Her Majesty the Queen inspects the Guardsmen of 1st Battalion Coldstream guards and No 7 Company coldstream guards in Windsor Palace. Picture: MoD
Vigilance can authoritatively report that thousands of troops, six massed bands and the biggest tri-Service flypast in years form part of the celebrations for an Armed Forces Diamond Jubilee Parade and Muster in Windsor on 19 May, in honour of The Queen’s 60-year reign.
According to a source at the MoD this will be the first major national event of the Diamond Jubilee, and marks the unique relationship between the Armed Forces and their Commander-in-Chief, Her Majesty The Queen.
Vigilance learnt that the event will begin at 1100 with a flypast of RAF Typhoons over WindsorCastle in Diamond Nine formation. More than 2,500 Service personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force will then parade through the castle Quadrangle before The Queen, heading down through the town of Windsor, going via Castle Hill, Thames Street and Datchet Road, before entering HomePark (Private) and mustering in a specially built arena.
It was gathered that after the parade The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will make their way to the arena by car, taking the same route, where they will be joined by other members of The Royal Family. And thereafter followed by a drumhead service, speeches by the Chief of the Defence Staff and Her Majesty, the performance of new pieces of music written especially, for the event and three Cheers from the Armed Forces in the arena.
Our Defence and Security Team learnt that the event will close at approximately 1230 with a spectacular tri-Service flypast of 78 aircraft heading up the Long Walk and over the Castle, including helicopters; the famous Lancaster and Spitfires of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight; Hercules, VC10 and Tornado aircraft; Hawks and Tocanos; finishing with the world-renowned Red Arrows.
The BBC will be broadcasting the entire event live on BBC1 from 1030.
Members of the public will be able to witness the parade through the town of Windsor. Big screens will be located in the Long Walk (between the Park Street and Brook Street entrances) enabling people to see the start of the parade and then catch the entire arena event taking place on screen. Refreshment outlets will be in operation and there will be nearby public toilets.
Whilst viewing areas for people with disabilities will be at Datchet Road and on the Long Walk. Crowd control barriers will be erected throughout the route and will be in place by 0600 on 19 May.