In Pictures: Military pomp on show as Trooping the Colour starts celebrations

The event is the start of four days of festivities honouring the Queen as she marks her Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen’s guards march during the Trooping the Colour ceremony (Jeff J Mitchell/PA) (PA Wire)

Historic celebrations to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign have started in central London.

The Trooping the Colour event – also known as the Birthday Parade – was preceded by the traditional carriage procession from Buckingham Palace.

Crowds near Trafalgar Square ahead of the ceremony (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Police officers on The Mall ahead of the event (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Buckingham Palace (Paul Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)

The Royal Procession leaves Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour ceremony (Chris Jackson/PA) (PA Wire)

Celebrities and the public are gathering in their millions in tribute to the monarch across the special bank holiday weekend.

Thousands of wellwishers draped in Union flags, party hats and plastic tiaras flocked to central London for the Trooping spectacle.

The Royal Procession leaves Buckingham Palace (Paul Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)

Prince George, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge leave Buckingham Palace (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

The Royal Procession heads down The Mall (Paul Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)

Prince George, left, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte leave Buckingham Palace (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

The young Cambridges and the duchesses’ carriage, known as a barouche, was followed by another carrying the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn.

George, eight, Charlotte, seven, and three-year-old Louis smiled and waved enthusiastically as they sat in a row, with Louis the youngest in the middle of his older siblings.

The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge ride in a carriage (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

An Irish wolfhound leads as Guards march along The Mall (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Louis, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Buckingham Palace (Paul Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)

The Prince of Wales, front, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal leave Buckingham Palace (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queen arrived at Buckingham Palace, ready to take a salute from the balcony accompanied by her cousin the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, when the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Guards made their way back from the parade ground.

The Kings Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery ride down The Mall (Richard Pohle/PA) (PA Wire)

The Duke of Cambridge, left, the Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales, right, during the Trooping the Colour ceremony (Cpl Simon Lucas/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA) (PA Media)

The Queen and the Duke of Kent watch from the balcony (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queen beamed as the procession took place (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)