AT. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned Saturday in front of a worldwide audience.
That moment was celebrated in Northeast Florida at Kings Head British Pub in St. Augustine.
Dozens of people came to an English Afternoon Cream Tea.
Debra Veenema came with her friends.
She was born in London and still has family across the pond.
“I can remember my grandmother and mother talking about the Queen’s coronation when I was a child and how impactful that was today,” Veenema said. “They still talk about it years after that.”
In addition to the tea, the menu included traditional food, like egg and cress, scones and a choice of cake.
Deborah Turner and her daughter Brooke were so supposed to witness the coronation in person.
“We had tickets to go to London for the coronation but were unable to go at the last minute,” Turner said. “This was our second best [option]. To be here and celebrate with other people who are celebrating alone.
Events like this are typically observed at the pub, whether it is a royal wedding, birth or in this case, a coronation.
“It kind of takes me back a little bit,” Veenema said. “Back to that era where they had the same kind of thing that they were able to do.”
“Since we could not actually be in London today to celebrate, we thought we would come here and celebrate with other people,” Turner said. “What better way to have a tea party?”
It is a historic coronation that formally presented new leadership in England to the throne. The last coronation was 70 years ago when Queen Elizabeth II assumed the throne.