Despite the bad weather at the coronation ceremony of King Charles III. some Canadians stood proudly in the rain with their red and white flags.
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“My grandmother is English and was present at the coronation [de la reine] on black-and-white TV, so I figured I’d have to see it in person,” said Jeremy Keiton, 20, of Toronto.
With a friend from Vancouver who is studying with him in Belfast, England, the young man traveled more than 600 km to personally attend the celebrations for his English grandmother.
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“She has always followed the monarchy and has kept many of her English traditions. It means a lot to me to be there for her,” he continued.
A dream come true
In front of Buckingham Palace, Montreal native Noelle Attala, who now lives in Ottawa, realized her dream of attending a royal event.
“When the Queen died I thought there was going to be a coronation,” said the 34-year-old, who took the opportunity to travel to England for the first time.
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“I managed to see the royal carriage. The king’s face was hidden on the driveway, but on the way back I had a perfect view of both of them [souverains]and to Kate and her children too!” she exclaimed, smiling, her eyes sparkling.
The same goes for Leonard Lyn, who traveled all the way from Ontario with his family to attend the coronation in person. It arrived in the UK on Friday.
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“We wanted to take part in the global celebrations of the coronation of Canada’s King sitting on the Maple Throne,” he said with a smile.
“Being right in the heart of High Park during the coronation is wonderful. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said brother-in-law Steve of Fergus, Ontario, with the flag prominently displayed on his back.
An evening in the front row
Other motivated Canadians even camped out in the rain to set up a site of their choice for the passage of the royal carriage during the coronation.
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“It was wonderful. The place was full, people were in a good mood. Little kids, grandparents. People were singing. It was really beautiful,” said Catherine Roberts along with her daughter Madeleine Lavrence, who turns 21 on Sunday.
The two Newfoundland women, who now live near Hamilton, Ontario, attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last June.
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“We were there and it was his last public appearance. And then we got to his funeral and we waited in line for 11 hours to pay his respects,” added the royal family’s #1 fan.