While royal-watchers in the Sault got up early to witness the televised Coronation of King Charles III Saturday, May 6, a couple of Northern Ontario residents were on hand in London, England, to take in the atmosphere of the event first-hand.
Maija Hoggett, the community editor of SooToday sister site TimminsToday.com, was accompanied on the trip by friend and fellow Timmins resident Cameron Grant.
The journalist travelled to England to visit with her sister Amelia, who lives just outside of London, and experience a historic event while she was at it.
“I mean, this is the first Coronation of our lifetime, it's the first Coronation of the 21st century,” Hoggett said. “It's pretty significant. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of Charles, but it was an experience I wanted to take in.”
Grant said he’s a “huge history fan,” so piggybacked on Hoggett’s trip to experience the “momentous occasion” of the Coronation.
They watched the Coronation on a television screen - in the rain - along with Londoners and fellow tourists in Hyde Park.
Despite the dreary weather, the mood in the park was “very celebratory,” said Hoggett.
“Any time things would come on (TV), people would do the cheer ‘God Save the King,’ which is very weird to say still,” she said.
“Basically it was typically what you would expect to see. There was bunting everywhere. Everyone was given a little Union Jack coming in so we can have the Coronation flag. But don’t ask me for it, because it was paper, so it doesn’t last very long. Even just walking around yesterday, there was random ‘hip, hip hooray’s.’
“Even with the rain, everybody was happy and excited. I mean, it's also probably alcohol-fuelled excitement by the end.”
Unfortunately, despite leaving to get to the event at 6:30 a.m., Hoggett and Cameron weren’t able to get close enough to the action to catch an in-person glimpse of the royals.
“People were camping out a week ahead of time,” said Hoggett. “We were not that hardcore. I very much appreciate being able to take in a piece of history live. However, we were not camping out.”
Grant said they could hear the cheers from the mall near Buckingham Palace, as well as witness the Royal Air Force fly-by.
“Knowing that the King and Queen were standing on the balcony looking at the same fly over that we were, you know, only a stone's throw away, I think was significant,” he said.
While the Coronation crowd was elated, the Northern Ontario residents were left wondering about the broader support for King Charles III and the royals.
“There are polls that show that the monarchy and Charles especially aren’t necessarily highly supported,” Hoggett said.
Grant said he thinks it’s going to be interesting in the future if the current Commonwealth countries, including Canada, “keep those ties” to the monarchy. “What will that look like?” he wonders. “We’ll all certainly be watching with interest.”
Besides taking in the Coronation, Hoggett and Grant have also visited Windsor Castle and enjoyed a high tea at Ivy Ristorante in London.
Sudbury.com caught up with them Sunday while they were in an Uber on their way to take in a Coronation performance by the London Philharmonic Symphony.
Grant, a violinist with the Timmins Symphony Orchestra who works for Ontario Power Generation for his day job, said that was on the top of his to-do list.
Shopping and eating London pub food - as well as visiting with family - are also on the agenda for their remaining time in London.
Heidi Ulrichsen is an associate content editor with Village Media, SooToday's parent company.