Not long after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, long-time royal watcher Janice Klymson turned to her husband and said: “I have an idea… Why don’t we go for the coronation? It’s on my bucket list.”
He agreed.
Klymson, a royal fan for more than 50 years, is thrilled to be travelling to London to attend the coronation.
“I feel so much that they bring and shine a light on so many issues and bring people together around those issues that politicians could never do,” Klymson, who works in the financial services industry, said in a telephone interview from Toronto.
For Klymson, the fascination began in 1981 when her mother woke her up to watch the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales.
“I was even there for the famous photo from 1991 of Princess Diana and her sons where she is hugging them as she arrives on the Royal Yacht Britannia in Toronto! I have personally met King Charles in 1996 and also Princess Diana in 1991 when each visited Toronto,” Klymson explained.
After the 1996 encounter with then-Prince Charles, after which she was interviewed by CTV News, she appeared in the newspaper the next day with the wording: “Canada wouldn’t be Canada without the Royal Family.” Does she still believe that?
“Yes 100 per cent. …If you actually watch what they do, they highlight and bring tremendous visibility to many different causes. They have an ability to rise above the political fray.”
Klymson is one of many Canadians who reached out to CTVNews.ca to say they will be travelling to the U.K. for the historic occasion.
'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME"
“I said this year no matter what we’re going to the coronation whenever it happens to come about,” Ian Talbot told CTVNews.ca over the telephone.
Ian and his wife Mairi both work in health care in Kingston, Ont.
Their travels commemorating the royals began with the 2011 marriage of William and Catherine.
Since then, they also travelled to the U.K. for the Diamond Jubilee, Harry and Meghan's wedding and the funeral of the late Queen.
For the coronation, the Talbots plan to set up a spot at St. James Park where they’ll picnic together with their daughter and grandchildren who will be joining them from Germany.
“For us it’s probably once-in-a-lifetime. We may be able to go over and see William’s coronation, in another 20 years,” Talbot said, adding “The entire family seems to have a good long healthy life.”
As for his thoughts on Charles as King, Talbot says he’s come a long way and become “a person of the people. … I think he will be an excellent bridge between his mother and William.”
'WOULDN'T IT BE FUN TO GO TO LONDON?'
Catherine Doyle and Elizabeth Hale, best friends since attending Carleton University together in the 1990s, have planned a week-long trip to London especially for the coronation.
Doyle, a partner at a PR agency in Montreal while Hale lives in Ottawa, says you won’t find two more “enthusiastic and knowledgeable royal watchers” than them. In fact, her own pet corgi’s name is Windsor, she confesses with a laugh. Queen Elizabeth II had a long-time affection for the short-legged dog breed, herself owning dozens of them over her lifetime.
“When the Queen died we were texting back and forth all day long and throughout the week and then we said to one another … wouldn’t it be fun to go to London for the coronation?” she said in a telephone interview.
Their plan is to scope out a place to stand for the procession, with their Canadian flags in tow, and then find street parties they can join and participate in.
“I hope the weather’s nice. I hope it’s just beautiful and we can see the flags on the Mall and the carriages go by… because it’s just such a stunning city to begin with.”
A COVENANT CHAIN OF FRIENDSHIP
Claudine VanEvery-Albert, from Six Nations of the Grand River, in Ontario, will be attending the coronation as part of a group of royal history buffs.
VanEvery-Albert, a trustee of the Grand River District School Board and a former educator, says there is a long history of her people the Haudenosaunee being allies and not subjects of kings and queens “because we always fought on the side of the British as far back as prior to the American Revolution (between 1765 and 1791).”
“We fought alongside them in the War of 1812 and the First World War and the Second World War,” said VanEvery-Albert, who is a member of Six Nations, Mohawk Nation Turtle Clan.
She also remarked on the symbolic silver Covenant Chain of friendship between her people and the British, derived from the metaphor of a silver chain holding the English sailing ship to the Haudenosaunee. In fact, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Toronto in 2010, she gifted the Six Nations group a set of silver bells on July 4, American Independence Day.
“Meaning, without saying, that she was polishing the chain because she knew we fought on the side of the British during the American Revolution,” said VanEvery-Albert, whose Mohawk name is Yakowennatoken.
“As the Queen grew older I said to my family: 'the Queen’s going to die pretty soon and when she does I’m either going to her funeral or I’m going to the coronation of King Charles'.”
Her family members also expressed interest, and as soon as she learned the date, she booked the trip for the group, comprising four adults and two children.
Their plan is to stake a spot right at the beginning of the Mall, bearing flags, one of which is the Haudenosaunee Hiawatha flag, and another one that says “Every Child Matters.”
In light of the impact of British colonialism on the Indigenous, VanEvery-Albert said, “I think King Charles is a savvy thinker and realizes what the colonial history has been and is trying to move away from it.”
'SHOW MY SUPPORT AS A YOUNG CANADIAN'
Xander Fallis, a 19-year-old history and political science student at McGill University, is excited to be travelling to London to witness this “once-in-a-lifetime historic event.”
“The world hasn’t seen a coronation in so long I think it’s a really unique opportunity. … And also to show my support as a young Canadian to our new King.”
He’s had an appreciation for the Crown since he was a young boy thanks to his shared interest in history with his grandfather.
When the King and Queen, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, visited Ottawa last year, Fallis was there to witness Charles laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He had with him a medal from the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, which had been given to his great-great-grandfather The Honourable Hewitt Bostock P.C., speaker of the Senate under Prime Minister Mackenzie King. Hewitt, who moved to B.C. from England, also served in his cabinet for a brief time.
“As the now King walked along the road shaking hands he noticed the medal and stopped to speak with me briefly about it,” said Fallis.
“He asked me a few questions and shook my hand,” he recounted. “It was very surreal, one of the coolest experiences I have had.”
He’s attending the coronation, he says, because “despite their shortcomings, you could call them, and the checkered part of the monarchy, I think that’s its very important to Canada to have those ties to history and that connection to other countries via the Commonwealth and a shared head of state.”
'I'VE ALWAYS BEEN MESMERIZED'
Ashley Walton Bird and her husband John Bird will be travelling to London from Fredericton, N.B. to mark their one-year anniversary.
Ashley, who works in human resources for the provincial government, says she is eager to see the country where her late grandmother was born before immigrating to Canada as a child.
Their plans including attending a coronation-themed afternoon tea, then a ball at London’s Caledonian Club, which has an affiliation with the Royal Family and had a cameo in the recent season of The Crown.
Then on the morning of the coronation, they plan on getting up at the crack of dawn to get as close as they can to the action, bearing their New Brunswick flags.
What draws her to the Royal Family is their sense of duty and their longevity.
“Having that as a constant pillar even from where we are in Canada, I’ve always been mesmerized,” she said.
“I know that can be a hot debate among Canadians but I’ll always be on the side of monarchy having a place.”
'I WANT TO CAPTURE EVERY MOMENT'
Kathy Lee, who lives in Ottawa, is another one of the royal super fans who reached out to CTVNews.ca.
“Several years ago, my friend Elizabeth and I made a pact to attend the next coronation. When the date was announced we started making our plans,” she wrote in an email.
“Elizabeth and I both love London but don't love busy-London. We'd visited Bath back in 2001 and decided that would be our destination for the Coronation.”
Her plan is to spend several days in Bath, watch the coronation, which will be broadcast live at Bath Abbey, and then enjoy tea at a local establishment. Then they’ll head to Windsor and do a tour of the castle and pay their respects to the late Queen at St. George's.
“With the death of the late Queen, I've felt like I'm living through a major historical event and I want to capture every moment of it.”
