Britain is all set to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Queen, commencing on Saturday and final preparations for the events for the next four days are going on in full swing across the country.
Ahead of the formal opening of the celebrations on Saturday, a full-fledged rehearsal of the carriage procession between Westminster Hall and Buckingham Palace by the armed forces and Household Divisions were conducted on the early hours of Friday.
"We are at the right stage that we need to be at - we don't want to peak too early but it's everything I expected them to achieve," the BBC reported the state ceremonial training officer for the Royal Navy, Warrant Officer Paul Barker as saying.
During the procession on Tuesday, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be accompanied by the royal family, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Over 1,000 vessels of various shapes and sizes will form a flotilla and sail along the Thames.
Thousands of spectators are expected to witness the events on Tuesday when the historic jubilee celebration procession takes place.
Prince Charles would charm millions by showing the never-seen videos of the royals' childhood ahead of the celebrations. BBC1 would be airing Charles' childhood memories of her majesty on Friday night.
During the hour-long tribute, filmed in the private quarters of several royal residences, the Prince dusts off home movies and recalls his fondest memories growing up with the monarch.
In the meantime, millions of Britons are expected to be on the move during the double bank holiday.
The first bank holiday on Monday will witness a historic BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace featuring a host of famous musical artists including Shirley Bassey, Elton John, Tom Jones and Paul McCartney.
The concert will be staged at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.
As the Royal Navy, Warrant Officer Paul Barker described, the event is all in all gearing up with a mixture of nerves and pride to sing in chorus, "God Save the Queen".
Take a look at the pictures of preparations across the UK:
Despite its reputation as a sprawling urban metropolis, a third of London is actually made up of parks and open spaces. The surprisingly green city has eight Royal parks: Regent’s Park (including Primrose Hill), Hyde Park, St James’s Park, Kensington Gardens and Green Park are all in the center city while Greenwich Park, Brompton Cemetery, Richmond Park and Bushy Park are further afield. All parks are free and host millions of Londoners and tourists each year.ReutersRichard McCutcheon (L), Liz Rattray (C) and Donald Isles hang Union Flags above the entrance to the village hall in Blair AthollReutersBritain's Prince Charles meets Diamond Jubilee Pageant Master Evans, Chief Executive of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation Lockett and Chairman of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation Salisbury in LondonReutersOriginal bottle of beers commemorating Britain Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee are lined up beneath a commemorative plate from 1977 in The Jubilee pub in Sunbury-on-Thames in south west LondonReuters23 month old Scarlett Rose Green tests a Union flag bowler hat for size at The Jubilee pub ahead of Britain Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee celebrations in Sunbury-on-Thames in south west LondonReutersImages of Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Union flag bunting hangs across The Jubilee pub ahead of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations in Sunbury-on-Thames in south west LondonReutersUnion flag bunting hangs accross The Jubilee pub ahead of Britain Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee celebrations in Sunbury-on-Thames in south west LondonReutersA cardboard cutout of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is seen in the window of a cake shop along Elizabeth Street in LondonReutersA British Flag is "reclaimed from the far right"ReutersA shopkeeper cleans a window outside a bakery, decorated for the Diamond Jubilee, along Elizabeth Street in LondonReutersA shopkeeper hangs a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth made from tiny photographs of cigars and cigar labels, inside a cigar shop along Elizabeth Street in LondonReutersSourdough bread, decorated with the slogan "God Save the Queen" is seen in a bakery window along Elizabeth Street in LondonReutersA taxi, decorated in a Union Jack Flag, turns into Elizabeth Street, which is also decorated with Union Jack flags in LondonReutersA jewellery shop display is decorated with a Union Jack flag along Elizabeth Street in LondonReutersA shopper browses jubilee decorations for sale in a newsagents in Stoke Newington, east LondonReutersThe Royal Rowbarge, which has been built for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, is manoevered on the River Thames in west LondonReuters
