Despite overcast skies and drizzling rain, hardy souls emerged from their tents, and others began to flock to central London on Saturday morning to witness the coronation ceremony of King Charles III.

Among those already in position were friends Bryant and Alicia from Mobile, Alabama, who arrived in London on Thursday.

“I’ve been following the royal family since Will and Kate’s wedding and looked forward to the coronation one day,” Alicia told CBS News.

“We met good friends,” Bryant added.

“It’s wonderful, especially all the people from all over the world!” Alicia said.

Denise, from Fall River, Massachusetts, also arrived on Thursday and spent the night camping at a mall near Buckingham Palace to reserve a good viewing spot.

“I just love the royal family, I’ve been following them for years and wanted to be a part of that story,” she told CBS News, adding that she thought King Charles would make a good monarch.

“I think he will follow in his mother’s footsteps with a few changes. He will contribute to it, but he is a traditionalist,” she told CBS News, adding that she has always felt a connection to the British royal family.

“I always said I was born on the wrong side of the pond,” she told CBS News.

Camilla, Queen Consort, will wear the crown of Queen Mary at the coronation of King Charles on May 6, 2023. Buckingham Palace, the accessory was removed from display in the Tower of London for modification, marking the first time a queen consort’s crown was reused since the 18th century. (As a rule, a new order is made for the accessory.) The Queen Mother (the mother of Queen Elizabeth and grandmother of Charles) previously wore this jewelry at the coronation of King George VI in 1937.

While Buckingham Palace has detailed some of the changes that will be made to the jewelery on the piece originally created by Garrard – for example, the crown will be replaced with Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds from Queen Elizabeth II’s personal collection. , which she often wore as brooches; and four arches would be removed – the gem that was originally in focus caused the initial controversy leading to these final decisions.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond in question, which will now be replaced, was first brought to the UK by the former East India Company. Although it ended up being part of the Queen Victoria collection, some Indians called for it to be returned because it had been taken over by colonization. Meanwhile, people in Pakistan and Afghanistan have also tried to claim ownership of the gem.

Prior to the Queen Mother’s 1937 crown, which is reported to be 2,800 diamonds, the Koh-i-Noor diamond was part of the coronation crown of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, in 1902. wearing yet another crown for yet another coronation ceremony – this time for Queen Mary, wife of King George V.

Ahead, see how the crown came into being in 1937 and watch this space to see its transformation on Camille for the coronation on May 6, where His Majesty the King will wear the Crown of St. Edward, which has already been changed.

— Additional report by Sarah Vassilak