Royals appear on Palace balcony SIX times, before bed at 12.10am
THE QUEEN, cheered at times by 150,000 people, walked out on to the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace six times last night — once to switch on the lights that turned The Mall in front of her into a sparkling highway of fairytale arches.
The people matched that pathway of light with a tremendous roar of welcome that echoed round the Palace walls.
Just as Raleigh laid his cloak beneath the feet of the first Elizabeth, so was London laying a carpet at the feet of Elizabeth the Second — a living carpet, with a pattern made of upturned faces from every part of the world.
Rain, soaked clothes, long hours of waiting
The cries went up: ‘We want the Queen’
in the worst weather for pageantry — nothing could dampen the spirits of this singing, dancing, cheering multitude, flinging balloons, paper streamers and hats into the air.
The great crowd began calling for the Queen as soon as she returned from the Abbey. For 40 minutes their shouts penetrated through to the Palace.
At 5.42pm, the windows leading on to the Palace balcony were opened — and Prince Charles, wearing a Coronation medal, and Princess Anne darted out first waving excitedly to the crowd. Out came the Queen — the Imperial State Crown still on her head; the golden bracelets of ‘Sincerity and Wisdom’ still on her arms; her deep purple robe of State trailing behind her.
The Duke of Edinburgh followed. Then the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, the Princess Royal and other members of the Royal Family.
Suddenly, from the east came the whine of jets. The whole balcony looked up. The RAF began to fly past. Five more minutes of waving followed, then the Royal Family left the gold and crimson-draped balcony.
That five minutes was not enough for the multitude. Again the cries went up: ‘We want the Queen!’
So at 7.21pm she appeared again on the balcony, this time with the Duke of Edinburgh only. She still wore her glittering Crown.
At 9pm the Queen spoke to the nation and the Empire from her study at the Palace.
Her speech was relayed to the crowds outside.
There was a new surge towards the gates, where loudspeakers were fixed. But for the first time during the whole exciting day, the enormous crowd remained silent.
That silence did not last for long, however. For at 9.45pm the Queen was out on the balcony for the third time, dressed now in a white gown, ermine wrap and a tiara.
This time, she pressed the switch to light up London. The bulbs in The Mall leapt into life. A moment later faraway spires and domes seemed to soar, floodlit in dazzling white, into the darkness of the sky.
After six minutes the Queen and the Duke went back into the Palace. But the crowd wanted more.
So at 10.40pm the balcony windows opened and the Queen stepped out with the Duke.
At 11.30pm they appeared again — and at midnight the crowds saw them once more. This sixth appearance sent the crowd wild. Every hand waved. Every voice shouted.
Then the singing of God Save the Queen spread through the crowd. It was still going as the Queen and the Duke went into the Palace — he with a last wave.
At 12.10am this morning the balcony floodlights went out.
A few seconds later the whole of the Palace floodlighting dimmed and the crowds began to thin away.