I know. I know. We fought a war so we don’t have to care about this kind of event. There is no getting around that I have always been an Anglophile, though, and the coronation of King Charles III is a big deal. There are some fun and touching stories in the news coverage so far.

Let me be clear up front – I was a huge fan of Queen Elizabeth II. That is likely what drove a lot of my fondness for England. Also, my maternal family tree is all English with some of my ancestors coming over on the Mayflower. The family tree includes names recorded in history books. However, when it comes to Charles, well, I’ve never been impressed. He’s a weenie. And, he treated Diana badly. Your opinion may vary, but that is mine.

King Charles is making a tribute to Camilla with floral choices. He chose a flower he wore in his buttonhole during their wedding as part of the floral displays at Westminster Abbey for the coronation. The floral arrangements include hellebores, a favorite flower of the king’s. They will also include honeysuckle, tulips, blossom, jasmine, ranunculus, and aquilegia, an ancient symbol of the Holy Spirit. Also on display will be rosemary, birch, bay, hazel, and wild broom grown on the Isle of Skye. All were chosen because they are in season. An organization called Floral Angels is donating plants. They repurpose arrangements from events into bouquets and deliver them to hospices, shelters, and nursing homes. Camilla is the charity’s patron.

An interesting tidbit – there were no flowers in the Abbey during Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. There were only flowers on the processional route. Florist Shane Connolly said, ‘The Abbey was so full of people, and everyone wearing scarlet robes, that there was no place for flowers.”

Charles’s guest list for his coronation has been cut to 2,300. Queen Elizabeth’s was 8,000. So, there is plenty of room for flowers for this coronation. Flowers from the Farm, a non-profit that supports artisan growers, is providing foliage from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at the High Altar.

More than 120 varieties of flowers have been grown by 80 gardeners across the UK including in Cornwall and the village of Tobermore, Northern Ireland.

In line with the King’s passion for ‘sustainability’, the flowers and foliage will be arranged without single-use plastics or floral foam.

The arrangements will reflect Their Majesties’ deep affection for the natural world and their shared passion for gardening, and showcase the ‘best of the British countryside in the spring’.

Mr Connolly – who also did the flowers for the Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding – said his arrangements would ‘reflect the real characters of the King and Queen’.

It sounds like it will be a spectacular sight. The best parts of formal ceremonies are the pomp and circumstance and the setting. Westminster Abbey is rich in history. It’s a nice touch that all of the flowers are British-grown, not flown in from around the world.

Another story is that of two royal super fans – Donna Werner and Faith Nicholson. They met while camping out for the royal wedding of William and Kate and met up for Harry and Meghan’s wedding. They have reunited once again for the coronation. Donna is 71 years old and lives in Connecticut. Faith lives in Essex. They were among the first to secure spots on the Mall this week. They forged a friendship while camping out for four nights in 2011 for the wedding of William and Kate. Faith is 61 years old and the two have kept in touch throughout the years.

They spent four nights as campsite neighbors and instantly connected due to their ‘outgoing personalities’.

‘You just start talking to everybody that’s around you, saying “hey, will you watch my tent while I go get something to eat” and we just hit it off,’ Ms Werner said of their first encounter.

Ms Nicholson added: ‘And we’ve stayed in touch ever since.’

The pair reunited again, seven years later, when Harry married Meghan, and camped out. But unlike the first royal wedding, the pair had to rough it a bit.

‘They didn’t allow tents. So we just had to sleep right on the sidewalk with nothing over us,’ Ms Werner recalled. ‘That was pretty cold.’

That’s determination.

Nicholson is looking forward to seeing the king and queen in their golden coach and when they make their first appearance on the balcony. Werner wants to see them when they come back from Westminster Abbey after they are crowned king and queen.

Werner said the first time she came to the UK was in 1986 for the royal festivities when Andrew married Sarah Ferguson. She has been returning for royal events ever since. ‘People might think I’m obsessed, but I really enjoy it,’ she said.

Nicholson has gone to several royal events. Her first was the Silver Jubilee when she was 15. She showed up when Charles married Diana, Andrew’s wedding to Sarah, and several events that honored Queen Elizabeth II. She also camped out for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. She waited 16 hours in line to see her lying in state.

Yes, they are super fans.

Frontline workers will be honored with medals of recognition of their contribution to the king’s coronation.

More than 400,000 frontline workers, including ambulance workers and police, will receive a medal in recognition of their contribution to the King’s Coronation. https://t.co/UkVNNR2ynf

— Evening Standard (@standardnews) May 5, 2023

The medals are made of nickel silver and feature a picture of Charles and Camilla on one side and the royal cipher on the other side.