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Newspapers half-price cause it s raining, called aCockney vendor. Get em while they re wet. The crowd alongthe Thames might have been larger if it had been sunny, but itcouldn t have been more enthusiastic: Groups of schoolchildrenbroke into spontaneous renditions of God Save the Queen, and peopleat the front, closest to the river, good-naturedly put down theirumbrellas when those in the back yelled, brollies down! Once the brollies were down, everyone in the back could see whatthe fuss was about. The Queen, looking chilly but stoic, sailed ona flower-bedecked former passenger cruiser renamed The Spirit ofChartwell, along with members of her immediate family (hergranddaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, seemed to befeeling the cold a tiny bit more.) As the boat passed the NationalTheatre, the Queen a famous horse-lover smiled broadly at theappearance of Joey, the puppet-steed from the hit play Warhorse. The pageant, which was quickly given the Guinness World Recordsseal of approval as the largest river parade of modern times, wasthoroughly British in its mixture of pomp and eccentricity. The little ships that had rescued so many soldiers from the beachesat Dunkirk were sandwiched somewhere between a Maori war canoe anda barge carrying members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whoplayed the theme from James Bond as they passed the riversideheadquarters of MI6. Canada, which the Queen has toured 22 times on official visits, waswell represented, too: Two dragon boats, Abreast of the West andInternationally Abreast, were paddled by breast cancers survivors,and the Canadian Canoe Museum sent Canada One, a modern-dayvoyageur s canoe with the maple leaf flag snapping out the back.Sailors from the Canadian navy served on Royal Marine boats called offshore raiding craft, though there were no raiders to bethwarted. The only injury to the Queen was perhaps to her dignity,if she happened to glimpse the thousands of people bankside wearingfree masks that bore her likeness. Earlier in the day, as 400 expatriates sat down to breakfast at thenewly renovated Canada House on Trafalgar Square, Governor-GeneralDavid Johnston said the Crown is the consecrated spirit ofCanada, paraphrasing Robertson Davies. He went on to say, theDiamond Jubilee is as much a celebration of Canada as it is acelebration of the Queen s lifetime on the throne. PrimeMinister Stephen Harper will also be in London for the rest of theDiamond Jubilee celebrations, which include a Commonwealthleaders lunch and a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul sCathedral. Later, on the river, the estimated one million people who gatheredalong seven twisting miles of the Thames huddled, cheered, sang anddrank to keep themselves warm. This is the only country in the world where so many people wouldstand in the rain to celebrate a queen, said Vanessa Wakeford,26, who had a union jack painted on either cheek. It s justreally exciting to be here. She and her brother Matt Rinaldi, 23,had been shivering and drinking Pimms and cider for eight hoursafter snagging a prime spot near the pageant s end, at TowerBridge. I wasn t a royalist until five months ago, said Mr.Rinaldi, opening a can of cider. Now I m totally into the Queen.She s a leader who doesn t stand for any particular thing, butshe s always been there for us through thick and thin. The huge arms of Tower Bridge properly called bascules opened in salute as the royal barge passed under. The Queen is onlythe second British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee, afterher great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, but Victoria was sounwell at her own jubilee celebrations she couldn t leave hercoach. By contrast, the Queen, 86, and her 90-year-old husbandPrince Philip stood for the two hour ceremony. It ended with them listening to the musicians on ten barges playingvariations on a liquid theme: the motif from Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantasia of British Sea Songs , and, of course, the suite composed by Friedrich Handel for anearlier king s river pageant: Water Music . More Related to this Story Beacons, tea parties, dog shows will mark Diamond Jubilee in Canada Globe Editorial Queen Elizabeth has been a special gift to Canada Queen goes to the races as jubilee begins. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Masterbatch Black Manufacturer , Filler Masterbatch, and more. For more , please visit Plastic Masterbatches today!
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