Diamond Jubilee: Final preparations under way

Union jacks and bunting are being put out across the UK, as final preparations are made for the weekend's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Earlier, a rehearsal of Tuesday's carriage procession between Westminster Hall and Buckingham Palace took place.

And crews of the 1,000-strong flotilla that will escort the royal barge along the Thames on Sunday were briefed.

Events are planned across the UK over the next four days to mark 60 years since the Queen came to the throne.

Last-minute preparations are under way for the many street parties, outdoor concerts and fairs being staged for the royal celebration:

• The Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond <itemMeta>news/uk-england-hampshire-18279566</itemMeta> in Portsmouth

• The Woodland Trust <link> <caption>released a list of 60 new, large woodland areas</caption> <altText>Woodland Trust</altText> <url href="http://www.woodlandtrust.presscentre.com/imagelibrary/downloadMedia.ashx?MediaDetailsID=1966" platform="highweb"/> </link> designed to celebrate the Queen's reign

• Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams issued a video tribute to the Queen, <itemMeta>news/uk-18289442</itemMeta>

• Final preparations for the <link> <firstCreated>2012-02-07T11:43:22+00:00</firstCreated> <lastUpdated>2012-02-07T15:25:31+00:00</lastUpdated> <caption>Jubilee concert</caption> <url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16925230" platform="highweb"/> <url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/entertainment-arts-16925230" platform="enhancedmobile"/> </link> got under way, with a stage constructed on the roof of Buckingham Palace, where pop band Madness will perform their hit Our House

• Services are running <itemMeta>news/uk-18293138</itemMeta> but Transport for London advises people to check before they travel

• The <link> <caption>weather forecast is expected to be poor</caption> <url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/" platform="highweb"/> </link> for the official celebrations in central London

In the early hours of Friday, members of the armed forces and the Household Division were among the 2,000 servicemen and women rehearsing the carriage procession - one of the final events of the Jubilee celebrations.

Roads in central London were closed off for the rehearsal of Tuesday's carriage procession, which ended at 06:00 BST.

Members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Division rode from the Palace of Westminster along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, before travelling along the Mall to Buckingham Palace.

The procession included the 1902 state landau carriage - used by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their wedding day - which will be used to take the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday.

The BBC's Daniela Relph said the full ceremonial rehearsal had been a display of the pomp and pageantry expected during the Jubilee celebrations.

Soldiers rehearsed their three cheers for the Queen and the national anthem was played, she added.

Major Andrew Chatburn, the ceremonial officer for the Household Division, said the rehearsal had been "spectacular".

The state ceremonial training officer for the Royal Navy, Warrant Officer Paul Barker, said it had gone "very well".

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry for Tuesday's event.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who will join the royals for the celebratory events during the weekend, paid tribute to the Queen's "extraordinary energy" and "devotion to her people", in an interview with Sky News.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the weekend's festivities would celebrate "everything that is best about our country" and praised the Queen's "selfless dedication to duty".

Preparations have also been continuing for the BBC's Jubilee concert, which will be held in front of Buckingham Palace in the area surrounding the Queen Victoria Memorial on Monday.

Artists including Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John, Jessie J, JLS and Ed Sheeran are due to perform.

The concert will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC One HD and on BBC Radio 2 in the UK and to millions around the world.

Take That singer Gary Barlow said the concert - which he helped to arrange - would be an "incredible" experience.

Other preparations on Friday have included the mustering at West India Quay, near Canary Wharf, of boats taking part in the Thames Jubilee Pageant.

More than 1,000 vessels of all shapes and sizes will form a flotilla and sail along the Thames from upriver of Battersea Bridge to down river of Tower Bridge on Sunday. More than a million people are expected to line the River Thames for the event.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury has paid tribute to the Queen, who he describes as being "unfailingly supportive and kind".

Rowan Williams, who will step down as Archbishop in December after 10 years, said in a video that during private meetings, he discovered that Her Majesty is "extremely funny and prepared to be teased", and helped him through difficult periods of his own life.