A Whitefield community champion has described her visit to London as “surreal” after she was invited to watch the King’s coronation.
Rochelle Gardner, the community champion at Whitefield Morrisons, was selected from thousands of other nominees for finding new ways to support her local community.
She received her invitation almost a year after she was awarded a British Empire Medal, and six months after she met King Charles at Morrisons' head office in Bradford.
She said: “I arrived in London for the coronation on the Friday and it was red, white and blue everywhere you looked.
“The energy was incredible with people walking around with flags on their shoulders and a real feel of excitement in the air.”
Rochelle had to be up by 5.30am the next day and out by 6.30am for a 20-minute walk to Westminster Abbey.
Community champion invited to coronation after meeting King Charles last year
She said: “Doors opened at around 7.15am and we had to queue over the bridge to get in.
“Then we had security checks and we were seated just before 9am, meaning we had a lot of time to people watch and see all the dignitaries and celebrities coming in before it started at 11am.”
Seated in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Gallery, Rochelle added that although her view was not as clear as the one on the screen, the sound was what set the event apart.
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She said: “I had goosebumps every time ‘God Save the King’ was said.
“Everyone was following the service and the words were all spoken in unison so the sound it made was just incredible.
“I made it one line into the national anthem and then I was gone, the power and energy of everyone’s voices together just completely choked me up as well as the realisation that I was a part of this historic event.”
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Describing the day as both “emotional and surreal” even with the rain, Michelle added that it will be a day her grandchildren will most definitely hear about when they are old enough.
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