With the preparations for the King’s Coronation now underway, one person is particularly ecstatic.
John Loughrey, a royal superfan from Streatham, has been camping out in London so he can experience the celebrations in full.
Mr Loughrey became fascinated by the royal family from the age of six, when he saw his mother reading magazines about Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend.
That interest has continued for 60 years and has seen him collecting huge amounts of royal memorabilia in that time.
His most recent purchase was a gold coin with the first portrait of King Charles III on it. Only 650 were made in total, and the collector’s item cost Mr Loughrey £5,500.
Mr Loughrey says he attends every big royal event, and that he even spoke to the Queen at the funeral of Princess Diana.
“I’ve been there for all of the royal family, for the sad times and the good times, for the crown,” he told the Standard.
“It’s the build up to the coronation that’s most exciting”, he said, explaining that the moment that will bring him the most joy will be seeing the new King appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
On Wednesday night, Big Ben was lit up with a series of projections to mark the occasion.
Images of the national flowers of all four home nations – a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock – were projected onto the London landmark in the Union Flag colours of red, white and blue.
While the words of the national anthem, ‘God Save the King’, appeared across the tower before the projection culminated with the coronation emblem, designed by Sir Jony Ive, a British product designer and chancellor of the Royal College of Art.
A rehearsal took place on Wednesday evening, with projections due every night from Thursday to Sunday at around 8.30pm until 11pm.
