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n 3 June the Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated in true regal style with the largest flotilla to ever grace the River Thames.

So warm up your flag-waving hand and pick out your finest threads in preparation for one of the biggest royal events in modern history, involving a floating belfry, pyrotechnic barges and of course, the Queen on her elaborate royal barge.

The river will be closed to all traffic as the Queen leads 1,000 boats through the heart of London from Battersea in the southwest to Tower Bridge in the east. The crashes of drums and the toots of trumpets from a full royal marine band and the chiming of bells from churches and chapels answering the jingle-jangling of a floating bell friar will provide the perfect soundtrack to the six-mile journey.

The flotilla will be made up of every vessel you can imagine and many more. Steamboats, historical barges and sailboats all draped in streamers and flags will cruise alongside 54 boats representing each of the Commonwealth countries and 30,000 cheering spectators surrounding the Queen.

Perch by the riverside nice and early to get a good view of this floating spectacle harking back to the golden age or catch it on one of 50 screens put up especially along the river.

If you don’t fancy standing in the riverside for hours we recommend grabbing some picnic goodies and heading to Battersea Park to join a right royal knees-up, watching the whole event on a big screen while lazing on the grass. Chin Chin!