A royal superfan has flung open the doors of her museum collection that boasts over 12,000 pieces of memorabilia and invited visitors inside to gain an insight into everything Royal family and everything Queen Elizabeth II.
The outpouring of support and tributes for the longest-serving monarch from the nation and further afield over the past two weeks inspired County Durham’s Anita Atkinson to open her Weardale museum to the public on Saturday (September 24).
Ms Atkinson, 56, who has been collecting royal memorabilia all her life, rarely opens it to the public but made a special exception this weekend to herald the start of the Third Carolean Age under King Charles III.
Read more: County Durham's Anita Atkinson to open Royal 'museum' to public
Featuring craft stalls, talks on the Royal family, and a tour around the museum, Anita was in her element, as she welcomed people inside the rich tapestry of Royal history.
Over the last few weeks, her dedication to the royal family has been highlighted by news and media channels around the world, with her fame now stretching beyond her home region of County Durham.
She has featured on BBC and several other mainstream channels, which saw her visit the Queen lying in state and stay in London for the Queen’s funeral.
During that time, she also filmed plenty of the emotional outpouring down in the capital, which has now seen her stopped in the street by people who recognise her from the TV.
On Saturday, the museum was jam-packed with people between 11am and 4pm, with many excited to see so many royal artefacts in one place.
She previously explained to The Northern Echo: “My museum isn’t open to the public originally and I only open it depending on demand, occasionally for a special event or for foreign visitors.
“But I am opening it on Saturday because I need to get my mojo back and close that reign and open up the new one along with the new King. And to show people that the Monarchy is seamless, it doesn’t matter if a Monarch dies.”
Just after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Ms Atkinson says she was “devastated” – noting that it felt like a “death in the family”.
However, she has now pledged that, through her museum, she will continue to inspire more royal superfans, and is looking forward to supporting King Charles III during his reign.
She added: “I’ve always been talking about the Queen in the present tense, and I’ve now got to carry on her story but in the past tense.
“Now, I’ve got to support the King and tell the real story, and the truth, which is not what we’ve always had.”
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