LONDON — Bernadette Christie has had a front\u002Drow 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.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
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.
Since then, she has returned several times, most recently for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. Each time, she camps.Article content Christie says camping allows her to see things that many others don’t: late night ceremony rehearsals, early morning comings-and-goings of the Royal Family, and occasional acknowledgment from the royals themselves. But the main reason she does it is to be as close as possible to what she sees as history’s momentous events.
“There was an aura about her and she really connected with people like me,” she said. “She was going through things we were going through.”
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