The royal premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Onward Christian soldiers, all the way to the London premiere of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third outing for the Narnia film franchise. It stars Simon Pegg, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Liam Neeson and Will Poulter and they all lined up for last night's big event
Photograph: Richard Young / Rex Features/Richard Young / Rex Features

Directed by Michael Apted, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows the fantastical sea voyage of the Pevensie kids, their irritating cousin and the noble Prince Caspian. It also features a lion called Aslan, who is actually God in disguise Photograph: Tim Rooke / Rex Features/Tim Rooke / Rex Features

The lion is voiced by Liam Neeson. His words are wise and his breath is warm and, when angered, he will roar and scratch Photograph: DANIEL DEME/EPA

God not enough of a draw? Not even a lion disguised as God and voiced by Liam Neeson? Happily the film features other characters too. Ben Barnes plays Caspian, while Georgie Henley stars as the gallant Lucy Pevensie Photograph: NEIL TINGLE/ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY/NEIL TINGLE/ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY

Fans of the first two Narnian adventures will recall that the hero was young Peter (played by William Moseley). Now, sad to report, Peter has been judged (by God) to be too old for such tomfoolery and Moseley must be content with a cameo role and an invite to the premiere alongside co-star Laura Brent Photograph: MAX NASH/AFP/Getty Images

Fans may also dimly recall the presence of a white queen, beautiful but evil, who enslaves Narnia in a blanket of snow and foists Turkish Delight on unsuspecting schoolboys. Annoyingly, she's not much in this film either, although the premiere was attended by Her Majesty the Queen Photograph: Jonathan Hordle / Rex Features/Jonathan Hordle / Rex Features

And what royal premiere would be complete without an appearance by X-Factor contestant Matt Cardle ... Photograph: NEIL TINGLE/ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY/NEIL TINGLE/ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY

... or indeed the former Wimbledon winner Boris Becker, the ravishing Victoria Swarovski and the luminescent Lilly Becker, who, as the name suggests, is married to the aforementioned Wimbledon winner? Photograph: Richard Young / Rex Features/Richard Young / Rex Features

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader also features a comical race of harmless grotesques called the Dufflepuds. But we digress. Here at the premiere are the legendary boy-band One Direction Photograph: Richard Young / Rex Features/Richard Young / Rex Features

Nestled deep within The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, viewers will also find a tragic dragon, who breathes smoke from his nose and is eventually ordered (by God) to scratch off all his scales. And here, just in time for the film to start, comes the Duke of Edinburgh Photograph: Jon Furniss/WireImage

The carpet is rolled, the dignitaries are on hand and the spectacle is about to unfold. God, in the guise of a lion, in the guise of Liam Neeson prepares to escort the Queen to her seat. Inside there will be soft drinks and popcorn and maybe a Bible thrown in for good measure Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA