There will be a 62 round gun salute from Tower Wharf today Tuesday 25 June at 12.10pm to welcome the Emperor of Japan to London.
This will be simultaneous with the Emperor and Empress being greeted by the King and Queen on Horse Guards Parade at the start of a State Visit.
The salute in the Pool of London will have resonance for Emperor Naruhito who got to know the River Thames during his years as an Oxford student.
Not only is he familiar with The Perch at Binsey and The Trout Inn at Godstow but he also has written about the river.
The Thames and I was published in 1992 and The Thames as a Highway; A study of navigation and traffic on the Upper Thames in the Eighteenth Century in 2006.
He has also made a continued study of flood prevention.
The full story is told in the River Thames Society‘s latest magazine Thames Guardian.
Emperor Naruhito, having arrived early with his wife for their State Visit, yesterday took the opportunity to visit the Thames Barrier.