People in London are being encouraged to line the banks of the Thames on September 9th 2015 to cheer The Queen as she becomes the longest reigning monarch in British history. Organisers of a special flotilla of boats which will take to the river to mark the occasion are asking residents and visitors alike to stand along the Thames and clap The Queen into history on this very special day.
The Queen during the river celebrations for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. On September 9th 2015, there will be a flotilla on the Thames to mark her becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history
At midday on September 9th historic vessels, leisure cruisers and passenger boats will take to the Thames to mark Elizabeth II’s reign overtaking that of her great, great grandmother Victoria. And organisers hope London will join them to produce a ‘wave of applause’ for The Queen as she claims this royal record.
Among the boats taking to the water to celebrate will be the Gloriana which played such a pivotal role in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. It will be joined by others including the Havengore and fireboat, the Massey Shaw in a half hour procession which is part of Totally Thames – a month long festival of events celebrating London’s famous river.
Adrian Evans, Director Totally Thames and Pageant Master said ”The Diamond Jubilee flotilla of a thousand boats, re-established the River Thames as an arena for royal pageantry. How apt it is then that the river community should want to celebrate the moment when Her Majesty becomes the longest serving monarch in British history with a joyous flotilla on the Thames.”
Chris Ryland, owner of the Havengore, is co-ordinating the event and said “Those of us who were lucky enough to take part in the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant will never forget the great warmth which Londoners – and many others from across the world – showed as they lined the river banks to cheer Her Majesty. This would seem to form a very fitting sequel.”
The procession will start at Tower Bridge which will lift as a sign of respect. The boats taking part will sound their horns for one minute to get the celebrations started before gliding down the Thames and past many of London’s most famous landmarks including the London Eye. As it passes HMS Belfast there will be a four gun salute and the procession will end at the Houses of Parliament where the National Anthem will be sung and the flotilla will give three cheers for The Queen.
On September 9th 2015, The Queen becomes the longest reigning monarch this country has known. There are no special events planned for the day itself but The Queen will make a public appearance in Edinburgh to open a new train line and take a trip along its route to allow people to get a glimpse of her on this historic occasion. There will be major celebrations next June when there will be several days of events to mark her 90th birthday.
And if you want to see the route of the procession, the map is available on the Havengore website.
Photo credit: The Commonwealth Secretariat via Flickr
Yet again, I have to point out that going along the River Thames from Tower Bridge to Westminster is going up river, not “floating down the Thames”. If you floated down the river Thames from Tower Bridge you would end up in the estuary off Southend-on-Sea.