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LONDON — A group of Utahns celebrated King Charles III's coronation in London on Saturday, the country's first coronation in 70 years.
Utahns studying abroad in the United Kingdom, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who traveled across the pond gathered to watch the historic event.
University of Utah graduate student Anna Daines is in London participating in an internship with parliament for her master's degree in public policy. She was part of the group who camped out on the Mall, the road in London that leads to Buckingham Palace.
"We had about 20-25 of us who were there, we're from the Britannia ward," she said. "We didn't really get any sleep, got up early Saturday morning, about 4 a.m., then we waited there for the procession that started around 10 o'clock."
She said there's only one event in the States that could compare to the coronation.
"You could compare it to a presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., and how they prep everything with the Mall there," Daines explained.
She and others saw each member of the British royal family in their carriages. They befriended Brits who sat nearby.
"They're very passionate about British history," Daines said. "They wanted to be right up in the very front and involved in all of it. It was really neat to be able to talk to them. They explained a lot to me that I didn't know about the coronation."
They listened to King Charles' coronation over loudspeakers and caught clips on livestreams.
"Hearing him say all the oaths and stuff, it's really, you're like, 'Oh my goodness, this is a big deal,'" said Piper Ledding, an incoming Brigham Young University student from Canada. "It also is deeply religious," Ledding said.
After he was crowned, they rushed to get the best view of the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
"It felt like I was adopted into a couple of British families I was standing near because you're all so huddled so close together," Ledding said.
She said she was surprised to see representatives of her county at the historic event.
"The Canadian Mounties came by on some of their horses with their special hats and all that, to hear everyone be like, 'Oh my goodness, wow, look at them!' It was really interesting because back home that's such a normal thing," she said.
"It was interesting to see how many people from the U.S. were there, from other countries," Daines added.
Though it's not their king to bow, they took in all of the pageantry and made memories of their own
"To be here and to be experiencing it firsthand and not just through a screen has been a really neat experience," Ledding said.
