Millions join Queen’s Diamond Jubilee party

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

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 for today’s pageant to celebrate 86-year-old Queen’s rule.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall made a surprise appearance at a street party in Piccadilly,where nearly 1000 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 thousands of flag-waving people along the river.

There were reports of many passengers being stranded at train stations en route to London due to overcrowded trains heaving with royal enthusiasts heading for the pageant.

The pageant is one of several events planned for the extended weekend until June 5. London and the Thames have 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. 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.

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”.

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.

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 a mixture of traditional Indian melodies,Scottish tunes and Bollywood anthems on bagpipes and percussion.

The oldest boat in the flotilla was built in 1740,and 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.

In London,they were located at Chelsea Embankment,Grosvenor Road,Milbank,Lambeth Bridge,Westminster Bridge,Victoria Embankment and Blackfriars Bridge.

Roads were closed along the River Thames. Nearly 10,000 streets were also closed in towns across the UK as residents organised street parties to celebrate the occasion.