ROCKFORD, Mich. (WOOD) — A Rockford woman will be among the crowds in London Saturday for the coronation of the new king of England.

“It wasn’t really planned to see the coronation, but it just happened and why not,” Kathleen Hanna said.

Hanna from Rockford will watch the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years.

“It’s a worldwide event and to be there and be present while something like this is happening, it gives me goose bumps right now just thinking about it,” she said.

She will be traveling with her daughter, a London trip they originally scheduled for a few years ago.

“This trip was planned three years ago when I was turning 60 but because of COVID and other private, personal family issues, it was postponed and then it was postponed again because of COVID and then it was postponed again because of health issues with family members,” Hanna said.

She’s looking forward to the pageantry that will be on display for in King Charles III’s coronation.

“The golden coach and all the coaches and all the regalia that they wear and it’s so tied to history and its so tied to the monarchy,” she said. “How could you not be interested in something like this?”

Her plan for where to view the event are still a work in progress.

“I want to get into Westminster Abbey but I’m not one of the 2,000 guests that were invited. Sad to say I’ve been waiting for the invitation but it hasn’t shown up in my mailbox,” she joked.

What she may be looking forward to the most is seeing how the British view the coronation during a time when the relevancy of the monarchy is being called into question.

“We don’t go to the restaurants where the tourists go. We find the restaurants where the locals go and strike up a conversation, sit down, talk with a waiter. Walk the streets. It would be a hoot to get into some of those crowds and to meet them,” Hanna said.