Queen celebrates 90th birthday with London street party

Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday marked the conclusion of three-day celebrations of her 90th birthday with a giant street party in the heart of London, with 10,000 people joining the monarch despite rain.

Along with other senior royals she joined the huge crowd for the Patron's Lunch -- recognising her patronage of more than 600 organisations in the UK and around the Commonwealth.

The event was organised by the Queen's grandson Peter Phillips and guests have paid 150 pounds each to attend.

The festivities included a carnival parade as thousands of rain ponchos were handed out for the open-air event and the crowds braved the London rain to enjoy the first of its kind event at the Mall in London.

Members of the Royal Family walked down The Mall greeting guests in a "walkabout" lasting 30 minutes.

The Queen and husband Duke of Edinburgh were driven to the site in an open-top car, from which they waved to crowds.

Ala Lloyd, who is the creative director of the carnival parade, told the BBC the eras of the Queen's reign through the decades are being symbolised by different sections of the parade.

"We've got a lovely Commonwealth theme in the 50s with a giant Royal Yacht Britannia, flower power in the 60s, animals and nature in the 70s and crazy neon business going on in the 80s, and embarrassing shorts," she said.

While the event takes place in London, smaller street parties are being held around the UK.

On Saturday, thousands of people turned out to watch the annual Trooping the Colour parade, where Princess Charlotte stole the show with her 90-year-old great grandmother dressed in a lime green coat and matching hat emerged at the BuckinghamPalace balcony for an RAF flypast.

Britain's Queen always has two birthdays, the official one on the second Saturday of June and her real birthday, which falls on April 21 as part of a tradition dating back nearly 250 years to try to ensure good, sunny weather for the monarch's official celebrations.