LONDON (AP) — The coronation of a British monarch is a once-in-a-lifetime event for most, but not for an American woman who flew to London early Saturday for her second event.
Graham Burns, 83, of the small town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, told NBC News on Saturday that he was 13 when he came to London with his sister for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
Now he is back with his family to see the rare sight of a monarch’s coronation procession once more.
“It was very moving to see her in the golden carriage,” he said, referring to the same Golden State carriage in which King Charles III and Queen Camilla will slowly drive to Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
«Winston Churchill passed, we saw the queen, she was a very popular person,» he added.
She said until she has a program for the day, in perfect condition.
Accompanied by her sons Jim, Lee and his wife Andrea, Burns’ day began at 3 am (10 pm ET) Thursday. The four waited patiently for the procession on The Mall, a grand processional route that runs from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square in central London.
Tiredness didn’t seem to be a problem.
“I’ve had a smile on my face since we got here,” Burns said.
The family had to get past an officious security staff, who had warned them that they would not make it to the front of the barrier on The Mall, or that they would have to wait in line to access the crowded viewing area.
But just like in 1953, when Burns and her sister got a place in the stands that had been built for the occasion, she had a front row seat.
“I kept saying, ‘Let’s go see that golden carriage,’” he said.