Three Generations of Royals join the Queen as she sets sail down the Thames on Glorious Jubilee River Pageant.

 

The River Thames became a royal highway Sunday, as Queen Elizabeth II led a motley but majestic flotilla of more than 1,000 vessels in a waterborne pageant to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

In a colorful salute to the island nation's maritime past, an armada of skiffs and sailboats, rowboats and paddle steamers joined a flower-festooned royal barge down a 7-mile (11-kilometer) stretch of London's river.

With a crowd of rain-soaked spectators estimated by organizers at 1.25 million cheering from the riverbanks, the pageant was the largest public event in four days of celebrations of the monarch's 60 years on the throne.

Three generations of Royals join the Queen as she sets sail down the Thames on glorious Jubilee river pageant.

Scroll down to watch highlights of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant:

The queen's grandson, Prince William, and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge — he in his Royal Air Force uniform, she in a red Alexander McQueen dress — and William's brother, Prince Harry, were among senior royals who joined the queen and her husband, Prince Philip.

Members of the Royal family (from left to right) Prince of Wales, Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

The royal barge 'Spirit of Chartwell' carrying the Queen cruises down the River Thames during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

Tradition meets hi-tech on a day of history: The royal barge passes under Tower Bridge against a backdrop of ultra-modern glass buildings. Soaring high above them is the magnificent pyramid-shaped Shard, at 1,020ft the tallest building in the European Union, construction of which is almost complete.

The bascules of Tower Bridge opened for the arrival of the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, as the Royal Family prepared to take their places on HMS President to watch the rest of the seven mile-long flotilla making its way down the Thames.

Just after 2pm more than a thousand vessels set off in wave after wave of tugs, steamers, pleasure cruisers, dragon boats and kayaks with the Queen travelling at its heart.

After a celebratory peal of bells from a special belfry barge, the royal boat sailed downstream at a stately 4 knots (4.6 mph, 7.4 kph), accompanied by tugs, pleasure craft, narrow boats, kayaks, gondolas, dragon boats and even a replica Viking longboat. Also in the flotilla were more than three dozen "Dunkirk Little Ships," private boats that rescued thousands of British soldiers from the beaches of France after the German invasion in 1940 — a defeat that became a major victory for wartime morale.

The vessels sailed past some of London's great landmarks — including the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and St. Paul's Cathedral — before ending their journey near Tower Bridge. Downriver, sailing ships too tall to fit under London's bridges were moored along both banks of the river.

The queen traveled down a river transformed during her reign, from the commercial and industrial heart of London to a — much cleaner — playground for tourists and pleasure craft. The pageant evoked a time when it was vital to London, and to Britain. Monarchs used the river as their main highway for centuries, and river processions were once common in London. The last comparable royal pageant was held for King Charles II in 1662, when diarist Samuel Pepys recorded boats so numerous he could "see no water."

The view from the London Eye: Crowds pack Westminster Bridge as the royal barge and escort passes the Houses of Parliament.

Anchors aweigh: The manpowered section of the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant headed along the River Thames to Tower Bridge, London.

Braving the elements: The rowers who manned Gloriana had been on the river for hours by the time the conclusion of the pageant.

Putting their backs into it: The Gloriana leads the manpowered craft towards Westminster Bridge during Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames in London.

Sweet sound: The Royal Jubilee Bells, on Ursula Catherine Belfry Barge, passed the Palace of Westminster at the head of the Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant.

Spectacular: Every available vantage point down the Embankment and the Millennium Bridge was packed as hundreds of thousands of people tried to getting a view of the Royal Pageant along the Thames.

At Tower Bridge — the final bridge before the river reaches the sea — a fanfare rang out and the two blue arms known as bascules were raised in salute to the royal boat. The pageant was a visual spectacle, accompanied by a wall of sound. The river rang with spectators' cheers, ships' horns, church bells and the sound of barge-borne bands playing everything from Handel's "Water Music" to Bollywood anthems and — as the vessels passed the headquarters of the MI6 spy agency — the James Bond theme.

The pageant ended with a slightly soggy burst of fireworks over Tower Bridge — and news from Guinness World Records that it had broken the record for largest parade of boats.

Explosive finish: Fireworks go off at Tower Bridge as the pageant reaches its conclusion.

The Queen alongside The Duchesses of Cambridge and Cornwall enjoy the the Jubilee Pageant on the Thames which broke a world record for the number of boats in a procession.

Pippa Middleton, second from the right, was on-board one of the boats with her brother James, far right, and father Michael, third from right. They were invited by the Queen to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

Red, white and blue: Spectators clutched Union Flags as they watch the flotilla from Butlers Wharf, near Tower Bridge, during Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant along the River Thames.

The Spirit of Chartwell made its way down the Thames with the Queen and other members of the Royal family onboard as thousands of people watched from bridges and river banks.

Then and now: A flotilla of manpowered craft rows past St Paul's Cathedral, in a 1747 painting, by Venetian artist Canaletto entitled "London, top. The skyline may have changed since then, but the latest pageant is still a striking image, bottom.

A steam train and pleasure boat of all shapes and sizes are seen from Battersea bridge on the River Thames as the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee.

The 86-year-old queen wore a silver and white dress and matching coat — embroidered with gold, silver and ivory spots and embellished with Swarovski crystals to evoke the river — for her trip aboard the barge Spirit of Chartwell, decorated for the occasion in regal red, gold and purple velvet.

The queen took the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI, and most Britons have known no other monarch.

A jubilant looking Queen Elizabeth II greets the Chelsea Pensioners before she boards The Spirit of Chartwell ahead of the Jubilee celebrations.

The Queen walks down the gangway to her launch wearing an outfit especially designed for the occasion by Angela Kelly. It has been a year in the making.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh wave from the launch during the pageant celebration to mark 60 years of her reign in Britain. She celebrated the day with her family and hundreds of thousands of people who lined the banks of the River Thames.

Crowds of people gather near Tower Bridge to see the Queen as she cruises along on the Thames. This is only the second time in the history of the UK that a Monarch has celebrated a Diamond Jubilee.

Crowds gather on Westminster Bridge, London, ahead of the start of the Diamond Jubilee river pageant.

Supporters of the Queen gather in the cold weather as the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant reached its end as a world record-beating 1,000-strong flotilla passed under Tower Bridge.

The belfry carrying The Royal Jubilee Bells was the first vessel through, followed by the million-pound row barge Gloriana led by Olympic gold medallists Sir Matthew Pinsent and Sir Steve Redgrave, rowing with 16 others.

A 41-gun salute was fired from the Tower of London to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne while thousands of people cheered on the banks of the River Thames despite the wet weather.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people crowded the Thames shoreline to watch the Royal Jubilee Pageant. From left to right, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry watched proceedings from the Royal barge which formed part of a flotilla of 1,000 boats

God Bless You; "Queen Elizabeth's."