Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

The organisers of the pageant were the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, with Michael Lockett as the Chief Executive of the Pageant and Pageant Master, Adrian Evans. Other bodies involved in the organisation included the Port of London Authority, the RNLI, the Metropolitan Police, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Environment Agency. The painting ''Lord Mayor's Day on the Thames'' depicts a flotilla against a background of London, including St Paul's Cathedral. The painting was loaned for an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich from the Lobkowicz Collections, Prague. Projected timings Flotilla sections The flotilla proceeded in sections preceded by Music Herald Barges: • Royal Jubilee Bells • Man-powered boats • Academy of Ancient Music • Royal Squadron, with Spirit of Chartwell carrying the Queen. • Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines Plymouth • Dunkirk Little Ships • Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band and Dhol Ensemble • Historic boats • The Jubilant Commonwealth Choir • Service, steam and working vessels • Leisure vessels • New Water Music • Narrowboats and barges • Mayor's Jubilee Band • Passenger boats • Rhythm on the River • Downriver passenger boats • London Philharmonic Orchestra (on board Bateaux London's vessel Symphony) == Parade ==

The Queen and the Royal Family At approximately 14:15, the Royal Launch from carried Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the royal barge , which was moored at Cadogan Pier, slightly downstream of the Albert Bridge. The Spirit of Chartwell, a motor vessel with a top speed of , was donated as the royal barge for the pageant and enhanced over the course of a year with symbols and ciphers that referred to the coronation, the Commonwealth and the Gold State Coach, and had a crown displayed on the bow. Fashion The Queen wore an ensemble designed by royal couturier Angela Kelly, comprising dress, coat, hat and shawl. The coat, which had a pleated frill at the front and neck, was of ivory boucle, decorated with gold, silver and ivory paillettes and Swarovski crystals. The matching hat had a small cockade of feathers in gold, silver and ivory, each trimmed with a crystal. Her jewels were the diamond starburst "Jardine brooch", a three-strand pearl necklace, and pearl earrings that had belonged to her grandmother, Queen Mary. The Duchess of Cornwall wore a cream ensemble with sleeves decorated with gold paillettes, by Anna Valentine, and a hat by Philip Treacy. Her jewellery was a four-strand pearl-and-diamond choker. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a scarlet long-sleeved dress with pleated skirt by Alexander McQueen with matching hat by Sylvia Fletcher, of royal milliner James Lock & Co., and carried a red satin clutch bag. She wore a brooch with two dolphins, the symbol of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. The Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh wore a printed dress by Emilia Wickstead. Princess Beatrice wore a silver and navy dress by Susannah, a navy blue coat by Marni, and pink and silver hat by Stephen Jones. Princess Eugenie wore a dress by Roland Mouret in coral pink, teamed with a Moschino cardigan, and Stephen Jones hat. Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence wore Royal Navy uniforms of various ranks. The Duke of Cambridge wore the uniform of a Royal Air Force flight lieutenant, and Prince Harry wore the uniform of a captain in the British Army's Blues and Royals along with the blue beret of the Army Air Corps. led the rowed vessels. Fleet The procession of boats, which was long, The start of the pageant was signalled by a whistle from steam locomotive 6201 Princess Elizabeth on Battersea Railway Bridge. The Royal Family watched the beginning of the parade from the moored royal barge. Leading the pageant was a floating belfry fitted with eight bells, newly cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry for the Church of St James Garlickhythe. Named after the eight senior members of the Royal Family and granted the title "The Royal Jubilee Bells", their sound was answered by churches along the route and around the UK. as well as the flag of the City of London and the flag of Cornwall. She was powered by 18 rowers, including Olympic medallists Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, and Guin and Miriam Batten. The flotilla of rowed vessels which followed included the Royal Shallop Jubilant, Waterman's cutters, of the City Livery Companies, Skiffs from Thames skiff and punting clubs, Gigs from coastal rowing clubs, kayaks, gondolas, dragon boats, replica Viking longships, and a jolly boat full of pirates. provided by the charity Northern Exposure Rescue, escorted the man-powered vessels from Putney Embankment to South Dock. The charity was selected especially due to their involvement in the annual Great River Race. Royal convoy Preceding the Royal Convoy, were fifty five dinghies, which sailed in diamond formation, each bearing the flag of a Commonwealth Country and carrying Sea Cadets from the UK, Bermuda and Hong Kong. The Spirit of Chartwell joined the procession, preceded by the Trinity House No 1 Boat, carrying the Princess Royal, as pilot vessel, and convoyed by two escort boats from the retired Royal Yacht Britannia, and naval and military vessels. She was accompanied by the Connaught, carrying the officers of the College of Arms, the Court of the Lord Lyon, and the Canadian Heraldic Authority. As the parade passed the National Theatre, the life-sized puppet horse from the play War Horse appeared on the roof as a salute to the Queen, who was visibly delighted. Powered vessels Following the Royal convoy came groups of powered vessels. These included a number of now very rare steam vessels, Alaska, the oldest working passenger vessel on the Thames, and the tugs Barking and Kennet. a launch from at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Narrowboats and barges came from all over the UK, many travelling for weeks along hundreds of miles of inland waterways and through many locks to take part in the parade. They included President representing the Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Beatty from Merseyside, Hazelnut from Byfleet, Centenary from Warwickshire, Lord Toulouse from Worcestershire, Marie Celeste from Lancashire, Oh Be Joyful from Cheshire, the Mountbatten Crusader from Northamptonshire, and the Shropshire Lad and Shropshire Lass which include in their crews disabled servicemen and civilians. A number of Dutch barges, used as houseboats on rivers in the UK also took part. The orchestra and their instruments were safely under cover, but the choir stood in the pouring rain, singing encores of "Land of Hope and Glory" as they made their way from London Bridge. As the orchestra drew up along the Royal Barge, they played the Hornpipe, which set the Royal Family and the veterans on HMS Belfast jigging and many umbrellas along the embankment bobbing in time with the music. They finished their musical selection with "Rule Britannia" and "God Save the Queen". In all, the pageant featured new works by thirteen modern British composers including Anne Dudley, Graham Fitkin, Gavin Greenaway, Christopher Gunning, Howard Goodall, Adrian Johnston, John Lunn, Julian Nott, Jocelyn Pook, Rachel Portman, Stephen Warbeck and Debbie Wiseman. The performers on the Herald Music Barges were the Academy of Ancient Music, The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Plymouth; Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band & Dhol Ensemble, the Jubilant Commonwealth Choir, the New Water Music, the Mayor's Jubilee Band and Rhythm on the River. The final barge carried the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir, performing music associated with different buildings and monuments along the river, including the James Bond theme, the Dambusters March and Rule Britannia. ==Protest, problems and criticisms==

During the event, the advocacy group Republic staged a protest, which attracted around 500 protesters. Forty-six people from the boats were treated for the effects of the cold weather, and six were taken to hospital with symptoms of hypothermia. Despite the event passing off peacefully, concerns have been raised by both The Guardian and later Lord Prescott about the mistreatment of unpaid staff used to provide security for the event. According to The Guardian reports some staff were, in effect, sleeping rough. The live television coverage of the pageant by the BBC was the subject of some media criticism and the broadcast reportedly attracted over 4500 complaints from members of the public. The presenters started by telling everyone the pageant commemorated the '60th anniversary of the coronation' of 'Her Royal Highness' the Queen. Later they identified the hat that 'Nelson wore at Waterloo.' Some commentators took the view that BBC presenters on the day had concentrated too much on interviews with celebrities and that they were insufficiently prepared to add depth to the TV commentary. The actor and writer Stephen Fry was of the opinion that the coverage was "mind-numbingly tedious", while Ben Dowell in The Guardian singled out the lack of television coverage given to the composers and performers who were commissioned to write music and perform on the Thames barges. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and composers Orlando Gough and Gavin Greenaway also expressed their frustration about the coverage. == See also ==