Crowds cheer Queen Elizabeth in grand jubilee finale

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people cheered, sang patriotic songs and waved Union Jack flags outside Buckingham Palace in a spectacular finale to four days of celebrations honoring Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the British throne.

The 86-year-old beamed at the throng and waved from the balcony of the palace, accompanied by the senior members of her family with one notable absentee - Prince Philip, her husband of 64 years who was taken ill with a bladder infection on Monday.

It was one of the few grand state occasions in her life when he has not been present, taking some of the gloss off what has widely been seen as a triumphant diamond jubilee that has reinforced the popularity of the queen and the monarchy.

The grand Mall avenue leading to the queen's London residence was turned into a sea of red, white and blue as well-wishers flooded the road to hail the queen before a flypast led by the Spitfires which won the Battle of Britain and concluded with an aerobatic display by the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows.

Celebrations outside Buckingham Palace closed when soldiers fired a rifle salute, then thrust their bearskin hats in the air to lead the crowds beyond the palace gates in a rousing three cheers to the queen, the only British monarch other than Queen Victoria to have reigned for 60 years.

As the ecstatic crowd roared its approval, Elizabeth flanked by son and heir Charles, his wife Camilla, Prince William and his new wife Kate as well as brother Harry, gave one final wave before heading inside.

"I don't think we'll see anything like this again in my generation. It was wonderful," said Joseph Afrane, 49, a photographer who was wearing a red, white and blue Union Jack flag waistcoat and hat.

Millions have attended street parties, watched a spectacular 1,000-vessel pageant on the River Thames in London on Sunday and a concert in front of Buckingham Palace on Monday, all held in honor of Elizabeth II.

Not even typically British inclement weather dampened enthusiasm, with rain failing to deter the crowds, although Philip's illness overshadowed Tuesday's festivities.

After visiting him in hospital, the queen's youngest son Prince Edward said his father was getting better.

However, without Philip who has been at her side throughout her long reign, Elizabeth cut a slightly subdued figure as she attended a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral and a celebratory lunch.

"We've seen ... an extraordinary resilience on behalf of her majesty who in spite all the problems and difficulties has kept going with such incredible spirit," British Prime Minister David Cameron told BBC TV.

In a rare move, the queen, who usually only appears on TV screens for a short message on Christmas Day, will deliver a special broadcast be aired at 1700 GMT to thank the nation.

POMP AND PAGEANTRY

Tuesday's events were more typical of the formal displays of ceremony for which British royalty is known across the globe.

Courtiers in an array of dazzling ceremonial red and golden tunics and mounted soldiers wearing shining helmets and breastplates dating from centuries past when Britain was an imperial power were on show across London.

With Philip absent, the queen led a horse-drawn carriage procession to Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau with heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, while military bands played and a 60-gun salute was fired.

Harry, William and Kate, in an Alexander McQueen dress, followed behind.

Earlier, Elizabeth - dressed in a fine silk tulle outfit, embroidered with tiny mint green star-shaped flowers embellished with silver thread - arrived at Paul's Cathedral to shouts of "God save the Queen" and a trumpet fanfare as she made her way past bowing and curtsying members of the congregation.

Commentators said the church service for Elizabeth, who came to the throne aged 25 in 1952, would hold particular poignancy for the queen who as titular head of the Church of England holds her religious role close to her heart.

"We are marking today the anniversary of one historic and very public act of dedication - a dedication that has endured faithfully, calmly and generously through most of the adult lives of most of us here," said Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Anglican church.

"We are marking six decades of living proof that public service is possible and that it is a place where happiness can be found," he told the congregation.

Afterwards the royals enjoyed a lavish lunch at Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament and the site for the lying-in-state of her mother, the Queen Mother, after her death in 2002.

SUCCESS AND POPULARITY

The long weekend dedicated to the diamond jubilee has been seen as a success story for the monarchy, their media team and Elizabeth personally.

Polls suggest the crown and the queen herself are more popular than they have been for decades, with one suggesting the hereditary monarch was more in touch with her people than Cameron and his ministers.

"While many presidents and prime ministers have come and gone, your majesty's reign has endured," said U.S. President Barack Obama in a glowing message of congratulations.

"May the light of your majesty's crown continue to reign supreme for many years to come."

The younger generation of royals, especially William, Harry and Kate, have become the darlings of the British press, once notoriously hostile to the monarchy as it threatened to implode in the 1990s following marital infidelities and the death of Charles's hugely popular first wife, Princess Diana.

Republicans have been vocal in their opposition during the jubilee but have drawn few obvious signs of public backing, although they hope that apathy to the royals felt by some could turn to hostility when the queen is gone and the less popular Charles becomes king.

If nothing else, commentators said the royals had once again provided Britons, suffering through financial hardships, deep public spending cuts and rising unemployment, an excuse to forget their woes and enjoy a party.

"With the economy and one thing or another, this has just been the most fantastic celebration," said designer Sheree Charalampous, 53, who had made her own crown, strung with pearls, pictures of corgis and a portrait of the queen.

"I really think the monarchy is now back in favor again, which is wonderful. Nobody does this sort of thing like us. It has been an amazing four days, just fantastic."

(Additional reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Paul Casciato)

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