'Makes me proud to be British': Gun salute celebrates King Charles' coronation in Guelph

The City of Guelph and members of the Canadian Armed Forces marked the coronation of King Charles III with a celebratory gun salute Saturday.

Charles was crowned king Saturday morning in a ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey.

In Guelph, gunfire rang out from York Road Park around 11 a.m. to welcome the new monarch to the throne.

“It’s nice to see the Guelphites out and supporting the military and the politicians,” said Guelph resident Richard Haddleston.

Guelph seems a particularly apt place to hold the 21-gun salute.

It is known as The Royal City because it takes its name from the Guelph family lineage of King George IV, who was the monarch when the city was founded.

Captain Nick Besterd with the Canadian Armed Forces said the event’s turnout was “a really nice surprise.”

“Obviously we had great weather so that’s a huge reason,” Besterd said. “We probably had some foot traffic that stopped on by and it was nice to see them stay.”

The event took place at York Road Park. (Hannah Schmidt/CTV Kitchener)

The King’s coronation is a special moment for fans of the royal family.

“I’m a generation that is probably part royalist because of my former family members who are all of first or Second World War,” Haddleston said. “I can tell by the generations who’s really interested.”

For sisters Christine and Jo Marsden, the coronation hits close to home.

“We were up at half past three this morning to watch the celebrations. So yeah, it’s great, absolutely wonderful,” Jo said.

The sisters both recently moved to Guelph from Manchester, England. The duo attended the salute in their home country’s colours.

“It was just really special to see everybody just celebrate King Charles this way – and the 21 gun shots – I’m sure all of Guelph heard that,” Christine said.

Jo worked for Her Majesty the Queen for many years and says seeing the number of people celebrating her British heritage was heartwarming.

“It kind of makes me proud to be British and to be part of it,” Jo said. “Canada is part of The Commonwealth so it’s really nice and humbling to actually see this all happening.”

A salute to the new King is what people like Besterd call an honour to be part of.

“It was quite amazing to be a part of this and see it all happen,” he said. “It’s nice to see the city, the citizens especially, with their royal ties, engaging in an activity like this.”

As for the Marsdens, they have already made preparations for a weekend of British-filled festivities.

“My nephew… lives in London so he’s been watching it all there, so we’ll connect with family and have our own celebration,” Christine said.

It was one of several events organized around the region to mark Charles’ accession to the throne.