The royal barge that will carry the Queen during a spectacular River Thames pageant to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee next year was unveiled yesterday.
Resplendent in red and gold, the vessel and a 1,000-strong flotilla will recreate scenes not seen on the Thames for centuries.
Images of the royal barge were released to the public and the design echoes the richly-decorated royal barges of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Queen and Duke will be seated on the vessel’s top deck in ornate chairs under a gold coloured canopy and be joined by other members of the royal family who have yet to be named. The cruiser, which is 64 metres long and has a top speed of 11 knots, will have rich red drapes decorating its sides and the bow will display the Queen’s cipher – EIIR – below a crown with ornate golden floral displays around it.
Flowers from the Queen’s gardens will adorn the barge and the theme will be the Commonwealth, the Queen’s 1953 Coronation and the Gold State Coach.
Gardeners’ World horticulturist Rachel de Thame will create the vessel’s floral displays which will feature a red, gold and purple colour scheme.
Pageant master Adrian Evans praised the work of award-winning production designer Joseph Bennett who is leading the project, transforming the Spirit of Chartwell cruiser into the royal barge for the June celebrations.
Mr Evans said: “The royal barge must be a jewel – the most magnificent vessel in the flotilla.”
The Spirit of Chartwell is a luxury Thames river cruiser that has been donated for the event by her owner Philip Morrell.
It has a luxury interior designed to evoke the grandeur of the 1929 Cote d’Azur Pullman railway carriages, complete with artefacts from the original train and great ocean liners.
Mr Morrell said: “As the Spirit of Chartwell evolved, I knew we had built somethingspecial – ideal, I thought, for the carriage of royalty.
“But little did I even vaguely suspect that in the course of one short year we should be graced with such an honour.”
A number of vessels with royal connections will play prominent roles in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, including the tender of HMS Britannia – known as Britannia’s royal barge – which was traditionally used to transport passengers to and from the royal yacht.
In the pageant, the tender will play her original role, carrying the Queen and Duke to their new royal barge, escorted by two motorboats.
Organisers of the event are assessing all the entries that applied to join the 1,000-boat flotilla, and those who are successful will be told by the end of the year.