Sightseers at Buckingham Palace were treated to a surprise performance today as more than 100 dancers emerged from the crowds to take part in a royal "flashmob".
Tourists lining the Palace gates expecting to see the Changing the Guard ceremony were taken aback when dancers rose from the Queen Victoria memorial and began slapping their knees and clapping their hands.
Starting with just four dancers, the group quickly grew, with performers emerging from all corners of the crowd as bystanders looked both delighted and bemused.
The dancers, mainly students from the University of East London, clicked their fingers, stamped their feet and shook their bodies to a mix of funky beats including Queen's We Will Rock You and popular dance hit Show Me Love.
Performing fast arm movements known as waacking, the group got increasingly bigger as they performed a series of formations in front of the Palace.
University of East London dance student Lucy Sam, 19, from Birmingham, said the choreography had been inspired by the royal wedding and explored romance using urban dance techniques
"Our theme was Romeo and Juliet because of the royal wedding. It's just to celebrate Kate and William and their love," she said.
"It was an amazing opportunity that I didn't want to miss out on. Everyone was so excited but the nerves didn't hit us until today.
"We used different styles of dancing like waacking, house, locking and commercial, so that was good. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the crowd loved it. It was definitely successful," Miss Sam added.
Sightseer Tom Accor, 22, from Turin, Italy, said the cameras and mounting anticipation had made him think "something big" was about to happen.
"I saw the cameras before and thought it would be the Queen or Kate and William arriving but this was very surprising," he said.
"The different ways of dancing were unexpected. The music was cool, it really got you moving.
"We were just sitting taking photos and then it was there with all the clapping."
The flashmob was secretly planned by Buckingham Palace to mark tonight's royal reception which will honour young people in the performing arts.
The event will be hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and will include a specially commissioned theatre performance in the Ballroom, inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet. link
Oh man, I loved it. How original! Amazing! Buckingham Palace was a great choice of place to do that. Keep up the good work.. Of all the London attractions this was surprisingly modern!