We are wrapped up warmly and have waterproof sheets to shelter under. We have got a picnic of marmalade and cheese and pickle sandwiches and Mr Kipling cakes," Mr Ip added.
"Today is a spectacular event, nothing would have stopped us from coming to see the boats. We are so excited about all the variety. It will only happen once in our lifetime and we will be here until the very end," Ms Chen said.
Matt Dobson, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, said: "For the all important Jubilee Thames Pageant today, the skies will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle. However, don't be surprised if the clouds do thin and break from time to time and a few welcome rays of sunshine may even break through.
"A chilly day in London with temperatures of 12C or 13C, potentially rising to 14C or 15C if it brightens up."
Dafydd Richards, 35, and Felicity Anderson, 30, from New Zealand, arrived at Tower Bridge almost six hours before the boats were due to pass by and said they were used to braving the elements.
Felicity, who now lives in Wimbledon, south-west London, said: "We wanted to make sure we had a good spot because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"We've brought a very British picnic with scones and shortbread and we'll toast the Queen when she sails past with some Champagne."
Meanwhile, mother and daughter Christine Steele, 57, and Jemma, 29, said the prospect of bad weather had not stopped them travelling from Maidstone in Kent.
Huddled under blankets and umbrellas on a bench near Battersea Bridge, Mrs Steele said: "It's England, we are used to this. It would have been wonderful if it had been sunny like last Sunday but we have come prepared.
"We have got blankets, brollies, flags and bunting. We even got our glittery Union Jack hats and wigs and the Champagne is on ice.
"You name it, we've got it in our picnic.
Mrs Steele's husband Graham, also 57, said he had sent a friend off to try to buy a gazebo for them to shelter under.
"If we get one we will make a lot of new friends, especially ones in uniform," he said.
Mrs Steele added: "This is a once in a lifetime experience and it is good for the country to celebrate together, we would not have missed it."
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