Parade celebrating Queen’s 70-year reign sees Del Boy’s three-wheeler van lead the way
THE glory years of the Queen’s long reign went on parade yesterday — with Del Boy’s three-wheeler van leading the way. The yellow Reliant Regal made famous by the “Lovely Jubbly” comic icon trundled up The Mall along with Minis, Morris Minors, double deckers and James Bond cars. The classic motors helped represent Britain’s driving […]
THE glory years of the Queen’s long reign went on parade yesterday — with Del Boy’s three-wheeler van leading the way.
The yellow Reliant Regal made famous by the “Lovely Jubbly” comic icon trundled up The Mall along with Minis, Morris Minors, double deckers and James Bond cars.
The classic motors helped represent Britain’s driving force during the decades of Her Majesty’s 70-year reign.
The £15million pageant also included a host of stars and 8,000 performers showcasing the best of British culture.
There was even room for a giant Beefeater float, dancers and puppets as the carnival route to Buckingham Palace retraced the route of the Queen’s Coronation parade back in 1952.
Huge, cheering crowds welcomed a bright yellow 1950s bus carrying Sir Cliff Richard, performing his classic hit Move It from the open top deck.
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Dancers in 50s costume performed a cheery Lambeth Walk, followed by formations of Doctor Who’s Daleks from the 60s and Space Hopper riders from the 70s.
Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley clapped and cheered aboard the 80s bus, which was followed by a fleet of innovator Sir Clive Sinclair’s one-seater C5 electric cars.
Supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell added glamour to the Brit Pop themed 1990s bus.
And stars including Gok Wan and Heston Blumenthal joined Olympic heroes Sir Mo Farah and Dame Kelly Holmes on a Noughties bus.
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A peloton of 300 cyclists led by Olympic record breaker Sir Chris Hoy and cycling golden couple Dame Laura and Sir Jason Kenny had started the show, trailed by scores of vintage bikes.
Bake Off judge Prue Leith’s open topped vintage car juddered to a halt — leaving her in stitches as a team of high-vis jacketed helpers gave it a push.
One float of a 25ft celebration cake was topped by corgi figurines holding a golden crown aloft.
The diverse pageant also saw colourful contributions from all corners of Britain’s multi-cultural community and a Gay Pride procession.
Grey skies and cool temperatures failed to dampen the spirits of performers or royal fans along the Union Flag-lined route.
Gold-uniformed bandsmen on horseback formed the head of the procession, featuring a stunning hologram of the monarch from her coronation day beamed into her 260-year-old coach as Prince Charles took the salute.
STUNNING HOLOGRAM
He was joined by wife Camilla and sister Princess Anne, with Prince William and Kate and their children George, Charlotte and Louis waving enthusiastically at the colourful cavalcade.
Cheeky four-year-old Louis — who stole the show on day one of the Jubilee holiday — was up to mischief again yesterday.
At one point he covered his eyes and blew out his cheeks as the pageant passed by, with Zara Tindall’s ex-rugby star hubby Mike joking that he was having to keep the young scamp in check.
The fun finale to the jubilee festivities was watched by millions of viewers on TV.
It marked British successes in music, fashion, technology, trends, and culture from 1952 to 2022.
A “Let’s Celebrate” section of the parade featured the giant Beefeater float and other carnival creations, followed by a musical montage dubbed Happy and Glorious.
Guests from the world of politics included PM Boris Johnson and wife Carrie, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
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The grand finale to the processions was staged around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.
It featured Ed Sheeran singing the national anthem.
