A royal-obsessed superfan who celebrated the Queen's coronation when she was only a teen will now mark the Platinum Jubilee with a flashy patriotic outfit.
Jean Topping, 88, said she was "so excited" to see Queen Elizabeth reach her regal milestone after raising a toast during her coronation at the age of 17. After spending many years collecting royal souvenirs such as cups and statues, the grandmum is now surrounded by mountains of memorabilia - including a ring embossed with Charles and Camilla's faces.
The grandmother-of-10 said she remember the coronation feeling like a "festival" where people all across the streets of Wigan were dancing and clapping. However, the widow plans to celebrate the "special moment" in a much more related manner surrounded by her family.
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"I’m so excited now we’re coming up to the jubilee. We were all thrilled when Elizabeth came to the throne. It was marvellous. It was beautiful. We were all clapping our hands and everything.
"So it will be a special moment for me to see the queen reach this new milestone."
Speaking about the coronation, Jean described how special the moment Elizabeth ascended the throne was - the first female monarch to do so since Queen Victoria.
She added: "It was really nice to know that princess Elizabeth was going to be Queen. It was like a festival. The war had only just ended in the 40s – and this was in 1952.
"People hadn’t got much, but I had some really good neighbours.
“They all helped one another in those little streets, in those terraced houses. They had flags out and bunting out and everything. All the tables were in the middle of the road, on the cobbles, and all the kids sat around them.
“I have a photo of my future mother-in-law in front of our little terraced house with a cake on it – and she’s giving us food. We had little sandwiches. We had lemonade and little fairy cakes and sausage rolls. It was a good day."
Speaking about her impressive royal collection, Jean said: "I have all the cups, and I even have a ring, a replica, with Prince Charles and Camilla on it. I also have a limited-edition statue of the queen mother.”
To mark the Jubilee, Jean said she will be celebrating without shame, waving Union Jack flags accompanied by a striking Union flag outfit.
She said: “I very often where my union flag outfit, and I have a very close family, so we’ll definitely all want to be together.”
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