TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The royal family turned the page of a new chapter with the crowning of King Charles III Saturday.
The Pub Tampa held a viewing party Saturday morning and is holding a weekend-long celebration.
“King Charles III getting crowned king,” Allison Ponder explained as she watched the television screen.
“It’s pretty exciting,” her mother, Laura Erdman, said. “I remember seeing the wedding of William and Kate.”
“It’s a big deal, especially being here with [Ponder],” she said.
King Charles III was crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony built on ancient traditions.
In Tampa, families and friends gathered to celebrate the moment, reminiscing on traditions of their own.
“I saw when Charles and Diana got married, and I got up at 4 in the morning with my daughter watching the events and now my granddaughter,” Ponder’s grandmother, Cindy Erdman, said.
They got up early Saturday morning to get to The Pub Tampa right when it opened at 6 a.m.
“We are a British pub, and we are here in the United States of America,” Director of Operations Nick Stephan said. “We wanted to give everyone a chance to celebrate like they do over there.”
From the decorations to the scones, The Pub Tampa brought a little piece of home to those who have ties to the UK.
“My great aunt was at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation,” Janetze Hart said as she watched King Charles III’s coronation on the television.
“My mother was at an all girls school when Princess Elizabeth was crowned, and she was 16 at the time,” Hart’s sister, Christina Calkins, said. “[She] had a slumber party at the school to celebrate that.”
“Now 70 years later she’s 86 and she remembers when King Charles was born,” Calkins continued.
