Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Platinum Pageant

5th of June 2022 - Buckingham Palace

There was an excitement in the area as the royal family took their seats for the pageant, the entire family out in full force; many of the younger members of the family in attendance that had been missing from the party last night. 

Louis, Albert and Helena were notable appearances from the family, the three younger grandchildren of Prince Charles were excited at being in attendance and were seated on the front row with their parents and siblings.

Everyone was dressed up for the occasion with the Queen reported to be watching the final festivities from Windsor Castle while the news had been leaked that the Sussexes had gone to the airport. 

Whispers surrounded their visit, no sightings of the children nor any pictures had been released; there were reports coming out that neither Archie nor Lilibet had been on the flight manifests. 

However, the royals paid no attention to the news around the Sussexes and had been focused on the events that had taken place over the weekend. 

Seated beside Catherine, Adeline was in prime position for the pageant that involved more than 10,000 people and covered a 3km route, similar in length to the path taken by the Queen during her coronation. 

All the vehicles prepared to depart Horse Guards Parade at 14:00 and would go towards Whitehall, where dancers would merge in pre designated areas in front of the buses in the era they represented. 

They then proceeded through Admiralty Arch and down the Mall; then past the specially erected Royal Box at Constitutional Hill and past Buckingham Palace. 

It would then proceed along Spur Road and then up Birdcage Walk. 

Finally then through Horse Guards Road and back to Horse Guards Parade in a route took 1.5 hours to complete. 

The children happily chatted away, the Tindalls seated directly behind them and there atmosphere felt lighter than it had done for many days now; like a dark cloud had disappeared over the horizon and they could all relax. 

To mark the beginning of the pageant, the bells of Westminster Abbey pealed as they did on the Queen's Coronation Day in 1953 and would one day do the same when it came time to coronate Charles. 

The first act, For Queen and Country, was composed of a military parade with 1,750 people and 200 horses; the Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry led the Gold State Coach, pulled by eight Windsor Grey horses and the coach windows showed original footage recorded on Coronation Day.

Many units of the British Armed Forces and representatives of the armed services of the Commonwealth of Nations participated. 

There was music and the family danced in their seats, Albert moving from his own to perch on his mother's lap as the parade moved past the seated area where the royals were. 

The second act, The Time of Our Lives, showcased changes in culture, technology, music and fashion throughout the past seven decades from 1952 to 2022. 

Open-top double-decker buses were used to represent different decades of the Queen's reign, with TV personalities, musicians, chefs, sportspeople, designers, and artists taking part in the procession. 

Onboard the 1950s bus were Katherine Jenkins, Chris Eubank and Sir Cliff Richard, while the 1960s bus was followed by 4 Daleks from the BBC series Dr Who, and included figures such as Anthea Turner and Basil Brush. 

The 1990s were represented by Erin O'Connor, Kate Moss, Charlotte Tilbury, Patsy Kensit and Naomi Campbell. Chris McCausland, Sir Mo Farah, Sally Gunnell, Dame Kelly Holmes and Gok Wan appeared on the 2000s bus.