Crowds of people are expected at the riverside to watch a historical flotilla on the River Thames.

The traditional annual Tudor Pull sees Her Majesty’s watermen row 25 miles from Hampton Court Palace to the Tower of London in celebration of the river and the role it has played in the capital.

This year’s festivities will continue the legacy of last year’s Jubilee Pageant, with the royal barge the Gloriana due to put in a special appearance.

Celebrations will start at the west front of the palace from 10am on Sunday, April 21, where an ancient piece of water pipe made from a hollow tree trunk, the Stela, will be handed to watermen.

The Stela symbolises the power of London’s waterway and will be toasted by royal bargemen, the palace’s state apartment warders and spectators as it sets off on its journey down the Thames.

In the shadow of Henry VIII’s Tudor palace, the Stela will be ceremonially processed to the Gloriana, waiting nearby at Barge Walk and rigged with ceremonial canopies and flags.

The procession will begin at 10.45am and the flotilla, led by the Gloriana and accompanied by a fleet of traditional rowing craft, will stop at Teddington at 11.45am, Richmond at 12.45pm, and Putney at 3pm.

The flotilla is expected to arrive at the Tower of London at 4pm and the Stela will be presented to the governor of the Tower of London.