Ready for the party: Royal superfans camp out in London 48-hours before Platinum Jubilee
31 May 2022, 15:05 | Updated: 31 May 2022, 16:48
Donna has travelled from Connecticut for Queen's Jubilee
Royal superfans have already begun camping out in London 48-hours before the Queen's Jubilee celebrations are due to commence.
The country is preparing for four days of celebrations to mark the monarch's 70-years on the throne.
Some royal watchers are already setting up camp with tents on The Mall, which will be one of the focal points for festivities.
On Tuesday morning a rehearsal took place for Sunday's grand parade which will process down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, where it is hoped the Queen will make a balcony appearance.
The Queen returned to Windsor Castle from Balmoral on Wednesday evening, ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Buckingham Palace said.
The first spectators have already started arriving with four tents, decked out with Union Jack bunting, being seen setup near the route.
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Donna Warner, from Connecticut, is already camping out by Buckingham Palace to try and get a glimpse of The Queen and the royals on Thursday.
She told LBC she is "so excited" to be here.
"I arrived on Saturday and I will be here for 10 days. We came to The Mall today and we are going to be camping out until Sunday," she said.
"I'm just disappointed we can't see the balcony. The Queen's going to come out and this is as close as we can get. There's not going to be any crowds beneath her."
She added it is a "remarkable" feeling to be here in London, saying it's a "celebration" and to "honour" the Queen.
"I've always respected not only the Queen but the whole of the Royal Family, the history of the royalty.
"I think she [the Queen] will go down in history as the best - one of the best.
"I'm just so excited to be here."
John Loughrey and Maria Scott, superfans who are renown for positioning themselves near the front at royal events, have also begun camping out.
Speaking to MailOnline one woman said she'd come down from Newcastle, whilst another had made a much shorter journey from London's Edgware Road.
Crowd barriers along The Mall have already been decorated by spectators with Union Jacks and flags from the four nations of the UK.
Sunday's parade will be led by the 260-year-old Gold State Coach which carried the monarch to her coronation in 1953.
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Whilst the Queen won't ride in the carriage personally for health reasons, archive footage from her reign will be projected onto its side.
The parade will include service personnel from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, with music from the Royal Marines Band.
Ed Sheeran will lead a mass rendition of 'God Save The Queen', backed up by a celebrity choir including Sir David Jason, Sir David Jason and Holly Willoughby.
Organisers expect 100,000 members of the public to turn up as spectators, with up to a billion people watching from around the world.
Tuesday's mock parade began at 4.30am in the morning, with soldiers carrying the flags of the 54 Commonwealth nations down the Mall.
Soldiers from the Household Cavalry were pictured preparing to join the event in Parliament Square.
The pageant is being directed by David Zolkwer who promised the event will "not take itself quite so seriously".
Speaking to the Radio Times he said: "The feedback we're getting is that if we're over-glorifying, or over-egging, or if anything looks too aggrandising - that's what they're not comfortable with.
"What they're doing is ensuring that every reference to the Queen is appropriate."
Thousands of street parties are expected across the UK, with 573 listed in London alone over the four-day Bank Holiday.
Most are taking place on Sunday with Britons being encouraged to attend 'Big Jubilee Lunch' events in their local communities.