Historic St. Paul’s Cathedral prepares for Jubilee

>>> more on the queen's diamond jubilee . a national service of thanksgiving will be held tomorrow at london's historic st. paul 's cathedral . and meredith is already there to give us a look inside. meredith , good morning.

>> hey, savannah. you can hear the music behind me. just so i can explain. they're practicing for the party this afternoon. the garden party . so you may hear some music and sound checks. as we talk. and skies, notice it is overcast again. that is the one thing the brits can't plan on, the weather. but everything else about the jubilee is totally planned. it's rehearsed. and they rehearse again. they never take anything for granted here. nothing is by accident. and that's why st. paul 's cathedral was chosen for tomorrow's service of thanksgiving, because of the place that it holds in the queen's heart and the country's history. the bells will ring out tuesday at st. paul 's cathedral to celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee . with a special thanksgiving service. built by sir christopher wren after the great fire of london it stands as a national symbol of strength, resilience and rebirth. st. paul 's dean, dr. david isen.

>> this is where it all begins. this is an inscription which tells you that queen victoria came here for her own diamond jubilee . she was too ill to be able to get out of the carriage and climb up the steps. so they brought the service out to her. the queen will be walking over this spot. so we're going to go up the 12e7s now.

>> reporter: and into the cathedral whose walls represent the church of england . you were just installed as the dean here at st. paul . a few days ago.

>> yes.

>> this is quite a way to start off.

>> it's both exciting, exhilarating, and pretty terrifying, really. it's rather bigger than my previous job. and to be here and the first thing you do is to greet the queen coming up the steps, that's quite the part.

>> reporter: the boy's choir is getting ready. . polishing notes. and harmony. getting ready for the biggest day of their lives.

>> there's a certain something about a chorister which means they rather relish this occasion. it's quite a scary thing.

>> reporter: as st. paul 's marks great britain's history once again. it is a place where the nation comes together to express joy and sorrow. it was the scene of great joy for the wedding of diana and prince charles , watched live by 750 million viewers around the world. during the blitz in world war ii , it miraculously sustained only minor damage. just under the dome, a whispering gallery . a charming feature of the cathedral 's perfect design. a whisper heard across the room.

>> okay, meredith , can you hear me?

>> i can hear you very clearly. are you really whispering? are you ready for tuesday?

>> i've never done anything on the wlis perring gallery before.

>> reporter: right at the heart of the cathedral the american memorial chapel honoring servicemen who gave their lives during world war ii .

>> this was created as a memorial to those american servicemen. there are 28,000 names on 500 pages.

>> reporter: 28,000 names. these are all americans.

>> these are all americans. and every one of those people had a family and a story behind them.

>> reporter: and every day i understand you turn the page .

>> that's right. yes. and you look at some of these names, like they're very unusual names here like funderbunk. you've got two people with an unusual same. you think, they're likely from the same family.

>> it's so simple and that's what i think makes it so amazing.

>> yes.

>> reporter: but when the bells ring out at st. paul 's cathedral on tuesday, they will not mourn the dead. what are your thoughts about this?

>> i think she's a wonderful, wonderful person. and she's been through an awful lot. she's been through the war. she shared in the joys of a nation.

>> and tuesday morning when you address the people here what will be running through your heard?

>> i hope i get it right.

>> reporter: you'll be great. and once the queen leaves the church the bells will start ringing again. and they will ring for four hours straight. the bell ringers will not take a break. before i go, matt and savannah, i want to show you this basket. in a few hours 10,000 people will be filling the garden for that party prior to going to the concert. they each get this basket. it's the queen's diamond jubilee . it includes things like chilled british country garden soup, very nice. you know, the queen's -- when the queen's crowned in 1953 they had coronation chicken especially made for her. now they have diamond jubilee chicken. i don't know if that looks particularly appetizing. but i've heard it's delicious. there's some smoked salmon here, as well. you've got bread, and butter. obviously. oh, this one is very cool. this is sandringham strawberry crumble crunch. and the strawberries used in this are from her strawberry patch in norfolk and they were frozen last year and then thawed out and they are in this crunch. and then you have things like nobody wants this, but bread and butter and the like. and the west thing to me, in case it rains again, which it probably will, your deluxe water proof poncho. and since i opened this basket, i guess i have to keep it.

>> yeah.

>> back to you.

>> that's like one of those bling bags at the grammy awards only a little bit more nutritious.

>> yeah, exactly.

>> going straight to ebay, right, meredith ?

>> all right, meredith .

>> i'm not like matt lauer . i don't do that. you got it.