>> judging by those pictures now, the beginning of the flotilla, we should start to see -- >> approaching us. >> it's approaching us. we will hear the royal jubilee bells and see them, i'm guessing, within minutes as the flotilla comes forward with the manpowered craft. >> let's just take a quick look. let's just listen in. ♪ >> extraordinary pictures here in london. i haven't seen anything like this. i lived on the river thames on and off for the lst 20 years, and i have never seen a spectacle quite like this in my life. 1,000 boats coming down the thames to celebrate the diamond jubilee of her magesty queen elizabeth ii who had been on the british throne since 1953. the famous coronation. here she is today still in charge.

>> welcome to london. you're watching live pictures from the diamond jubilee of queen elizabeth ii. i'm piers morgan. >> and i'm brook baldwin. it is so nice to see you here from this sunday afternoon here in london, and we can begin to hear the crowds behind us. just to give you a little geographical layout, we are right next to the tower bridge, and we are beginning to hear the crowds screaming from the river banks of the river thames as this flotilla, all 1,000 boats. take a look at the map, and can you see the progression here along the river as it winds around. heading towards us, heading towards london bridge and then tower bridge right where we are. >> celebrating, as i say, 60 years of queen elizabeth ii's reign as the queen of great britain and the commonwealth. she is here today with all the senior members of the family on a special barge, the spirit of chartwell, that is coming down the thames towards us here at the tower bridge.

joined by richard quest. he is just -- >> i am turning around like a topsy-turvy thing because i'm waiting now. we are looking at the pictures on television. they've passed london bridge, so the bells of the royal jubilee bells are just moments away from where we are, tower bridge, and that means that the spirit of chartwell itself could only be five or ten minutes behind. any second now we're going to see. >> you can hear them. >> it's down that way. >> you can hear the roar. >> let's listen. here she is.

>>ure watching live pictures of the queen's diamond jubilee celebrations. i'm here with brook baldwin and richard quest. we're all here at the tower bridge, and we are literally several minutes away from the queen arriving on this magnificent -- is there another word for this? this is a magnificent barge, the spirit of chartwell. >> i was watching richard. your iphone, you are trying to crane your neck to try to get a picture of this that we're seeing. >> absolutely. >> here we are. >> just listen. >> here we go. this is the start. we're going to get our first pictures. i need to take some pictures myself here. >> this is the floating belfrey. >> this is the ersula catherine. eight bells specially cast for today. the largest weighing half a ton called elizabeth, and afterwards they will be sent to st. james'

high church, but they've never done this before. >> a floating belfry. you can hear the bells being returned to these different churches all along the thames, so it's like this echo, this reverb rating here along the river. >> you won't be able to pick this up quite at home, but the noise is becoming deafening, both of the bells and the roars from i would say even here just at tower bridge. 50,000, 60,000 people. >> look at the scene. >> the same white chapel foundry cast big ben, cast these bells. the next boat behind it will be the glorianna, which is the royal road barge. what's unique is it has about 16 -- or18. >> 18. >> horsemen led by olympic champions led by some competitors as well. also, people who have served in afghanistan and iraq and the british armed forces, and they are rowing in front of the spirit of chartwell, the royal barge.

>> absolutely. it was the spirit of chartwell. one quick fact. made partly from wood from prince charles' own estates. >> we are just getting going here live in london. the diamond jubilee. quick break. we're back with the first floating belfry ever. ♪ we're here at walmart with the burtons, who love movies. let me show you something new. come on. walmart can now convert your favorite dvds from disc to digital. so you can watch them on your laptop, tablet, phone... anytime, anywhere. cool, huh? yea! yea! what'd you guys think that it would cost? i thought it'd be around $10. it's only $2 per disc. that's a great price. bring in your favorite dvds. see for yourself. boooom!

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the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. >> you're welcome back to london. you're watching incredible pictures here of the river thames, queen elizabeth ii celebrating her diamond jubilee. 60 years on the throne. brook, this is quite something, isn't it? >> 9,600 cut flowers, 600 plants used just on this particular royal barge alone as it floats along and nears us here at tower bridge. much more live pictures from the diamond jubilee after this quick break.

♪ >> welcome back to london at tower bridge. we're watching incredible pictures of queen elizabeth ii's diamond jubilee celebrations.

her majesty literally sailed right behind us, and we get the real flavor of the remarkable atmosphere here. let's go to max foster, who we have somewhere in the bowels of this vast crowd. max. >> reporter: we're beneath you somewhere, but check out the crowds going that way. all seven miles of river, i have to say, have been backed up like this all the way along. they've had to stop crowds coming in. having a good time, guys? the glorianna has just gone by, and we have all the rowing boats coming across at the moment. this is the final section really. everyone is really waiting for the queen's barge. there will be more down there by that army ship, and then we're going to watch it all gi about. are you all set to see the queen? they've been waiting a long time. they had to get in very early. how early did you get here? 8:00. dedicated brits. >> so incredibly dedicated. it's amazing all these kids now.

i was at hanley toy store the other day, and i was talking to an 8-year-old. i said who was the only other reigning monarch, you know, who reached a diamond jubilee here, and he said he was it was queen victoria. 8 years old. i want to bring in both of our guests here, former buckingham palace spokesman from 1988 to 2000. welcome to you. >> thank you. >> your mother was the queen's lady-in-waiting and we'll get into all those -- >> more importantly, you were one of princess diana's bridesmaids. >> way to pay attention, morgan. >> you're being drowned out by the noise behind us. >> here's my question for dickey. as we take a look at these pictures and you see the queen looking so regal at the front of the spirit of chartwell, and looking at the onlookers in london, and a billion eyes on her around the world, what must be going through her head? sdmri think she's totally overwhelmed by what's happening. >> you do? >> you can imagine 1,000 boats, and she hasn't seen this many

boats in any one place since 1953. it's a coronation. when we really had a big royal navy at the smithhead review, but this was completely overwhelming. there are 1,000 boats on the river, and there are tens of thousands of people lining the river, and we've heard the crowd here. we've seen them waving flags. i think we're overwhelmed as much as she is. >> does she get nervous, the queen? she's attended 60 years of celebrating events. would she be feeling nervous today? >> she wouldn't be feeling nervous, but she would be overwhelmed because seeing so many people, seeing this enthusiasm. you know, we are told time and time again by the critics that the monarch should gsh the republicans want to have a say. >> you're watching pictures here of -- >> her coronation from 195. >> you actually watched that. >> i watched that on television on the screen about that big. it was very black and white. you had to have the curtains

tightly shut. otherwise, you wouldn't see the picture. it was terribly exciting. it was television in its infancy. >> how does this compare, the celebrations we're seeing today to even the coronation itself? >> i think it's on par because people were very enthusiastic in 1953. it was the -- after the wedding of 1947. it was the biggest thing we have seen where people camped out for days. the weather was just like this, like it is today. it rained for most of the time. >> it's pouring down rain now. i'm looking at india. she's smiling back at me. we're going to work through it because everybody else is working through it and enjoying it as well. india, my question to you is this, as dickey talks about watching the coronation in black and white, it was your mother who was with at the time prince phillip and the queen. she was princess at the time. it was your mother. explain that whole situation. they were in kenya on -- >> they had left feeling that the king was in relatively good health, although looking back

you could see how frail he was as he went to the airport to wave off his daughter princess elizabeth. they were unbelievably close. they were away for a week. nobody had anticipated the king would die. in fact, the funeral clothes that a monarch -- or member that the royal family always 2r568d with had been transferred to australia. there was news that the king had died. she had to be explained that her beloved father was dead, and when asked later prince philip was asked how did the queen take it, he said bravely, like a queen. my mother said it was absolutely extraordinary. they had to get back to nairobi to fly back to england for the funeral and for the queen to become queen and the coronation. >> she went up the tree a princess and came down a queen. >> my mother said the whole world changed from calling her princess elizabeth or lillabeth, and she suddenly was a queen and a deep curtsy, and the relationship changed. >> she came to fly back to britain when all the

photographers -- >> don't tell my story. you're nicking my story. >> that's why you're here. your mother. >> it is extraordinary. especially you would appreciate being -- having come from that world of the press that when they got back to nairobi at the airport, the world's press had descended, and my mother said she looked, and all of the members of the press had placed their cameras on and the ground and their heads were bowed in a seen of respect because the queen was in mourning for her father. >> i can't imagine at age 25 taking on that responsibility. so here's my other question, though, knowing that she's married and her husband now prince philip, duke of edinburgh, she is his sovereign. he walks behind her. >> the shadow. >> yes. >> not only that, but their private life has gone forever. >> what does your family make of the way the queen has been since that moment, given they were there right at the start? >> i mean, unfaltering loyalty.

you know, it is extraordinary to see how the monarch has adapted, and i do think that we see right now that we have modernized our monarchy in the fact that there's some extraordinary statistic that 88% of the commonwealth in britain would want a monarchy, whereas a number of years ago that was faltering. we have adjusted. here today we see, you know, what a celebration it is. >> the queen has reigned for 60 years. appropriately, it is now pouring with rain. will she be bothered by this? >> no, she won't be bothered by it at all. she's used to it. when she goes walkabout, if it's raining, she has an umbrella. the queen has adapted because that's exact what she's done. she doesn't change. she adapts. that's what the monarchy has done for 1,000 years. it's adapted. it's evolved, and that's why -- >> when people say to you, what is the point of the queen, what is the answer? >> the answer is that it's -- she's a head of state. you can say what's the point of a president? you know, executive president,

yes, they are voted into office. a ceremonial president is really the same as a ceremonial queen. >> the queen is above it all. it's the parliament who passes and writes the legislation. the queen -- >> exactly. that's why charles the i had his head disconnected from his shoulders because he interfered in parliament. >> everybody knows who the boss is, and she's coming down this river in a magnificent barge. we'll take a short break and be right back with these extraordinary scenes here in london of the queen's diamond jubilee. really, you'll never see this again in your life. ♪ c'mon dad!

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you're looking at live pictures. piers morgan and i -- >> are you southed excited. i'm brook baldwin. >> london bridge is opening up. >> it is not, from what i understand, happened very often, and it's opening because we are about to see and we're berched right next to tower bridge. we are about to see the spirit of chartwell. this is the royal barge. this is the royal barge carrying her magesty, carrying her husband prince philip, and carrying the duke and duchess of cambridge, prince harry, prince charles. >> the significance of that is you never see all those royals on the same moving vessel ever. this is a unique occasion. security reasons, you never have the queen and her heir and his heir all together on one moving thing. >> let's listen. >> let's just watch this. this is incredible. ♪

>> you're watching these incredible pictures right behind us. this is the queen arriving at tower bridge for her diamond jubilee celebrations in the spirit of chartwell. it's quite extraordinary. it seems to go on and on and on. >> and on. >> it contains all the senior royals, and the ovation that the queen got as she went through the tower -- through the tower bridge, which was open for the occasion, i have not heard a roar like that in a very, very long time. it was really incredibly moving. this is nowhere, brook baldwin, i would rather be -- >> than right here in the rain with me looking at the confine, right? >> my goodness. this is one of those lifetime moments i don't think i'll ever forget. >> we should mention this is a boat. this is the spirit of chartwell. this is something that they, the royal family, basically

commissioned for this precise event, and they really worked it inside out. it's like this 17th century meets art deco kind of boat, and you see these -- i kept looking at the flowers. there are something like 6,000 flowers here as part of this boat, and when you look at the front of it, is it turning? oh, my goodness zoosh it's turning. it's pulling a 360 that we had only heard about. richard is nodding. >> the royal barge is now performing a rapid fire 360 turn. >> i have never seen a boat do this. >> i have never seen any boat that size do this. this is absolutely remarkable. >> so if you get a moment, when you see the front -- here had he is. we were talking to dickey, who had been a spokesman for the queen for two decades. a decade and a half. i said what in the world must she be thinking right now with all these shouts and bell chimes and 41 canon salute, and he said she's probably overwhelmed. >> look how fast this boat is turning. this is really extraordinary. i had been told it was very high-tech the spirit of

chartwell. it had been brought right kick and screaming into modern day technology and could do this kind of thing. it is literally revolving at pretty high speed on a 360 axis. quite remarkable. tloo these are the cameras on board this boat. i'm told there are six different cameras just to give us a better vantage of what's happening on board. part of the roof of this boat, and this is one of the reasons they chose this boat, is to be able to have these two thrones. the queen has been stand and taking it all in, but there is a throne for her. >> we have to go back before it's turned around. we'll see, hopefully, very soon. . so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class.

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[ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> back to cmn's live coverage of the diamond jubilee here in london. we're at tower bridge where bells and canons and boats and -- >> cheers. >> cheering. this is scenes like i have never seen in my 47 years of being a british subject, and it really is quite remarkable. we're going to bring in some guests here now. katie nichol, you're the royal editor of the mail on sunday. in your time have you seen anything quite as magnificent as this? >> i don't think anyone has seen this. unless you were around 300 years ago, no. i mean, this is just -- this is the most spectacular thing. of course, we had the royal wedding last year. that was wonderful. takes a lot to top that. this is -- i mean, this is over

succeed it. it is just the sheer scale, the sheer number of boats on this river and the reason that the spirit of chartwell has turned is that she will now pull up along side hms president and she will watch the flotilla pass. it gives the queen an opportunity to see everything that we're experiencing. >> let's just remind everybody, this boat, which is huge, just did a 360 turn -- >> in the middle of the river thames. >> three or four minutes in the middle of the river thames. it looks like it could do a 360 in not just 20 days. >> a feat of engineering. there are lots of engines on board. many of these vessels are manpowered, but you couldn't really put the queen on anything that involveded ores. she'll get to see what the british public, despite the rain, have enjoyed today. it makes you proud to be british, doesn't it? >> it's a wonderful moment. >> we see all the umbrellas. everyone is prepared on this flotilla, and i know it was so much prettier. you were at the dar by. we'll talk about the dar by, which was the queen -- she loves her horses. loves horseracing.

i want to bring in the senior editor of harp ar's bazaar, u.k., and you and the duchess of cambridge got the same memo today, wearing the red. >> i think it's the color of today. i think we probably chose, well, red, white, and blue, which was my uniform of choice. i think she got it totally right wearing mcqueen. >> alexander mcqueen, and she wore sarah burton on her royal wedding day. >> i think she's looked the best she's ever looked. i think the fashion editors today are going to be cheering even more loudly than they did last we're. >> i imagine that the royal household is cognizant of the younger royals not upstaging the queen on her day, on this 60-year anniversary of her reign. it's interesting the choice i find that the duchess of cambridge is in such an eye-grabbing, stunning color as red and then you juxtapose that with the queen, her majesty herself, wearing all white. >> which is very unusual, isn't it, for the queen to wear white. >> i think it's very unusual for her to wear white, but i suspect knowing the relationship that

the queen has with catherine that they consulted each other -- >> coordinated. >> i absolutely think that because i don't think catherine would have worn something quite so strident had the queen not said absolutely go ahead. >> let's bring in becky anderson. she's in picadilly at the street party where they appear to be going absolutely crazy, becky. >> reporter: yes. absolutely crazy too, sort of. this is a complete experience. you see me underneath the umbrellas that are sold in this shop by this young man, the cunning standing here. he has -- who has one of the few individually owned shops on picadilly on this historic day for the first time ever. this is main street, london. that's been closed down for what has been the most tremendous street party. even millie here. hello, millie. even she's got a little something on down there. it's been an extraordinary day. there have been thousands and thousands and thousands of

people here. they are still here enjoying the big screens, watching the footage that you have been watching today. it really has been the most extraordinary atmosphere. we've got -- knocking out a big old hog roast. what? are you stopping me? >> we're going to leave you now and go to max foster, who is down behind me in the crowd. i can tell you, it is now raining incredibly hard. i'm getting absolutely soaked. i don't care. we are celebrating my queen's great jubilee and yours, max foster's. where are you? are you drowning? what is happening down there? >> check it out. look at the crowds. look at the umbrellas. you still having a good time, guys? [ cheering ] >> this is britain after all. we're used to all of this. anyway, the middleton's boat just went by, so we had a wave from pippa, and then we have the royal barge.

you guys -- who are you? corgi. have you enjoyed watching it all go by? still enjoying it, guys? kids, yeah? >> it's really fun. >> you don't mind the rain? >> getting worse and worse, piers, but everyone is staying here. you can see although flags waving and all the umbrellas. >> no one is going to crush the british spirit today. this is like a -- this is a fine british summer's day. >> a summer's day. look at these crowds, piers morgan. >> this is a typical summer day in england. >> the weather here is very fickle. loo this is about as bad as it gets, but the queen will be very flagmatic, and so will her subjects. we are used to being rained on. that's why we have a wonderful arape of umbrellas. katie, you covered the royals for a long time.

the significance of the diamond jubilee in relation to the monarchy, isn't it the way that william and kate have explode odd to the international stage and so on. put it into context for them. >> i think actually the 60 it's year is really now an opportunity to look forward. i think you really cannot underestimate the importance of who is on the spirit of chartwell today. it's the queen. it is her son. it is her grandson. the future of the monarch where i. it's very significant because what we're seeing now is a slimmed down monarchy. this boat and who is on this boat is what the future is all about. >> let's get one thing very clear because i keep being asked by americans in particular, could the queen -- would william become king? >> absolutely zero chance of that happening. the queen will go on until she dies, and the next king, if he is still alive when she dies, will be prince charles. they believe very keenly in the natural -- the significance of today is seeing them all together to remind people it will be the queen, prince

charles, and then prince william. >> i think you're absolutely right, piers. the queen used her state opening of parliament in march to renew that vow that she made when she was 21 years old that her pledge would be to her country, her service to her country. she will serve until she takes her last breath. there is no question. there is no question of charles missing out on what he has waited many, many years to take on. >> one other question, i feel like, coming from the u.s., and we were just so enaturalered by the story of the royal wedding and look at the kids wave and the duke and the duchess of cambridge now and their whole story and speaking to people just the past couple of days as i have been in london asking them what seems more significant, and they said absolutely it's today. the royal wedding was lovely last year, but this is such a bigger deal. >> this is about head of state. this is about the queen. william and kate bring us glamour and youth and bring us everything we have to look forward to for the future, but this year these celebrations are about her majesty, the queen. >> i think we should say now

that i think unekwifically queen elizabeth ii will go down as the greatest monarch this country has ever had. victoria was amazing, but this one given the problems that the royal family has had to endure in the last 60 years given the fact that there was speculation about the future of the monarch yea and so on, the fact that she's attracting this kind of crowd today. >> look at the turnout. >> through all those cynics. we're going to go to a break, but when we come back, more from this dazzling extravaganza on the river here in london.

>> live pictures. this is david perry. he is the conductor, conducted the london phil harmonic orchestra for years, and he is the number 1,000eth boat of the 1,000 boats along the river thames. we will have more historic live pictures on this diamond jubilee live from london when we come back.

>> ewe watching extraordinary pictures here of the river thames which celebrates today the queen's diamond jubilee. 60 glorious years on the throne of great britain, and worry joined by two people who should be experts. captain andy of the royal navy, welcome to you, sir, and let me ask you, first of all, we just saw one of my favorite parts of the whole flotilla which is the dunkirk, and these were 70 of the boats used on the day of dunkirk rescuing those british troops from the beaches there. what is the significance of

having them here today? >> just the rain brings out the dunkirk experience, but i i think just having that link to history and back to such an iconic event is hugely important today's because, of course, it links backs to her majesty's own wartime experience and her own wartime service. i think being able to put that thread, if you like, through history and links to the ireland nation and the royal navy and the maritime piece that is -- >> it's interesting you say that about the queen and the war, because one of the reasons she's so beloved, rather like her mother, was that in the war she could have disappeared and been squirrelled away and hidden until it was all over, but she stayed here. she put the uniform on. she worked. stayed in london. the bombs rained down, and i think that is part of the magic of the queen is that when it really mattered to her country, she stayed the course. we're also joined by peter. you are a general and cure ator of the national maritime museum. this for you has to be one of the great days, doesn't it? >> yes, that's right.

splendid stuff. >> hey, let me -- if i may just intervekt. we're looking at the pictures, and you see this orchestra. it is the london philharmonic orchestra, and what's fun about that particular boat as it's the 1,000th is they will be playing quite the repertoire. the mi6 building, the british intelligence agency, they'll be playing the james bond theme, they'll be playing dan buster's walts when they pass by the globe theater a. why use the river as the back drop, because we have never seen anything like this on the thames since 1600s. >> well, that's the whole point is that the river is for the modern age, a great neglected stage. i mean, up until the middle of the 19th century, this sort of thing happened regularly once a year when there was the lord mayor's procession which for 403 years took place from the city

down to westminster every year as the new lord mayor of london went to swear his open aleej ens to the crowd. from the middle of the 1850s the great stink of 1850 -- >> the smelly river. i learned all about that the other day. >> they had to embank the river to stop that, and so, in fact, what happened is the engineering work stopped it to a degree. also, the speed of the river flowed up, and it actually -- the steamboats had already taken over. >> from a naval point of view, how many of these boats are navy boats? >> well, a number of serving warships today which provided the guard of honor for her majesty rsh every. >> these are active servicemen from the royal marines. >> we have a number of off shore craft from the marines that has an international link to it because we've got the officers and men and women from the royal australian, the royal new zealand, and the royal canadian navys as well, and we have two rigid inflatable craft that is

used by us on a day to day basis, and, of course, diamond kicks off the whole weekend on friday when she made a grand ceremonial entrance into portsmouth harbor. >> she's probably not ever better protected than surrounded by royal marines, one of the great regiments in the world. you're watching live pictures from the queen's diamond jubilee in london. it really has been a quite remarkable 40 minutes is all it's been, but already we've seen scenes the likes of which i don't think have ever been witnessed in the country or probably anywhere in the world. >> duchess of cambridge tossed on a scarf. she's getting a little cold. can you see the plaid scarf. >> it's freezing. >> it's frigid. >> pouring rain. >> live pictures of the spirit of dunkirk. >> we're back after this short break. ♪

>> catherine middleton, the newest addition to the queen's

family. at 29 years old she was the oldest woman to ever marry a future king, and one day she'll be the sixth queen catherine to serve the united kingdom. this is cnn's live coverage of the diamond jubilee. people with a machine. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see,

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some of the 1,000 boats that are streaming now behind us down towards tower bridge. we'll bring in two guests now. philip and gregory, a historian, and also mark dickens, former naval officer, and charles dickens, great, great grandson. welcome to you both. >> let me ask you, straight away, i made a bold claim earlier that this may well go down in history as the greatest of all british monarchs. what do you think? >> no. >> no? >> no, she says. >> no. of course not. there have been other ones who have been in times of greater danger. i mean, elizabeth i with the invasion of the armada and charles the i memorable. henry xvi memorable. she's done it in the modern world. this isn't a world where kings or queens can be or should be that significant in the terms of great events. >> what about the evolution of the monarchy. i read the most recent biograef of the queen in the 1990s were a tough decade with the divorces and the with the windsor fire. what does she call it, the --

right? moving from that point on to today, how has she evolved? >> i think what she's managed to do is she really did bring it into the modern world what she showed was a modern family. then they went on to family us the difficulties that the modern families have, a distant family hidden behind had the palace walls to deference to a family out and about, she pioneered the walkabouts. you only have to listen to the coverage in england today to realize insane deference is alive and well and flooding the air waves. >> what would your great, great grandfather have made of this, do you think? "great expectations," "bleak house." >> "a tale of two cities request." left pageantry. he met queen victoria in his life. he didn't have time for the

royal family when he was younger but came to appreciate it toward the end of his life. >> your father was a war hero and got to know the queen well, played with her on the royal yacht. >> yes, when he was a very junior officer, princess elizabeth as she was, and princess margaret, come aboard the previous royal yacht and we have to play with her. >> leave us on that suspenseful moment. >> okay. >> a short break, find out exactly what your father did with the queen on the royal yacht. sounds fantastic. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint

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back in london, watching the diamond jubilee here, tower bridge, a remarkable house, i must say, our two guests, martin dickens, have you ever seen anything quite like this? >> nothing at all, quite fantastic, but very british with the weather like this. sort of perfect, isn't it? >> i have goosebumps. >> actually gotten -- >> a drowned rat, i apologize. back to your story, you were talking about? >> well, my father was on board the royal yacht in the 1930s. the job of a very young officer

was to entertain the royal family. elizabeth was 12 at the time and margaret was there he used to play hide-and-seek on the royal yacht. it is a lovely story. whether it is true or not -- >> philippa, in terms of the queen herself, she will go on reigning until she dies, i think? >> absolutely. piers, you know so difficult to people who don't get it, but a hereditary monarchy has to be inherited, you can't choose. >> the reason for that, mainly, it is someone hand over to prince william and bypass charles, but if william, god forbid, was involved in some terrible accident, could you lose the whole monarchy you couldn't overstate it? >> i think it is bigger than that i think if you suggested to the people that you can choose who is king or queen, why would we choose any of them? why wouldn't we choose somebody else in the whole point of the monarchy as they run it in england at the moment, britain at the moment it has to be hereditary it has to go till death, you can't choose to be queen. >> her mother lived to 101, the

queen has at least another 50, 60 years, the way modern and science is going. >> the real problem with that is when it does happen, prince charles will be a very, very old king. and what happens is each generation, you are pushing the age of the monarch back and that's not necessarily helpful for a monarchy. >> she has never once sat down with a journalist to give a formal interview. i do know -- >> only a matter of time. >> good luck with that, mr. morgan. i do know she is writing in diaries and just imagine what could be written on those pages all these years. we are watching this historic occasion. i know, piers morgan very excited to be british on this sunday august rainy day in london. we are back in a moment. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing

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happening live this hour, a spectacular grand finale from the royal pageant, queen's junely, the london philharmonic will perform several pieces, national anthem and the royal navely is do a fly pass over our heads here at tower bridge. nine naval helicopters will form what is called a diamond nine. bring in richard quest and also rejoining us, india hicks, a bridesmaid for princess diana. welcome to you both. >> welcome back. >> is god awful weather but we don't care, do we? >> no we are british. >> we really don't care. i mean this is just -- we will remember the day because it was like this. >> you have taken part in ceremonies, on the royal balcony, princess diana's bridesmaids. >> many time she has been on the balcony now. >> what is it like to be part of the royal circle on a day like this? >> when i was part of the royal circle, office much younger girl, i could get away. they look after the you, big balls of smart test.

>> chocolates for our american viewers. >> yes, sorry. yes. exactly. so they do look after you, homemade lemonade, lemon refresher it is called. >> any alcohol? >> yes. yes. >> not for her when she was 11 and that carriage heading to princess diana's wedding, not at all. >> would a queen have a tipple, one of her famous gin? >> i wouldn't necessarily is noticed. they are very relaxed. on the actual balcony there definitely is a hierarchy as to who is standing why. >> i want to our colleague, zane, on one of these boats in torrential, torrential rain. zane, are you alive? have you capsized? what is going on? >> i really want to use an umbrella. >> look freezing. >> tell me i will have a mary poppins situation. i am. i really want to use this umbrella, piers but the captain

of the vessel is telling me we will have a mary poppins-like situation if i open this. so i've chosen just to get wet and stand in the torrential rain here. what you are seeing right now is the world's largest traffic jam, what has been happening the last 20 minutes or so the vessels up front have braked a little bit, everyone else stopped as well, pushed on their brakes harder, a situation would you see on any regular motor wway it is pickin up now, things are back into formation, we are 15 minutes or so away from the queen, feeling pretty excited. you really do get an historical sense when you are riding through this float till la, i'm in the narrow boat section and a wide sense of history here. for example, one of the vessels nearby is powered by coal that really gives you a sense of the -- and the differences between the vessels that exist here. one of the major feats that they have had to accomplish is

logistical and everybody is communicating on a specific radio channel here. all these vessels are communicating on channel 17. in this section, communicating on 70, a manner in which they are able to figure out exactly what is happening but everyone is very -- excited. everything seems to be -- one of the -- >> oh, you're back. >> telling me -- yep. >> nobody capsizing, nobody falling in no boats colliding, an extraordinarily incident-free flotilla so far. >> so, that's zane. she was describing -- she is gone. >> did she go down? woman overboard? >> it was all going very well

until morgan opened his mouth. >> typical. we have more pictures here, diamond jubilee. we want to talk to our guests here in a moment. richard quest and india hicks, a quick break, back in a moment. we asked the furlow family to bring in their favorite dvds cause we want to show them something new. you ready? let's go. walmart can now convert your favorite dvds from disc to digital. no way. if hulk smash disc... it's no big deal. now you'll never break them, scratch them or lose them. we can use that. you'll never break them. so what do you guys think? we love it. it's only two bucks per disc. that's cool. that's the walmart entertainment disc to digital service.

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back here livan -- here live on cnn. i was told they chose the boat for the roof so they could have the two thrones for the majesty and her husband, this entire time, granted, i have seen she has thrown on a white scarf, as it is chilly, she has not yet sat. >> they won't use them, 177

years between the two of them and they have stood the whole way. >> the queen is how old? >> 86. >> and prince philip? >> 91 next sunday. >> that is amazing, isn't it? >> absolutely amazing. >> celebrating 65 years of marriage this year. you know, in reading, preparing for this trip over here, a lot of people criticized the queen for not smiling as much but india, you say we will definitely be seeing a smile once we see that flyover in a matter of minutes. >> that is the royal moment i remember standing there, all the royal also their heads up watching the incredible fly go pass and the queen does crack a smile and we are looking that the -- if you are following this love to hear from you, the hash tag to use is @jubileecnn or tweet me or tweet me, @piers morgan. never going to be in our lifetime an event like this in our country it is truly a one-off. >> what about the preparations? you having been the queen

spokesman for, what, 12 years, dickey. how many months is that -- was that months in preparation for this particular flotilla? >> probably a little bit over a year for the preparation of this, this pageant. what happens is that you get the right people to organize these things. are we going to compete with this? ♪ >> that's not you singing, is it? >> i thought it was you. you get the right people in, you know, the palace can't possibly organize something like this. they are very good at organizing state functions, very good at organizing things in buckingham palace and windsor castle, comes to organizing things, great experts out there happened at the time of the golden jubilee ten years ago and happened today, lord salisbury in charge of this whole thing. >> let's go to max foster behind me, it is tumultuous rain now. you must now be about three feet in water, aren't you? >> at least i'm getting paid for it i guess, piers.

unbelievable. actually, when boats come by everyone, this is british spirit for you, piers. ♪ nothing is going to dampen your spirits. >> a great time. >> having a great time? >> yeah. >> hape you i came? >> yeah. >> glad you saw the queen? >> yeah. >> have odd good day really or exhausting? >> i'm really proud to be brifrnlt i just said the rest of the world justs it raining, 'cause it was lovely. >> not going to sing on camera, we are certainly feeling t guys, are you -- you came fully prepared. you must be british. >> australian. >> you're australian? australian, the commonwealth represented along with the brits. these guys are great. back to you, piers.

>> so max, from singing along the shores, take you to break here, the song again is "rhythm of the river." oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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welcome back to london, a rain-soaked london, but our spirits aren't dampened, every other part of us is. it has been an incredible afternoon, building up now to the grand finale down here at tower bridge, where the queen will be witnessing a fly by, london philharmonic orchestra, an orgy of excitement awaits us. joined by richard quest. >> zane. zane. >> this is our colleague, zane, on her boat. she can't talk to us. >> she is in the blue. >> she may be frozen to the spot. >> there she is in the blue. >> there's our zane. she is arrived. she isn't frozen.

but my god, it must be miserable. it is miserable up here, but we are not going to be dampened. >> misery aside. let's talk music. i know there were ten different musical vessels here, prince charles is the patron of this entire pageant. from what i understand talking to the conductor the other day of the london fill har moing, he said ultimately it was prince charles and a panel to give the thumbs up as far as which music, which repertoires are played. >> yes. what we have is -- we are getting to the point now where it is the mayor's jubilee band playing a selection of light favorites then you have got rhythm on the river, but the variety from the pipe and drums through a jazz band. >> bollywood, the beatles. >> the finale will be the majestic royal philharmonic. >> the fly past will be extraordinary, isn't it? one of the great world war ii planes at the front and then a

squadron of jets around it. helicopters. >> swordfish at the front and then around them will be nine helicopters, four lengths, three merlins and two sea kings. >> want to get a quick break in, bring you the grand finale live. you are watching the diamond jubilee. [ male announcer ] this is corporate caterers, miami, florida. in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better.

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welcome back to cnn's live coverage of the queen's diamond jubilee here in london t is lashing with rain. no pain, no gain, our maxim in this country. the queen is having a wonderful time, we are all having a wonderful time it san extravaganza, the like of which i don't think britain has ever seen before and never see again, certainly in our lifetime. you are an american, on this panel right now. what do you think of all this? >> you know, in preparing for

coming here today, i tried think of what could compare, i have been to inaugurations n terms of the crowds and fanfare, nothing can compare. the lovely weather you have provide, in addition to the cro crowds, i have never seen it. >> americans have asked why do americans love the royal family so much? >> i can't speak on behalf of my country, mr. morgan but polls out recently and ranked her majesty as something, like 82%, if only president obama could have those kinds of numbers. >> i saw a poll today that said the queen is trusted free three times as much by the british public as any politician in the country. >> does that come as a surprise? >> no. but she is hugely trusted. the irony, she has never gotten involved in politics. over six years, how many prime ministers? 12? 12 presidents. she has never passed a political

judgment, a political comment. she has never got herself embroiled in anything. she has remained very aloof and very objective. >> met every american president since she was core nated since lyndon johnson. never got the ticket. never found out y anybody knows why poor old lyndon johnson missed out, one of those oddities, 12 ministers, every president since '53. >> timing that is the reason. never in the right place at the right time. i looked into it the last state visit into the united states with the queen, back early in the century. just one of those things they never got it together. >> we all covered the golden jubilee and silver jubilee and whatever, seems to me there is more bunting, more flags. >> there she is with the president, with president kennedy. >> and so beautiful. she did have this ability to dazzle and charm these statesmen and politicians and i think, you know, she commanded this sense

of awe and majesty. it just wonderful really. >> the famous visits, of course, the very first one that she made to the united states but this one with ronald reagan out west, terrible weather, shocking weather, britannia unable to get up the close. the famous talking hat one, she addressed congress. >> forgot the box. >> that was, of course, with president clinton and as for george w. bush and his comment a face -- a smile and a look only a mother can give, gave the queen. >> and warmest relationships, your latest president, obamas do seem to enjoy a great warmth with the royal family. they have been over here several times. >> put her arm around. nch>>

>> a lot of fuss about nothing. the queen was not bothered. >> the deal is you are not to touch the queen, never to speak first to the queen, not to put your back to the queen. >> not meant to involve eye contact with the queen unless you are invited. these things are becoming more relaxed and we have seen a relaxed, happy queen out there who seems june lent to seen with her subjects, barely sat down, hasn't she? >> see here so many world leaders, very few people in the world who have her experience and that's what people -- when they say what is the point of the queen? this -- these pictures you are seeing this is the point of the queen. she can put everything into global perspective and to calm prime ministers down maybe get overexcited. mother theresa, nelson mandela. melt and seen them and what's interesting -- lady gaga. queen of pop meets the queen. david beckham, our king.

>> she is comfortable with politicians, celebrities, she has the knack with people. >> the extraordinary looking at the pictures, think of how many people the queen met. >> no, i mean the range over the years and decades. >> shows you how long she has been -- >> isn't that why she lives gloves, shaking so many hands? >> she will only wear white or black gloves, handmade especially for her and do physically get worn out, she has new batches made on a weekly basis. >> very funny. >> i have met her three or four times, and windsor castle pointing out to the garden, do you enjoy those garden parties, ma'am, she says, well, mr. morning, let me put it like this would you enjoy 12,000 strangers tramp reallying on your lawns? i was roaring with laughter, she has natural wit and warmth. all things. >> oh, legendary sense of humor. >> when you luke at her from an outsider perspective, she is so regal, she is so stoic.

>> one thing not known about her, she is a great mimic. she can impersonate so many people and she does have a great sense of humor. >> royal stare. >> the royal stare, yes. >> and she hates pretentiousness. she hates people who are more royal than the royals. >> let's go for one last break here before the grand finale, which i'm told is going to be the most spectacular part of the whole thing. don't go away. stay with cnn. [ woman ] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town,

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hasn't it? >> the sort of day that we won't see the like of again. the care, attention to detail, the thought, the drama, it really is a unique occasion. and i don't use those words lightly, 'cause i have seen quite a few royal occasion and covered them over the years but nothing quite like this. >> dickey arbiter, talk about the historical context of what happens now with the monarchy, post the queen? >> post the queen? it really is obsession with prince charles. he is the next in line, the succession is assured because he is next in line, when he dies, william takes over. there has been a lot of talk over the years about the queen abdicating or moving sideways once she reaches a certain age or reaches this milestone, age 60. but as she said in 1947, at the time of her 21st birthday, i declare before you all that the

whole of my life whether it be long or short, that is the key to it the whole of my life. she did it again for her first christmas message in 1952, when she asked people to look ahead to help her do the job, from her coronation. she said dedication to self, the whole of her life. >> you are watching amazing live pictures here, the queen and prince on their feet now for over an hour. richard quest, i saw earlier, the queen performed over 400 duties, appearances in 2010, nearly 400 last year. the woman is in her mid-80s. it is extraordinary, isn't it? >> indefatigable. what dickey said about the vow, all of my life it is a vow she renewed just earlier this year before parliament and in her jubilee message. now, how many of us rededicate ourselves on anything six decades after we first -- >> dickey, talk about the sense of duty, because the queen has been the epit move this.

what does duty mean to her? >> a total commitment to the job. got to remember that she got there, to this job, because her uncle abdicated in 1936. her father was not destined for this job t is rather interesting when you think back, her father was second son of edward the vii, duke of york, he game to the throne, his father, george v was duke of york and took over when his brother died. so, there is a sense of duty. it has been instilled. she learned from her father. she believes i in to monarchy she believes in continuity. she believes in duty and believes in doing the job until she draws her last breath. >> talked about her sense of humor and i have experienced it firsthand, you know better than many percentage you spend so much time with her in close proximity, a funny lady you isn't she? >> a bit of a mimic, some time ago when somebody is in the crowd shouted out something and prince philip wanted to know what it was and she mimicked this guy to a t.

she did it as the guy did it and she does. people complain she don't see her smile often enough. she is into the hollywood star. she is not there to sort of beam at everybody. she will look up, as india was saying early on, fly past, look up, smile will come across her face, she will watch the color, she will enjoy that. she enjoys what she is doing but she can't go around with a beam on her face. >> we are waiting for the big fly by, pretty spectacular, slight delay, i imagine the rain must have played a factor in slowing thing downs a little philip for a moment, a concert to the queen, fun for the gaffes and all that but underneath it, what an amazing man he is. >> the single most important part, in many ways, of the queen's reign. she has said, 25 -- silver wedding anniversary, my husband and i, prince philip and i,

again in the jubilee addressed the parliament, repeated the idea she could not have done this without prince philip. he is the constant. he is the person who can tell her things that nobody else can. >> he is a sounding board. absolutely a sounding board. she doesn't discuss affairs of state with him, because she is not allowed to, but he is a sounding board and he has been there, as richard says quite rightly, he has been there, one pace behind her if they are on a walkabout and you hear a burst of laughter it is usually prince philip with a crowd, cracking a joke, pull children out of the crowd to take them with their poses up to the queen. >> live pictures from the queen's diamond jubilee, toward the end of the incredible thousand-bolt armada that has come down the thames today. we saw just then the queen and prince fill inand prince charles, huge family gathering, almost unprecedented on one vessel there. >> unprecedented, all being together on one vessel. >> looking ahead in the next 15,

20 minute, should actually happened by now, any time now, we will see the boat film non-- symphony, as they go through tower bridge, they will play "god save the queen" and the fly past will take play, nine helicopters, led by swordfish and that will bring an end to the official part of the pageant. the queen is still standing. >> there she is live. >> this atrocious weather. >> you have to say for all the logistical difficulties and the hideous rain and everything else it has been an incredibly smooth, successful armada so far. >> it has been absolutely amazing. as you say you the rain. what has been fortunate is the wind has held off t has been a little bit breezy but would have been extremely difficult a high wind, particularly for those manpower boats, they all need down to tower bridge, all need to the muster station. incredible how this thing has

gone off without a hitch and that is down to supreme planning by lord salisbury and his team. >> just wiping away, quite literally, a pool of water on my chair, i'm not kidding you, we are literally sitting here in pools of water, towel please, quest. >> yes, sir, how can i help? >> which gives you some idea of the absolutely ridiculous -- well -- sitting in poolsz of water. >> >> would we have it any other way? >> yes, i prefer it to be like week in london, gorgeous, 80-degree summer fest. wasn't to be. >> notes are stuck together, you can't read them now, can you? >> joined by a fashion expert s there any worse day for a woman than this? >> no. i can't think of one. i think -- i feel sorry for all of them actually. you know what, i think this day means so much more to them. >> the emergency --

>> fan fashio >> fashion. >> not sure what i'm going to do with this. >> talk briefly about the duchess of cambridge, she looks really magnificent today, alexander mcqueen red outfit. >> i think it is probably the best i have ever seen her look. i think today probably her day of glory, which sounds a strange thing to say when it is the queen's day but i also think that perhaps had she not come along a year ago, i wonder whether the sentiment might have been quite the same. >> i mean, i really like, and dick kirk maybe come to you on, this the relationship that's unfurling now between the queen, actually the reason i say that, we all remember princess diana so well. that was clearly a pretty complicated relationship. you got a sense they never really jelled. i'm getting a sense that second time round now, with this daughter-in-law, not daughter-in-law, grandson's wife, it is very different. >> well, in her eyes, william can do no wrong.

>> yeah. >> in her eyes if william has chosen kate, then he has chosen absolutely right. what we have seen is the queen go out on engagement and taking camilla, who is the wife of the next in line to the throne and kate, who is the second in line. and that is quite amazing. that has never happened before >> camilla aspect in particular, ten years ago works have been completely unthinkable. >> never happened. >> shows you how far public opinion has moved to accept camilla and i think to realize we couldn't again have a situation we do with princess diana where everything pa became so fractious and so people lar rising. in the end, it doesn't help monarch kim. >> doesn't help the monarchy, but shows, besides public perception, how the queen adapted to meet the needs of the 21st century, meet the needs of the family, embrace the family, her children, her grandchildren and their needs as well. that is why we have had them going out on engagement together, which would never happen before and why we have what we have today, we have this

marvelous spectacle on the river, tens of thousands of people lining the route. doesn't matter about the weather. they don't care about the weather. they are there with their flags, there in their coats and there enjoying themselves. >> a short break before the grand finale, running late you understandable given the atrocious weather conditions, the fly past will be happening, see a great old world war ii plane, helicopters and london philharmonic orchestra will perform, something very special. stay with cnn and we will see you soon. there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel.

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our special coverage of the diamond jubilee continues in a moment, i'm fredricka whitfield with this breaking news out of nigeria. officials there say an airplane with 153 people on board has crashed in extremely populated area of lagos. the dana air flight crashed into a building and set off three house fires. the number of casualties is still unclear at this time. of course, we will be following this story coming out of lagos, nigeria, a plane crash taking place there of course, we will update you on all the developments as soon as the news becomes available. our special coverage of diamond jubilee will continue in a moment.

just hearing report that is grand finale fly by may have to be canceled because of the appalling weather it has been raining very hard for the last hour and the clouds are setting in, pretty foggy out there i talked to one of the navy guys earlier. they did say if it got much worse, they may have to reconsider. waiting on ternt hooks here. dick kirk the kind of thing i guess you can't predict but then the british weather has always been unpredictable? >> totally unpredictable. unfortunate they can't do the fly by the only participation of the royal navy.

got a fly by on tuesday, predominantly raf, but today was nave and i have the only look-in. unfortunately, cloud is low, raining you cats and dogs, visibility not good up there and why they are probably going to cancer it. >> london philharmonic play on? >> what a question. they are going to pass us in five or ten minutes, a selection of national favorites, royal britannia, london hope and gloss rib, the national anthem, enjoy those. >> the fly by would have been great but actually, ending it with the london philharmonic orchestra, this back drop, tower bridge, singing royal britannia and the national anthem would be pretty fantastic, wouldn't it? >> absolutely fan tass inc. my mind casts back to the time of the golden jubilee, had something like 1 million people stretching back from buckingham palace to trafalgar square, a big orchestra and singing land of hope and gloss rained national anthem, it was great. >> my guess is that is the

london film harmonic we are now seeing the pictures of, passing the london eye, toward westminster. >> you're freezing to death here, so i will need to you talk just to keep you alive. >> what makes you think that? what makes you think it? >> hundreds of thousands of people lining these streets in these ghastly conditions. >> part of what we saw in britain, we carry on, no matter what the circumstances. i think it is also bringing together everything that is great about this country, which is the organization and not to be thwarted by the weather. and we are used to it what can i say? >> that is right, dickey you these are the great british virtues n adverseity, the brits always come up trumps in these kinds of things, carry on it will not stop. the people, i find it extraordinary so many british people are out there, and tourists from all countries around the world, but prepared

to brave are really if you're not here, you can't really grasp how awful it is, it is freezing cold, it is torrential rain, we are all soaked to the skin. >> i do know a word we have not used this afternoon is patriotism, they come out because they want to see and the queen celebrate her diamond jubilee. >> we have got breaking news. sadly the fly by has been canceled. so, due to these awful conditions, the royal navy has just confirmed to us that there will be no fly by, which is very, very sad because as dickey arbiter said, it would have been the royal navy's great chance to show off what people didn't expect from them, the helicopters. >> you can see the low cloud in that picture there, from the shard, the sky scraper are being built in london, now shrouded in the clouds, shows you how bad it s. >> we will take short break but will have the london philharmonic orchestra, will sing "royal britannia" so will i, so will richard quest, go on after this break. this man is about to be the millionth customer.

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welcome back to london or the mediterranean ocean, as we have renamed t pictures here from the queen's jubilee, the royal fly by, helicopters has had to be canceled duke to the low-lying cloud cover the horrendous rain, the fact the helicopters couldn't stay up because of their fuel in these conditions for very long that has been canceled. the good news is that the special bit of the finally, the london philharmonic orchestra, on one of the grand barges is about to start playing what i think will be a thrilling end to all of this they are going to be playing some of those great british anthem also, "royal britannia" and "god save the queen," national anthem, a thrilling end to what's been, despite the weather, a fantastic day. dick kirk the queen will be, well, she will be cold. but she will be looking forward

to this she love hearse music you and a great way to round things off. >> she love hearse music, a good way to round things off, she is enjoying this because this is people, people of the united kingdom making an effort to help her celebrate the diamond jubilee. despite the weather, everybody has turned out, on land, on the water as well. so, it's -- it's good for her, it's good for the uk, it's good for the people. >> richard, your overview of how it's gone? i would mention despite the fly by being canned, they will be pretty happy, wouldn't they? >> happy this has gone spectacularly well, the organization has been flawless, the execution has been just about perfect and despite the weather, this has been a day that people will remember for many years. >> the weather, knowing british humor, this is actually going to lend itself to great headlines and great fun. >> that is the orchestra. >> that is the orchestra, a mad party. go to becky anderson, she is

trapped in pick dilly, are you as soaked as we are, becky? >> i'm here with you, and it is an extremely damp end to what has been the most phenomenal day here in central london. this was the biggest street party the world has ever imagined. they are telling me to stop. i have got to keep going. been the most incredible day here in pick dilly, the biggest street party, as i said, that london has ever seen, thousands and thousands of people. let me just give you a sense of what is going on here, the tables are now empty, the carousel is closed down. as we close out our broadcasting, let me just bring you guys i've got here. ♪

>> fantastic stuff. they have entertained the crowds all afternoon here in pick dillly. back to you guys. >> thanks, becky. stoic work over there actually, we are hearing the first sound here at tower bridge. the orchestra, i think it is "land of hope and glory." >> it is indeed. great sound coming from the river, wonderful sound. >> we have the london philharmonic orchestra, on board a barge, singing, i believe you "lan land of hope and glory", a great british anthem. could there be a more british scene? a little break, come back and listen to more of this amazing orchestra. they have never played it conditions like this on a barge in the freezing cold, pouring rain. this is britain at its best. see you after the break. see life in the best light.

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, this is fantastic. this is the london philharmonic orchestra singing "lands of hope and glory." we should stand for this, richard quest. >> fantastic. ♪ what an amazing scene. >> on top of a barge, in pouring rain. extraordinary. the best is yet -- the best is yet to come, as they pass. >> what an amazing scene there the london philharmonic orchestra, you can't believe how hard it is range, they are standing on top of a barge in these open conditions, playing

wonderful music. you will never see this again and you've never seen it before. this is crazy stuff. ♪ dickey arbiter, is this really happening? >> quite frankly, i'm speechless. anybody who witnessed last night at the proms will see the similarity turks is absolutely fantastic. >> what is happening now is they are heading under the bridge, under tower bridge, they will come alongside the queen's boat, when they do that, they are going to sing the national anthem. and that will be the thrilling denouement of this whole thing. that will be when the british public in their hundreds of thousands, rise as one to sing the anthem to their queen and that will be a thrilling moment, i think, to have as a culmination to the diamond jubilee, day two.

♪ [ singing the national anthem ]

>> so now we have reached the moment, i think the most special of all, elizabeth ii you the diamond jubilee you greeted by the london philharmonic orchestra, soaked to their very bones, sang "land of hope and glory" about to sing the national anthem next, which will be a really special moment, as they come alongside the great royal barge for what has been an incredible afternoon but nothing, i don't think, will quite be what is about to happen. so, maybe we should just watch this and quite literally soak in the atmosphere.

singing the national anthem. how cold and wet must that orchestra be? what an amazing effort there they are coming alongside now the number one royal barge, the queen, prince philip, charles, camilla, william, harry, duchess of cambridge, obviously you everyone soaked, everybody is freezing, nobody cares this is britain this is our queen and she is celebrating one of the great achievements in the had tryst of monarchy anywhere in the world, 60 years on the throne. and for that, we salute her and we thank her for her remarkable service. thy don't look as cold as us, do they, richard quest? >> no they don't and the extraordinary way the queen has remained above deck with just a

shawl but has never stopped waving, smiling, along with the royal family. >> i can't imagine the london philharmonic, dickey arbiter, ever played in a situation like this anywhere in the world, can he? >> i don't think the orchestra or the choir have ever performed like this either t is a unique experience, a one off experience. the queen, the second monarch in the history of the british monarchy to have reached a diamond jubilee and what an achievement. >> richard quest, you are our musical expert, what are they playing? >> hornpipe from the water music. >> handel, of course. a bit of handel in the rain. having great time. we are all having a great time. rain never stopped the british. all the flags still up, the rain is probably right as hard as it has been since we started. it was pretty awful