WITH the coronation of King Charles III just around the corner, Newcastle locals have reflected on their memories of the last great royal affair of its kind - the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 1953.
In those days, Australia didn't have a full-time television service - many watched the coronation at special cinema screenings or with a rare ticket to the momentous occasion.
Adamstown resident Libby Maskey still has the ticket stub her late mother Fay Langwill bought at Australia House in the UK, when she worked as a nurse in London looking after David and Richard Attenborough's mother.
"It was not an easy thing to get," Ms Maskey said.
"I think they just went there and got lucky."
Ms Langwill was just 23 years old at the time, telling the Newcastle Herald in 2013 that "London was ablaze with flags and excitement".
She remembered sitting happily for hours in the rain waiting for a glimpse of the young queen as she passed in an elaborate coach on her way to Westminster to be crowned.
Ms Maskey said it was one of the biggest highlights in her mother's life.
"She just loved the royal family, nursing in London and all the things she did, being there for the coronation.
"Every Christmas Day she'd watch the Queen's speech, she was a royalist and a loyal subject.
"I think it was just amazing, it was such a big thing in her life."
This Saturday when the new king is crowned, Ms Maskey will be watching the ceremony alongside her family.
"Absolutely, I've got my tiara out," she said.
The crowning of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated with a big splash in the Newcastle Sun and Newcastle Morning Herald with headlines like 'Cockneys Give Tumultuous Welcome to Queen and Duke' and 'Rejoicing London Acclaims Crown Sovereign'.
King Charles III will be crowned inside Westminster Abby much like his predecessor, at 11am on Saturday.
Thousands are expected to gather at the event and on the streets of central London for a glimpse at the royals, among them will be Nulkaba resident Jan Hugo - Australia's biggest collector of royal memorabilia.
Queen Elizabeth II visited Newcastle four times during her reign, before she passed away in September 2022.
She first came to the city in February 1954, just two years after her coronation - arriving on the train at Newcastle Station where she was officially welcomed at City Hall before visiting No.1 Sportsground, BHP Steelworks, Stockton and Newcastle Airport with the Duke of Edinburgh at her side.
Lake Macquarie resident Dale Hennessy remembers the excitement of watching the coronation at the cinema.
"In those days there was no TV, and so when the movie of the coronation came out later that year, I think, it was very exciting," she said.
"We were mostly all royalists at that time and for us, with a British father, even more so.
"I can remember hearing 'nobody can put on pomp and ceremony like the British' - it was like a fairytale."
Queen Elizabeth II returned to Newcastle in 1970 to open the International Sports Centre, and visited again in 1977 to open Newcastle Art Gallery.
Her last visit was in May, 1988 when she opened Queens Wharf on the Newcastle harbour.
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