Footnotes

• After four gruelling years of conflict, the Armistice ending the Great War came into effect at 11.00am. on 11th November, 1918; the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year on 28th June and, to celebrate both the allied victory as well as the coming of peace, a number of public events were staged in London in July 1919. One of the most popular was a royal river procession, soon given the more formal title of 'King George's River Pageant', which comprised the ceremonial barges of the City's Livery Companies, whalers crammed with both Boy Scouts as well as Sea Scouts, watermen's wherries, naval pinnaces and a whole host of other craft. Watching from the terrace of the Palace of Westminster was the royal party including King George V, Queen Mary, the Dowager Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and many other dignitaries. Later on, the King and Queen boarded Queen Mary's Shallop, the historic barge built for William III's consort in 1689, and joined the waterborne cavalcade for part of its triumphal procession up-river through the centre of London. Although more detailed information is yet to be published, it is likely that this year's procession on the Thames to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee will be just as colourful as well as popular with the public.

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Category: Fine Art / Marine Art

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