King Charles III’s coronation will take place in London on Saturday morning, and some Chicagoans aren’t going to let 4,000 miles of distance from the crown stop them from celebrating.
Tasha Kreft, who moved to the United States in 2010, said she’s planning to watch the coronation live from R Public House in Rogers Park. She said the pub will open at 4:30 a.m. The ceremony begins at 5 a.m. Chicago time.
Kreft said she’s interested in the occasion’s place in history. She said many Brits have been mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and anticipating the reign of the new king.
“We never know what a monarch is going to be like,” Kreft said. “To be able to witness the start of it is a very rare thing in British history.”
Still, a recent poll by BBC News found that 70% of British people 18 to 35 are “not at all interested” in their country’s royal family. U.K.’s YouGov polling company sought to capture attitudes toward the monarchy in Britain ahead of the coronation.
Lucy Pask, who moved to the U.S. over 10 years ago and founded the Brits in Chicago Facebook Group, said she grew up pledging to do her duty to queen and country, but the idea of royalty never sat right with her.
“I think that’s why I always wanted to live in America,” Pask said. “You wouldn’t put up with this. This would not fly.”
She said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pretty universally disliked by her British friends and family back home. She credited a combination of anti-Americanism, “stupidity” and British media bashing for their opinions, but also said that from the perspective of someone who has moved to the U.S., some of the comments Harry has made about the differences between living in the U.K. and the United States have resonated with her.
“Anybody who decided to get away from the U.K. probably has a soft spot for that,” she said.
While she’s “marking the occasion” this weekend, Pask said she’s not planning to wake up early and watch the coronation as it happens. Instead, she’ll watch the highlights.
Given the economic and political environment of England today, with National Health Service nurses striking and the growing number of anti-monarchists, Pask said she’s curious to see what will happen this weekend.
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She also said “times are tight” in her home country. Watching the coronation doesn’t feel right considering how her family is living at the moment, she said, and she’s definitely “not feeling celebratory.”
“It doesn’t feel right to be clapping,” Pask said. “I don’t feel right being excited about such an ostentatious show of wealth.”
Nevertheless, Pask said she’s “a bit homesick” going into the weekend. She’s making herself a full English breakfast when she wakes up Saturday.
She said she’ll let the meal lead the morning and will focus on connecting with home and talking to her family in the U.K. about the day. She’ll also try talking to her children about the coronation if they’re interested, “but they’re American,” without any connection to the royals, she said.
They will also likely see other kings crowned in their lifetimes, she said. Saturday’s ceremony will be for them just another talking point such as the Met Gala or the finale of “Love is Blind” on Netflix, she said.
Colin Cordwell, owner of the British-themed Red Lion Pub at 2446 N. Lincoln Ave., said he expects to get a few people in the door this weekend wanting to watch or discuss the coronation.
He said the bar will hold an observation, not a celebration, of the event. The Red Lion won’t be opening earlier in the day, but Cordwell will mark the occasion with a special cocktail, he said. The drink, an Entente Cordiale, is made with gin, white vermouth and St-Germain liqueur with juice from oranges, limes and lemons, he said.
“It won’t be a tremendously exuberant celebration,” Cordwell said. “Although I am a bit of a royalist myself.”
Cordwell said he last held an observation after the queen died. Although he was a big admirer of Queen Elizabeth and “quite sad” when she passed, he said that Charles is attempting to connect with the people.
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He said the new king has long searched for his place within the royal family and “the universe.”
“I think it’s taken him a long time to do it, but he’s done it,” Cordwell said.
The Globe Pub in Irving Park will open at 5 a.m. Saturday, according to a Facebook announcement, for those looking to watch the coronation in real time.
For others, though, the coronation celebrations are already underway.
On Thursday afternoon, the British Consulate hosted an afternoon tea at the Palm Court of the Drake Hotel, where both Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana have stayed.
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On Sunday, St. James Cathedral in River North will hold a celebratory service. Monday will be a day of service in the United Kingdom, so the consulate will be volunteering with students, some of whom are refugees of the war in Ukraine, at the St. Nicholas Cathedral School in Ukrainian Village to honor Charles’ commitments to working with children and diverse communities, Alan Gogbashian, British consul general for Chicago said.
He said opportunities to celebrate the coronation in the city are many because of King Charles’ connection to Chicago. He’s visited the city on two occasions, and he cares greatly about the issues that matter most to Chicago residents, he said.
“When it comes to climate action, when it comes to sustainability, when it comes to caring for the environment, when it comes to celebrating and supporting diversity — these are all issues that Chicagoans care about,” Gogbashian said. “I think a lot of what Charles represents in terms of things that he’s passionate about resonates with Chicago residents.”
And for the Daughters of the British Empire, celebrations will continue through summer.
Jackie Lewin, the organization’s state president, said that one of the chapters held a British fair on Wednesday in Naperville to promote English goods. To celebrate the coronation, though, the group is planning a tea for the month of July, she said.
“The day of the coronation — we just felt that people really wanted to sit down and watch it themselves,” she said.
The tea will feature a life-size cutout of King Charles and decorations. She said there will be raffles with baskets of British items.
Lewin said she’s also attending a gathering Saturday evening to watch a recording of the coronation. She said she chooses to celebrate British occasions to connect with other Brits living in the U.S.
“I’m British, and it’s part of me,” she said. “It’s wonderful to celebrate these events, even though I live here now. I guess it’s the feeling of camaraderie with other British people.”
