The Queen's 90th birthday has been celebrated with Trooping the Colour's precision display of military pomp and pageantry.
The spectacle in Whitehall honoured the Queen's enduring ties with her Armed Forces and officially marked her milestone anniversary.
Over the weekend the nation is celebrating the monarch's long and rich life that has seen her become the longest reigning and oldest monarch in British history.
Cheers from the public in the Mall greeted the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's arrival on Horse Guards Parade - Henry VIII's former jousting yard - where an audience of thousands were seated in stands.
The crowds were treated to the sight of the royal couple in a vintage carriage, Queen Victoria's 1842 ivory-mounted phaeton, and the imposing presence of The Sovereign's Escort, mounted troops from the Life Guards and Blues and Royals.
The procession included the royal colonels on horseback - the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards.
On the parade ground in their famous scarlet tunics and bearskins were the Coldstream, Grenadier and Scots Guards - while the Irish Guards lined the Queen's processional route from Buckingham Palace.
Watching from the Duke of Wellington's old office that overlooks Horse Guards were members of the Royal Family including the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge who had arrived together in a carriage.
Kate looked chic in an Alexander McQueen coat and hat by Philip Treacy while Harry was dressed in his military uniform.
They were joined by the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha had made the short trip from neighbouring 10 Downing Street to join the spectators.
Trooping the Colour is an important social occasion for the Guardsmen taking part, and gives their wives, girlfriends, parents and other relatives the chance to celebrate the achievements of the young men and enjoy the spectacle.
Some spectators in the stands which lined the parade ground were dressed in morning suits or smart suits, while many women wore summer dresses with wide brimmed hats.
They all rose from their seats as a mark of respect as the Queen's carriage passed by, with the monarch wearing a vibrant green coat and dress by Stewart Parvin and a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan, while Philip, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, wore a bearskin and scarlet tunic.
On her shoulder the head of state wore the Brigade of Guards brooch.
The Colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year is the flag of Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards, the unit last performed this special role in 2007.
Almost 1,500 officers and their men, in immaculate uniforms, were on parade with more than 300 horses featured.
Among them was Britain's Got Talent winner and Household Cavalry bandsman Richard Jones whose skill as a magician saw him triumph in the popular show.
As a member of the Household Cavalry band he played trombone while on horseback dressed in his gold coat.
Among the audience of thousands watching the spectacle was Second World War veteran Fergus Anckorn, 97, whose story was the focus of the serviceman's magic trick that earned him the title.
Mr Anckorn, was a prisoner of war and forced to work on the Burma Railway and the infamous bridge on the River Kwai.
He said: "It's great to be here, I've never seen Trooping the Colour before, this week I've already been to the Japanese Embassy and Buckingham Palace."
The 97-year-old joked about the Queen's birthday: "I remember her being born, it was common knowledge where I grew up in Kent."
The monarch first took the royal salute in 1951, when she deputised for her ill father George VI, and has continued receiving the mark of respect every year except 1955 when there was a national rail strike.
Her first duty was to inspect the long line of troops - wearing their famous red tunics and bearskin hats - from the Coldstream, Grenadier and Scots Guards.
As she travelled in Queen Victoria's 1842 ivory mounted phaeton carriage behind her on horseback and wearing ceremonial military uniform were the royal colonels Charles, Anne and William.
With her detailed knowledge of the ceremony the Queen cast an expert eye over the troops as she passed.
And then she was taken past the Sovereign's Escort - mounted troops from the Life Guards and Blues and Royals - the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, who will late fire royal gun salutes, and the Mounted Band of the of the Household Cavalry.
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