By Robert Hardman
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It's 94ft long, Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} decorated with gold leaf and ornate hand carvings and worth £1 million.
It is Gloriana, the new royal row barge which will lead a 1,000 strong flotilla along the Thames tomorrow afternoon to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
The barge, which will be rowed by 18 leading oarsmen including former Olympian Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Sir Steve Redgrave, will be just in front of the Spirit of Chartwell, which will carry the Queen and other members of the royal family along the river.
The flotilla will be one of the largest ever assembled on the river.
Scroll down for our guide to the Diamond Jubilee Pageant
Labour of love: Workers put the finishing touches to Gloriana, which will lead a 1,000-strong flotilla along the Thames tomorrow
Worken add the final touches to the Gloriana on the banks of the River Thames in Richmond by adding panels with golden waves that go along the side of the boat
A pair in a canoe row past the impressive-looking Gloriana as the final preparations are made on board ahead of the 1,000-strong armada along the river
Mighty: The prow of Gloriana, the Queen's royal row barge which will lead her Diamond Jubilee Pageant along the Thames
The attention to detail on the boat is impressive. A boat hasn't been built in the UK like this one for 200 years and it is hoped this one will be around for another 200 years
Ornate: The Gloriana is decorated with gold leaf and ornate hand carvings. It will in the future be used to carry the Queen and other members of her family
Since the middle of the week, some of the most spectacular and historic craft in the world have begun arriving in the capital.
The larger ones â€" those too big to get much beyond Tower Bridge â€" will be berthed on either side of the river there to create ‘the Avenue of Sail’.
The smaller craft, which will process behind the Queen, will have to start getting into position upriver this afternoon.
Historic: Vessels of all shapes, sizes and ages are set to take part in the Diamond Jubilee river pageant tomorrow
Down by the riverside: Participants in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant prepare for their big day tomorrow
At anchor: A boat prepares to take its place among the 1,000-strong flotilla which will wind its way along the River Thames tomorrow
Mustering points have been arranged along the Thames as far west as Chiswick, where a giant campsite will be erected for the crews of all the man-powered boats.
Elsewhere, sampan-style boat villages will be springing up all along the river tonight. Look out for the Dunkirk Little Ships near Hammersmith.
Come breakfast-time, the river will be like a happy reincarnation of D-Day as crews make their final preparations.
The whole pageant lines up for several miles west of Battersea Bridge, where it all begins at 2.40pm. It will then continue for seven miles to Tower Bridge, with every section of the flotilla led by its own floating orchestra or ‘herald barge’.
This means the public has 14 miles on either side of the river from which to see it all.
Finishing touches: A pair of red-velvet thrones - poorly concealed beneath transparent plastic sheeting - are the giveaway to this magnificent floating palace... the barge that will carry the Queen
Ready: Tenacious in British Waterways' West India Dock, left, and more boats sail along the Thames to moor before the big day, right
Avenue of sail: A general view of activity at St Katharine's docks as the first sailing boats are anchored in position downstream of Tower Bridge, ready to form the 'Avenue Of Sail'
Almost 70,000 people have bought tickets for a big family festival near the start at Battersea Park, but that has sold out. However, there are numerous vantage points and mega-screens all along the way.
Wherever you stand, you will be treated to more than an hour of spectacle, because it will take the convoy at least 75 minutes to travel past you â€" at a stately 4 mph.
The ebbing tide would normally make things much faster, but the authorities have decided this is a perfect day to give the Thames Barrier its annual MoT.
The mighty sluice gate will be fully raised to calm the currents.
Almost 200 safety boats will be patrolling the event, and the Port of London Authority has designated a ‘hard shoulder’ along the southern bank of the Thames for any vessels that conk out.
All skippers have been asked to stay off the sauce until landfall.
The Queen joins the party soon after 2pm at Chelsea Harbour Pier, where, with Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, she boards the launch from the dearly departed Royal Yacht â€" her first reunion with her old runaround since Britannia was decommissioned in 1997.
She then proceeds downriver to Cadogan Pier, where she jumps ship to the Spirit of Chartwell, a specially converted Thames sightseeing boat that will serve as the Royal Barge.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, will be waiting on deck, while the rest of the Royal Family will be scattered across other vessels, including Havengore, the launch best-known for its role in Sir Win ston Churchill’s state funeral.
Not long to go: Workers add finishing touches to decorations on the Royal Barge, which will lead the river pageant
Floral display: Rachel de Thame (2nd right) and Mark Fane (right) arrange roses and lavender on board the Royal Barge
Other boats are being preened too: A man puts the finishing touches to his boat at South Quay, where many of the boats are moored ahead of the river pageant
At Cadogan Pier, the Queen will see the great floating belfry set sail, bells clanging, followed by the 265 man-powered vessels. All will ‘toss oars’ â€" raise their oars in salute â€" as they pass her.
Next come 54 rowing boats with the flags of the Commonwealth, followed by a ‘herald barge’ with the trumpeters of the Royal Marines.
At this point, the Royal Barge joins the procession and leads all the motorised craft through the capital. As the Queen reaches Tower Bridge, those mighty arms will lift in salute and she comes to a halt on the other side.
There she will view the rest of the vast cavalcade as it comes honking, parping, waving and saluting its way past her.
The last boat does not cross the finish line until some time around 5.30pm, whereupon 1,000 skippers will then be looking for somewhere to land in London’s Docklands for the night. Let us hope the pubs are well-stocked.
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You can see how far we have fallen, not so long ago the Queen would have inspected our world class naval fleet off Spitehead, now its rowing boats on the Thames, what a come down.
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@ Marie, Surrey, UK, 2/6/2012 18:59 -------- Well, you had me fooled, Marie. I was just about to find out where you live and send a heavy round to sort you out, lol. And I agree with you regarding Lancashire Lass' comments... they are appalling!
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The World will be watching. This must be the greatest show of pageantry ever.
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A million quid for that, I could have knocked it up with some Balsa wood and glue for a fiver.
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How churlish, how disrespectful, how ungrateful are all those people saying they have lost their jobs and had their benefits cut and don't feel a reason to be cheerful.- Marie, Surrey, UK, 2/6/2012 18:21 ----------- Literally gobsmacked at your comments !! - Lauren, London, 2/6/2012 18:37 Don't worry, Lauren: I was just trying to see if I could slip into 'average DM reader' mode, and see whether it would garner agreement or condemnation, so your gobsmackedness is heartening. Have no fear: I am a lefty republican appalled in equal measure by much of the DM's content and by the actions of the current cruel and heartless government who are using the Big Scary Deficit Monster as a mandate to impose the ideologically-driven changes they have always dreamed of imposing.
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Ask not 'what is this costing us (as taxpayers)?' but 'how much is this earning us (as a country)?' - BAZ, Ellesmere Port, 2/6/2012 13:18 No. It has been calculated that, despite any possible increase in spending on the high street, tourism benefits etc., the addition of an extra Bank Holiday constitutes a net loss of hundreds of millions of pounds.
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Well deserved. If a penny if it had been paid for by the tax payer, I would be proud to have contributed to it, rather than paying for some of the scroungers my money does go to. I don't believe that this the case and we should be happy about this. Yes we should celebrate. Happy diamond jubilee.
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How churlish, how disrespectful, how ungrateful are all those people saying they have lost their jobs and had their benefits cut and don't feel a reason to be cheerful.- Marie, Surrey, UK, 2/6/2012 18:21 ----------- Literally gobsmacked at your comments !!
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- Sue., Hampshire..YOU UNGRATEFUL, LAZY, SCROUNGING, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING WHINGE-BAG, GET OUT THERE AND GET YOURSELF A JOB....... - Lancs Lass, Lancs, What a truly horrific thing to say to someone whose circumstances you know nothing about. If you think that all people on benefits - indeed, if you think more than a minority of people on benefits - can be characterised in such a way, then you clearly have little experience of such matters. I know that I won't persuade you, Lancs Lass, but, honestly, when it comes to changes to the benefits system, please believe me when I say that bad and cruel things are happening to good and vulnerable people on an extraordinary scale. I wish I could persuade you of this, rather than having you maintain this virtriolic, spiteful view of others. How can you not be ashamed of such a comment? This is a genuine question - it defeats me how someone can be so cruel and uninformed in equal measure. Shame on you.
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A million quid spent on such a boat...when she wont even be travelling in it? Talk about an extravagant waste of money! Ridiculous. And Jay, London, 02/6/2012 15:54, I totally agree.
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