King Charles II’s coronation will take place this weekend at Westminster Abbey in London. With scores of dignitaries from across the planet in attendance, it’s also expected to be watched by about 350 million around the world.
And yes, that will include some very early risers in Idaho. The coronation gets underway at approximately 4 a.m. MT.
“It's a oncelifetime opportunity to witness a piece of history,” said Cathy Rushton, Idaho state president of Daughters of the British Empire. “And we're looking forward to seeing how the how the ceremony is going to reflect the role of the monarch in the changing world.”
Rushton and Victoria Sunderland, regent of one of the Idaho chapters, visited with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about their organization, being loyal royal watchers and how they might not mind a bit of “tittle-tattle” but Prince Harry’s recent tell-all book “was a bridge too far.”
Read the transcript below:
GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. Good morning. I'm George Prentice. Heir to the throne for 70 years, the world will watch the coronation of King Charles III later this week, as Charles is formally proclaimed Britain's new monarch. Among the many viewing parties across the globe will be Daughters of the British Empire. So, this morning, we're going to spend some time with Cathy Rushton and Victoria Sunderland, daughters of the British Empire. Good morning to you both.
CATHY RUSHTON: Good morning.
VICTORIA SUNDERLAND: Good morning.
PRENTICE: Cathy Rushton, state president in Idaho. Truth be told, I have been familiar with Daughters of the American Revolution. But tell me about Daughters of the British Empire. Is there a qualification?
RUSHTON: Well, it's a national organization, so it's throughout the United States. And we're a British and Commonwealth of Nations’ women's organization. We are open to women who are of British or Commonwealth birth or ancestry or through marriage. And we like to promote our heritage. We have companionship. We meet for companionship and fun, and we also support charities.We support local charities. And then the has three senior living facilities in different regions of the United States. And we are in the Western region. We support a senior living facility in California.
PRENTICE: And there are two chapters in Idaho.
RUSHTON: Yes, that's right. So, Victoria is Regent of the Crown Jewels chapter. And then we also have the Tea Rose chapter, which is mainly based in Meridian and points slightly further west.
PRENTICE: Victoria Sunderland, Regent sounds extremely important and very formal. Tell me what the Regent is responsible for.
SUNDERLAND: The Regent just organizes our monthly meetings. We meet on the second Tuesday of every month. We have about 40 members in Boise. We're quite active, so we always like to encourage people to come to meetings by producing food. If you provide food, they will come. And one of the things that we all miss about, because most of us have lived outside the British Isles for many, many decades now. But the thing that we miss the most is the food. And luckily, that's easy enough to replicate. So we will rush through a bit of business. The business depends on how much charity work we are doing or social events that we have organized. And as soon as we finish the business part of the meeting, we get on to the real reason that we're there, which is to have a good natter and some delicious food to eat.
PRENTICE: I have to assume very, very good tea.
SUNDERLAND: We are very good at making tea. We make it in vast quantities. Our cupboards are never bare of teabags.
PRENTICE: Victoria, can I ask your tea of choice?
SUNDERLAND: I am originally from Yorkshire in the north of England and there is a tea called Yorkshire Tea. Its claim to fame is that it's made to suit Yorkshire water and Yorkshire people. So I'm not too sure whether the water in Boise is the same, but the tea still tastes very good to me and I can buy it from Albertson's, so I do.
PRENTICE: Kathy, do you have a tea of choice?
RUSHTON: You know, I prefer PG Tips. I'm from Derbyshire, so maybe it's a regional thing, but yes, PG Tips is my is my tea of choice.
PRENTICE: So can we dish just a little bit? Do you watch The Crown like the rest of us?
RUSHTON: Oh, yes.
SUNDERLAND: Me too. We might claim that we don't that we're not interested in that sort of tittle tattle, but we all watch it.
PRENTICE: So, tittle tattle. Is that what I think it is? Is that…over-the-fence gossip?
SUNDERLAND: Yes.
PRENTICE: Can I ask if either of you read the excerpts or the book by Prince Harry?
RUSHTON: I have not. And even if I had, I don't think I'd confess to it.
SUNDERLAND: That's a bridge too far for me. I have not read it and I don't intend to.
PRENTICE: But I have to assume that I'm not the first person to ask you about reconciling some of the very real drama, right. Surrounding the family.
SUNDERLAND: I get asked about it all the time. And I work in health care and it's a favorite question of patients. They will ask me, what do I think about the royal family? And what I usually tell them is they may be royal and they may be very special in some ways, and they may have privileges that ordinary families don't have. But if you think about your own family, you can probably tell the tale. Tell a tale that's very similar to what's going on in their family. And it kind of makes us all realize that deep down, we're all the same. We all have issues.
RUSHTON: I think that was a great answer. And I have to say that I try not to say too much when people ask about the reconciliation of the royal family or the splits within it. It's kind of not my business.
PRENTICE: I pride myself as being an early, early, early riser and the coronation this coming Saturday begins 4 a.m. our time. But I have to assume that you'll both be up and watching.
RUSHTON: Oh, absolutely. Yes. I got up very, very early to watch the sad occasion of the queen's funeral, so. And then spent hours glued to the television watching that. And then we'll be definitely be up early to watch the coronation at 4 a.m. or even before that, because I think the service starts at 4 a.m. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a piece of history. And we're looking forward to seeing how the how the ceremony is going to reflect the role of the monarch in the in the changing world and seeing how they're going to bring in features from the modern world as long as well as long standing traditions and the pageantry, of course, which is extremely important and great to watch.
SUNDERLAND: Um, we've talked about this at about whether we should all get together to watch the coronation. And in the end, we decided we will all get up really, really early to watch it. But we've kind of rather do that at home in our pajamas rather than have to go to some public place and do it. So we will watch the coronation on our own at home. But then on the Sunday, on the day after the coronation, there is an event that's being publicized a lot in the United Kingdom and throughout the British Commonwealth, which is called the big lunch. And this is where you get together and we are going to have a picnic. We're going to have a potluck picnic to participate in the big lunch where we can chat away as much as we want about our favorite parts of the ceremony and what we liked and what we didn't like and who wore this and who wore that and who were the most important people there. And we expect to have a wonderful time.
PRENTICE: What's on the menu? I've heard of Coronation Chicken Salad?
SUNDERLAND: I'm hoping somebody will bring that coronation. Chicken was a was a dish that was invented for the queen's coronation in the 1950s. And it was it reflected the diversity of food available throughout the British Commonwealth. We don't know yet what is going to be the signature dish of Charles's coronation. And so I don't think anybody would be able to bring that to our picnic. But I'm expecting to see some coronation chicken there. And of course, we'll have scones and sausage rolls and all the good old English stuff, shortbread, biscuits, you name it, we'll have some.
PRENTICE: Cathy I'm assuming that for more than a few people listening… do you have roots to the British Isles? And so how do people reach out and possibly join?
RUSHTON: So there are a couple of ways you can find us online. We have a website which is idaho.org, and we also have a very active Facebook page where we try and post on a regular basis… things that are of interest to people from the Commonwealth and from the from the United Kingdom. And you can contact us through our Facebook page. We do have meetings, both chapters have meetings once a month, and then we also have other social get-togethers we try and get together for, you know, a glass of wine or a picnic and we're having a pub quiz. We have our annual The Crown Jewels chapter has an annual fundraiser of a British afternoon tea. And that was that will be coming up in… what month is that Victoria?
SUNDERLAND: It's going to be in October. On October the 14th this year. Yes. And it's all we always sell out and we make all of the food ourselves.
RUSHTON: So find us through Facebook or find us online.
PRENTICE: I must confess to my own roots deeply entrenched in Ireland. That said, I will be right there with you early, early, early Saturday for the big event. And for that and especially for Sunday's big lunch. Have a grand time. And I'm extremely grateful to Cathy Rushton and Victoria Sunderland for giving us some time this morning.
SUNDERLAND: Thank you, George.
RUSHTON: Bye bye, Victoria.
Find reporter George Prentice on Twitter @georgepren
Copyright 2023 Boise State Public Radio