After Monday night’s energetic Golden Jubilee pop concert, Tuesday’s procession from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s cathedral marked a more solemn continuation of the landmark occasion. The Queen, riding in the 18th-century Gold State Coach, made the two-and-a-half mile voyage in a grand parade featuring the precision, pomp and circumstance befitting a 50-year reign.
The Queen’s 24 ft gilded coach, ornamented with three cherubs representing England, Scotland and Ireland, was preceded by three open-topped carriages carrying other members of the royal family, with the exception of Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Led by Blues and Royals, red plumes accenting brilliantly polished gold helmets and dark blue uniforms, three carriages carrying the Queen’s younger sons and grandchildren began the slow journey to St Paul’s.
The first horse-drawn coach carried Princes William and Harry, the Duke of York and his daughter Princess Beatrice; the second, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Prince Andrew’s daughter, Princess Eugenie; and the third, the Princess Royal’s children Zara and Peter Phillips, and her husband Commander Timothy Laurence.
As the trio of open-topped horse drawn carriages left the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the young royals were met with cheers from crowds of people lining the streets of London. In a sight perhaps not seen since the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, thousands gathered to greet the royals, with flags waving, cameras held aloft and children perched on shoulders to catch a better view.
Eight Windsor Greys, meanwhile, were ready to draw the golden carriage, each pair of horses handled by a black-capped coachman dressed in gold. At exactly 10.43 am, the Queen, wearing a bright blue dress with three strings of pearls, and seated next to Prince Philip, began her sedate journey. The national anthem once again rang out as the monarch left the gates of Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s carriage – followed by Princess Anne and the Prince of Wales in full dress uniform on horseback – emerged to a sea of colour. The lush greenery of the Mall was peppered with the red, white and blue of waving flags, and the regal gold and crimson of the accompanying troops.
As the carriage passed into Trafalgar Square, the throngs who lined the streets and watched from windows and balconies greeted the royal couple with welcoming cheers in an atmosphere of true jubilation.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
