Coronations are part of the fabric of history, creating memories that will be passed down through the generations.
But for one couple, King Charles’ upcoming ceremony has an extra special meaning, and that’s because the pair first met at his late mother’s Coronation 70 years ago.
Don and Sheila Naldrett have been married for 67 years and live together in West Sussex, but their story began in a cafe in London on June 2, 1953.
Sheila, who was just 17 at the time, was in the centre of London with her best friend Janet to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation celebrations.
The then 19-year-old Don was also there – but for a very different reason.
Don was a Coldstream Guard who had been stationed in Tripoli but was called back to the UK to take part in the Coronation, during which he walked behind the Queen’s carriage.
Sheila, now 87, recalls the moment she first saw him in a cafe after the ceremony and claims it was “love at first sight”.
“I went into a coffee bar with Janet, and there were six or seven guardsmen and I spotted him straight away, he was so handsome,” Sheila told The Mirror.
The pair have been married for 67 years, together for 70 (
Image: Don and Sheila Naldrett)
“He says he saw me and told his friend ‘I’m gonna marry that one’ so it was truly love at first sight for both of us.
“We arranged a double date, but his friend couldn’t come and mine dropped out. So it was just us two, and we walked on Clapham Common and then went into a pub.
“He couldn’t believe I’d never been in a pub before but I was only 17 and a Sunday school teacher!”
Don and Sheila continued dating, but their courtship was cut short when Don was sent away again.
However, when he returned the following January, he wasted no time popping the question.
“We got engaged in a field in Steyning where he grew up. He got down on one knee too,” recalls Sheila.
The pair were overjoyed and married in Battersea on August 17, 1956. But neither of their parents were happy with the match given their different roots – she was a privately educated schoolgirl from London while he was from the Sussex countryside.
“As my dad walked me down the aisle he told me ‘I give this six months’, we definitely proved him wrong as we will have been married 67 years this August,” she added.
After tying the knot, Don and Sheila moved to Brighton and went on to have three children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
In 2021 they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary surrounded by their family and even received a card from the Queen to mark the occasion which they said was “lovely”.
The couple says they are “excited” to watch Charles’ Coronation tomorrow, but they will both be watching from home this time, instead of getting in amongst the action.