A royal-mad Aussie has made the 10,000 mile trip to be at King Charles’ Coronation – and stopped off at a fellow monarchy-enthusiast’s museum in County Durham.

65-year-old Jan Hugo has Australia’s biggest collection of royal memorabilia with more than 10,000 pieces stretching back to the days of Queen Victoria.

Jan’s mammoth collection started “by accident” back in the 1980s when she got a coin commemorating Charles and Diana’s engagement to celebrate the birth of her and husband David's, 66, daughter.

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“42 years later we’ve got well over 10,000 pieces – we stopped counting when it got to 10,000,” Jan said.

The Northern Echo: Jan with 'King Charles and Camilla' in her royal museum in New South Wales, Australia.Jan with 'King Charles and Camilla' in her royal museum in New South Wales, Australia. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“We got the plate, then the spoon, then the cup, and it just went from there.”

The couple, from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, are in friendly competition over their haul with 'Britain’s biggest monarchist' Anita Atkinson, whose museum in Crook, County Durham holds more than 12,000 collectibles.

The enthusiasts compared collections during a meet-up at Anita’s museum last week (April 26).

The Northern Echo: Jan and hubby David visited fellow monarchy-mad collector Anita Atkinson at her museum in County Durham where she has more than 12,000 pieces of memorabilia.Jan and hubby David visited fellow monarchy-mad collector Anita Atkinson at her museum in County Durham where she has more than 12,000 pieces of memorabilia. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The Aussie said: “I had seen Antia on TV and in magazines so many times when she has done interviews and when we knew we were coming over for the Coronation I tried to contact her.

“I sent her a Christmas card with a letter and that’s the only contact we had before we came.”

“Anita pulled out lots of really old things it’s easier for her to get hold of than us in Australia. I told her about lots of my collection. She made us feel really welcome.”

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Unlike Anita’s collection housed in an outbuilding Jan and David live among their memorabilia which even includes life-size mannequins of the King and Queen.

Jan added: “We actually have it all in our house – it’s like living in a museum with everything behind glass.

The Northern Echo: Some of Jan's collection at her home in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.Some of Jan's collection at her home in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“We opened it up for about seven years and then Covid hit so we had to close it down. The pandemic was pretty bad in Australia, and we haven’t opened since but we are thinking about doing it again.

“We made the Guiness Book of Records but Antia definitely has more than us.”

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The Aussie couple was so eager to attend the Coronation they booked their flights to the UK an hour after the date was announced.

The Northern Echo: Jan and David with 'The Queen'Jan and David with 'The Queen' (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Jan met Charles on a tour of Australia and is planning to take home more items for her haul.

She continued: “I’ve just bought two more pieces from an antiques shop so there’ll be lots for me to take home.”

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Anita, a well-known royal superfan, headed down to London a week early on Saturday (April 29) to try and get a prime spot to see the King.

She opens her museum of royal treasures, memorabilia, and artefacts to the public sometimes, and she has previously offered afternoon teas for visitors to enjoy after enjoying her colossal displays.

The Northern Echo: Anita has been chosen by Aldi as the face of their coronation campaign.Anita has been chosen by Aldi as the face of their coronation campaign. (Image: PR)

Supermarket Aldi has also picked her to be the face of its coronation campaign, giving their chicken crowns, coronation pizza and special edition coronation Kevin the carrot her seal of approval, adding the latter to her collection.

Charles III will be crowned monarch on Saturday (May 6).