>>>
let's first go back to meredith in london for a preview of events in the coming days. good morning again.
>> reporter:
good morning to you, matt. i mentioned before it has been 115 years since the last
diamond jubilee
for
queen victoria
. it is the only other
diamond jubilee
. you pleasithink the
royal wedding
was a
big deal
? you ain't seen nothing yet. with bunting, and bells the
british people
are kicking off a weekend of pomp and pageantry fit for a queen. as england and the world prepare to pay tribute to the queen's 60 years on the throne,
prince charles
is sharing his own thoughts about his mother's milestone in a new documentary.
>>
the
diamond jubilee
gives us a chance to celebrate with pride all that the queen means to us both as a nation and indeed as one of her children.
>> reporter:
never before seen
home movies
released by the
prince show
the queen and her two eldest children. and in footage from a
1957
beach vacation
prince charles
and princess ann are seen playing with one of the queen's beloved corgies.
prince william
also spoke of his grandmother the queen in an interview with british broadcaster itv.
>>
i'd like to take all of her small moments and put it in a small box and be able to refer to it.
>> reporter:
prince william
will accompany the queen with his direct family the
direct line
of succession front and center.
>>
in the past few months and year it's all been about william and kate. everybody seems to be fascinated by them. they of course will be important in terms of supporting the queen, but it will be her weekend. it will be a moment when we celebrate
elizabeth ii
.
>> reporter:
the jubilee weekend festivities get under way on saturday when the queen and the
royal family
attend the eppson derby
horse race
. the highlight of the weekend will no doubt be the
diamond jubilee
pageant on sunday featuring a flotilla of more than 1,000 boats sailing down the
river thames
with the queen and
prince philip
on a specially decorated barge. a concert includes
elton john
,
paul mccartney
,
stevie wonder
, and many others. the night culminates with the lighting of 4,000 beacons across great
britain
and the
rest of the world
. on tuesday the queen attends a
national service
of thanksgiving at st. paul's cathedral famously the venue of
prince charles
and
lady diana
's
1981
wedding. a carriage procession takes the queen back to
buckingham palace
as she and
prince philip
ride in the
1902
state landeau most recently used by the
duke and duchess
of cambridge on their wedding day. the festivities conclude with an appearance on the famous
buckingham palace
balcony complete with a
royal air force
flyover. and i haven't even mention epd the 10,000
block parties
that are scheduled over the next four days because it is a banker's holiday and people are ready to celebrate. i'm joined now by a royal expert and our
special correspondent
. good morning to both of you.
>>
good morning.
>>
i want to start with you because you're a
lucky guy
. man, you are going to be part of the flotilla. how excited are you?
>>
i can't wait. i think it is going to be one of the most spectacular things to have happened in london for years. you know, we have the spectacular wedding last year. i think this is going to blow everyone away. a thousand boats all going down the thames, a narrow river, all the bridges and we expect millions and millions. very
high security
because the entire
royal family
will be there.
>>
absolutely.
>>
i'll be in a little
rowing boat
sweating and probably looking a
little red
in the face.
>>
are you rowing in front of the barge?
>>
i'm going to be just behind the gloriana, the royal
row boat
, and just in front of the spirit so i'll be sandwiched between the two royal boats.
>>
don't slow down.
>>
i know. i don't want to hold the queen and her family up.
>>
one of the things that is so fascinating about the
home movies
we just saw, never seen before in part probably because the queen is a very private person and doesn't like to share her
private life
.
>>
no.
>> reporter:
i wonder how she feels about all of this attention being showered on her.
>>
she doesn't actually like attention on her personally but she really loves the notion of the whole nation if not the world taking part in these celebrations. she's always worn bright colors because she said it is important to be seen with the people and that's why she goes on walk abouts and her stock in trade. she is
hard working
and is seen to be
hard working
. she doesn't want to look like one of them. she wants to be one of us. actually the whole notion of
britain
bringing out the bunting and celebrating in such glorious style over this weekend really appeals to her because she personally sees this as a very important landmark not just for her but for
britain
.
>> reporter:
i wonder what this means to the people of
britain
, because, you know, the other
big story
this week along with the jubilee was the doctors here going on strike because they are upset about their pension. it is a very tough time in this country as elsewhere. high unemployment and all of that yet people seem ready to party. as i said, 10,000
block parties
.
>>
actually the
community spirit
is very much in tune with royal events in this country. we saw that with the
royal wedding
. it doesn't cost anything, does it, to get out with the neighbors, have picnic food on paper plates, and just really revel in it. that's free and costs nothing just to be with people and have great fun in the queen's honor.
>>
it's been described like the
perfect storm
. we have the
olympic torch relay
which is setting the nation alight, not literally obviously but everyone on the streets, we have this fantastic celebration. we're hoping the weather stays. it is the first time we're thinking patriotic -- we're not particularly good here at
flying the flag
and saying how wonderful we are and it is the first time everyone finds the excuse to do it.
>> reporter:
don't forget we have national
donut day
. you have the
diamond jubilee
. there you are. thank you very much.
>>
thank you.
>>
thanks for being part of our coverage as well. matt and ann, back to you.
>>
thanks for sticking up for the
home team
.
>>
that's right. national
donut day
.
>>>
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