For people gathered at the Burgundy Lion pub in Montreal Saturday morning, the crowning of Charles III as King was one moment they did not want to miss.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime — hopefully once-in-a-lifetime — event,” laughed visiting British citizen Mandeep Kaur Sidhu.
It’s for that reason that dozens arrived at the English pub, many before 6 a.m., for a high tea viewing party, held in partnership with the British Consulate General Montreal as a way for British expats and Montreal supporters of the monarchy alike to share the experience.
“Of course, the monarchy is as much Canada’s as it is the United Kingdom’s,” Chloë Adams, British Consul General Montreal, told Global News. “We really wanted to come together and celebrate this shared moment in our history.”
For some in attendance it was a chance to revel in the pomp and pageantry, like Carrie MacPherson who said her grandmother got her hooked on anything to do with the royal family.
“She had all the royal books so, you know, as a little girl I would flip though them and I was like, princess, princess,” she laughed, “and I became obsessed.”
For others, like Sidhu, it was the nostalgia, and she refused to watch the event at home.
“What would be the fun in that?” she smiled. “Meeting other Brits from here, this is put on by the consulate, so, it’s just so nice to be in the pomp and have the tea and be around other Brits.”
Some, like Giane Atallah, a friend of MacPherson, had other reasons for showing up.
“I love dressing up, so this is a great occasion, right?” she laughed.
This enthusiasm about the monarchy, however, isn’t shared by all Canadians, and many see the institution as archaic and out of touch, and even point to its colonial history.
Some at Saturday’s event at Burgundy Lion argue, however, that any institution this old is bound to have aspects that are objectionable.
“It’s just never as black and white and as one-sided,” Sidhu reasoned.
She and others believe if the monarchy is to remain relevant, it must continue to evolve.