It has travelled to within an hour of 95% of people in the UK, and 13 million people are estimated to have been present at different stages of the journey, three million of them just in the last couple of days, in London.
Today’s part of the relay started at Hampton Court Palace, which was built for Henry VIII's favorite, Thomas Wolsey, in 1514. When Wolsey fell from favor Henry, the famous English king who had 8 wives, took over the palace and made it a royal affair.
Four-time gold medallist Matthew Pinsent transferred the flame to a cauldron on the royal barge Gloriana, which carried Queen Elizabeth II in the celebrations to mark her 60th anniversary of reigning. The barge transported the flame from the Hampton Court Palace to Tower Bridge.
At tonight’s opening ceremony it will be carried into the Olympic Stadium, where it will be lit by an as yet unnamed VIP to signal the official launch of Olympics 2012. The world will be watching! And if the Royal wedding and the Queen’s anniversary celebrations are anything to go by, this year’s Olympics in London will ignite everybody’s hearts and spirits for years to come.
