Canadian camping in London for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: ‘I want a front-row seat’
Global News
On Thursday afternoon, Bernadette Christie could be seen fast asleep on the ground beneath her Canadian flag, oblivious to the hundreds of people streaming by only a few feet away.
Bernadette Christie has had a front-row view of some of the biggest royal events of the last decade.
She has seen Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle walk into the church on their wedding days, watched Queen Elizabeth pass by in a golden carriage and met Prince William. Now, the 68-year-old from Grande Prairie, Alta., is camping in a tent for five nights in London to ensure she has the best spot outside Monday’s funeral.
“I want a front-row seat, or else there’s no point in putting all this effort in,” she said.
On Wednesday night, Christie was setting up her green tent in the shadow of Buckingham Palace, alongside a small group of fellow royal watchers she jokingly calls the “diehards.” In the coming days, she plans to move her tent as close as possible to Westminster Abbey, where the queen’s funeral will take place.
Together, the campers help each other pitch tents, share food, take turns guarding each other’s things and soak in the atmosphere of royal weddings, birthdays, jubilees and, in this case, funerals. In addition to her small tent, Christie’s luggage contained a whole bunch of Canadian flags. Her nails are painted red and white, and she showed off the Canadian flag poncho that she sports at royal events.
Christie’s first memory of the queen was when she dressed up in her Brownie uniform at age seven to see the monarch during a royal visit to Canada. After that, she followed the Royal Family over the years through the queen’s Christmas messages, or joining the crowds during their Canadian visits, in between raising four children.
But when the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton – now Prince and Princess of Wales – came around in 2011, she decided it was time to go in person.
“I said to my husband: ‘All I want for Christmas is an airline ticket to England,’” she said in an interview Wednesday night.
Saskatchewan RCMP are set to provide an update on the quadruple homicide that occurred on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation on Feb. 4.
The veteran linebacker/defensive back was part of Edmonton general manager Ed Hervey's deep dive into CFL free agency earlier this month.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the purchase of 500,000 vaccines are a 'proactive' measure to ensure the doses are ready if they need to be used.
Barlow spent the 2024 season as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The city approved the application at a committee of adjustment hearing Tuesday evening.
With Canada’s new fentanyl czar in place, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said the next step is to designate criminal cartels as terrorist entities.
A total of 80 new stores are expected to be built in 2025, with about 50 of them set to be discount grocers, while 300 existing grocery and pharmacy locations will be renovated.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the 1,000-kilometre track will see electric trains travel up to 300 kilometres per hour between Toronto and Quebec City.
More delays and cancellations to and from Toronto Pearson airport continue on Wednesday amid a backlog from the Delta plane crash and two major winter storms.
Reducing interprovincial barriers could open up new markets for Ontario's electricity that are insulated from ongoing trade uncertainty with the United States, the report said.
There are calls for New Brunswick to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in the province, much like neighbouring Nova Scotia has done.
Financial data published by Elections Canada shows Carney raised $1.9 million for his leadership bid for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Avery Family Farms began operating in September 2023 after two years of construction. The concept for the business was born during the COVID-19 pandemic.