Singer Ed Sheeran and more than 100 “national treasures” ranging from former football player Gary Lineker to children’s television puppet Basil Brush will join military bands, entertainers and dancers in the parade through the capital.
The procession, which will follow a route similar to that taken by the 96-year-old Queen on her coronation day in 1953, aims to evoke the different decades of her reign.
For many who gathered in central London under chilly gray skies, the initial conversation revolved around the weather.
Emma Woodhouse, a 21-year-old nanny from the eastern county of Norfolk, had arrived on the wide boulevard leading to Buckingham Palace at 5.30am, clutching Union Jack shower caps just in case.
“We’re ready to be here come rain or shine,” she said.
A series of “Big Jubilee Lunches” was also planned across Britain, with an estimated 16,000 street parties. Some 600 such gatherings were held around the world, including in Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan and South Africa.
The Queen’s son and heir, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla attended a Jubilee Lunch at the Oval cricket ground in London. Kate, wife of Prince William, and their three young children were filmed baking cakes for a lunch in Wales.
The final day of the festivities comes after Prince Charles, 73, paid a personal tribute to his mother during a glittering pop concert outside Buckingham Palace on Saturday night.
Saturday’s concert was one of a number of Jubil events that Elizabeth missed due to “periodic mobility issues”, which recently forced her to cancel engagements. She has been on the throne longer than any of her predecessors.
“You promised to serve all your life – you continue to keep your promises. That’s why we are here,” Charles said in his message to the Queen, who was at her residence in Windsor Castle, outside London. .
“You have met us and you have spoken with us. You laugh and cry with us and, more importantly, you have been with us, for these 70 years,” Charles added, referring to the Queen as “mum”.
The events began with a pre-recorded comedy sketch showing the monarch having tea with Paddington Bear.
JUBIL EVENTS
Elizabeth ascended the throne at the age of 25 on the death of her father, George VI, in 1952, inheriting the dominance of a Britain still emerging from the ravages of World War II and with Winston Churchill as prime minister. .
A total of 14 British prime ministers and 14 American presidents succeeded each other under his reign; the Berlin Wall has risen and fallen; Britain joined and left the European Union; and his once mighty empire disintegrated, replaced by a Commonwealth of 54 nations.
Elizabeth was instrumental in the creation of the Commonwealth and many regard her success as her greatest achievement.
“You continue to write history,” said Charles.
He added that his father, Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99 after more than seven decades with the Queen, would have enjoyed the show.
The four-day celebrations began on Thursday with a military parade and a Royal Air Force flypast, and continued on Friday with a national service of thanksgiving.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of Britons think the monarchy should stay and a recent Ipsos poll found nine in ten people backed the Queen.