Platinum Jubilee recap: Jubilee Big Lunches took place across the area and there was bunting aplenty as residents in Portsmouth, Waterlooville, Havant, Fareham and Gosport came out in force for street parties

PLATINUM Jubilee crowds were treated to the sight of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children taking part in their first carriage procession as historic celebrations marking the Queen’s 70-year reign began.

Cheers went up from thousands of spectators on The Mall as they caught sight of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis with proud parent Kate and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The traditional carriage procession left Buckingham Palace ahead of Trooping the Colour, also known as the Birthday Parade – the start of four days of festivities honouring the Queen.

The nation is embracing the special extended bank holiday weekend of pomp, pageantry and star-studded festivities, which will see celebrities and the public gather in their millions in tribute to the monarch.

Thousands of wellwishers draped in Union flags, party hats and plastic tiaras flocked to central London for the Trooping spectacle.

More than 1,000 soldiers are involved in the traditional Trooping of the Colours event.

THOUSANDS of people have packed into London to witness the opening spectacle of the Platinum Jubilee bonanza.

Streets across the capital have come to a standstill as crowds poured into the city to watch the Trooping of the Colour procession.

The young Cambridges and the duchesses’ carriage, known as a barouche, was followed by another carrying the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Mountbatten Windsor and Viscount Severn.

George, Charlotte and Louis smiled and waved enthusiastically as they sat in a row, with Louis the youngest in the middle of his older siblings.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Princess Royal’s husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence processed in the final carriage.

On horseback at the rear in their uniforms were the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal, resplendent in their military regalia – including their new Platinum Jubilee medals.

The Queen, meanwhile, was watching from Buckingham Palace, waiting to take a salute from the balcony accompanied by her cousin the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, when the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Guards make their way back from the parade ground.

A RARE 82-gun salute is set to take place this afternoon to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The display will take place at 12.52pm at the Tower of London and will be led by the armed forces.

A SCARECROW of the Queen has appeared in Portsmouth as the city gears up to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

Surrounded by bunting and and Union Flags, the Royal tribute has popped up outside a house in Old Portsmouth.

It was created by Catherine Simpson and Commander Jeremy Simpson.

HER Majesty the Queen beamed with pride as 70 aircraft flew over Buckingham Palace to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

Helicopters, planes and jets roared over the capital in salute of the monarch’s extraordinary 70-years on the throne.

The flypast ended with 15 Typhoon fighter jets flying in formation to create a ‘70’ in the sky as the celebrated Red Arrows flew behind, trailling red, white and blue smoke.

Watched by thousands in the capital, the aerial tribute started with a Wildcat helicopter and two Merlin helicopters from the Royal Navy passing Buckingham Palace.

These were followed by formations of Apache, Puma and Chinhook helicopters as well as a range of jets, including the Voyager transporters and F-35 stealth fighters.

But it was the flypast of the Battle of Britain memorial flight, featuring Second World War planes including the Lancaster bomber, two Spitfires and two Hurricanes, that really brought a smile to the Queen.

Members of the working Royal Family gathered on the balcony beside the Queen, with the Prince of Wales standing at Her Majesty’s right-hand side. The pair could be seen chatting and smiling ahead of the flypast.

Earlier, huge cheers of ‘hooray’ erupted from the thousands of royal fans on The Mall in front of the palace.

LOUD naval gun salutes rang out in Portsmouth this afternoon as the Royal Navy paid tribute to the Queen.

To mark Her Majesty’s remarkable 70 years on the throne, Portsmouth Naval Base sounded a 42-gun Royal Salute.

The first blast sounded at midday and came ahead of the 82-gun salute in London to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

A saluting gun battery fired from the South Railway Jetty, with the tribute ringing out across Portsmouth Harbour,

Naval Base commander, Commodore JJ Bailey took the salute.

HUNDREDS of people have taken to the streets of Lee-on-the-Solent to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Streets are decked in red, white and blue as revellers pour in to party in honour of Her Majesty.

Celebrations for the Jubilee are in full swing at Fort Cumberland. The festivities have been organsied by the charity Forgotten Veterans UK.