Charlotte Varcoe
SEVERAL months after ascending to the throne, King Charles III will don a long, shimmering gold-sleeved coat to his coronation tomorrow.
Weighing about two kilograms, the coat was originally created for George V in 1911 and was worn at successive coronations, including King Charles’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Many are expected to tune into the coronation, a first since Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953, including Mount Gambier/Berrin resident Valerie Earl.
Ms Earl has been following the events of the Royal Family since she can remember after growing up in what she described as a “very British” supporting family.
“My grandmother was very interested in anything to do with Britain and there was a farming paper back in those days with a page called News of the World and if there was a picture of the Royal Family she would cut it out and put it in a box,” Ms Earl said.
“I have still got the box but I think that was where I started getting interested in it.”
Ms Earl has since been collecting memorabilia in regards to the Royal Family and was hoping family travelling to England before the coronation would purchase more for her.
“We were very pro-British and with the Royal Family being the matriarchy I was always interested because it is about history,” she said.
“I do not collect as much memorabilia now so I will pick and choose a few things but I am looking forward to watching the coronation because it will be interesting to see how it has changed from Queen Elizabeth’s.”
Despite not watching Queen Elizabeth’s coronation herself, Ms Earl said she recalled the royal visit to Mount Gambier in 1954.
“We went to see the Queen and Duke which was a big day for Mount Gambier,” she said.
“I also saw her once in England when my brother was a student at the New College in Edinburgh and she came to open the Church of Scotland assembly.
“We also took students to Portland to see Lady Diana and Prince Charles when they came here too.”
Looking forward to the coronation, Ms Earl said it was exciting leading up to the event.
“King Charles has big shoes to fill because duty was her second name but it is all rather exciting,” she said.
Her friend and fellow Royal Family enthusiast Margaret Conlan said she remembered Queen Elizabeth’s coronation while living in Britain herself.
Ms Conlan was a young girl when the Queen held her coronation and said she remembered the street party with bunting and food out for all to share.
“I remember my mum made me a red, white and blue dress to wear and I still have the spoon all children were given as a momentum,” Ms Conlan said.
“We have always been royalists in our family.”
Moving to Australia at the age of 19, Ms Conlan soon made their way to Mount Gambier/Berrin after completing her teaching degree in Adelaide.
Looking forward to King Charles’s coronation, Ms Conlan said it was the pomp, ceremony and costumes she was eager to see.
“I like all the pomp and ceremony and costumes and if there is the changing of the guards on television I will watch that, with the Queen’s funeral I loved how all the organisation into that was precise,” she said.
“A lot of people think the costumes are silly now but I love it because I am very traditional.”
Ms Conlan said she believed she would “get more out of” King Charles’s coronation when compared to the Queen’s and never thought about whether she would witness another coronation in her lifetime.
“Nobody ever thought the Queen would die, she just kept going and when it happened it was a real shock,” she said.
“People never thought King Charles would become King but now he is and depending on how long he lives this may be the final coronation I see.”
The Coronation of King Charles III can be viewed on several television channels from 5pm on Saturday May 6th or streamed online.
