County Durham's biggest monarchist has spoken of her joy after witnessing the Coronation of King Charles III after travelling to London.

Anita Atkinson, well-known across the North East as one of the region's most ardent monarchists, was delighted to witness The Gold State Coach and be in London after queuing for days to watch King Charles be officially crowned.

She said she was worried that sentiment towards the Crown had turned in recent years, but was pleased to see a "humongous" turnout for the event.

Read more: Live: Coronation celebrations continue in Darlington

Adding to this, she said areas around Green Park and St James' Park were inaccessible after security blocked them off due to them being at capacity.

Ms Atkinson said: "I've had messages from people that I know that live in London that went down and couldn't get in.

"I could not believe it, the queues for the eating places, every one of them had queues a mile long, the toilets there were queues, it was just mad.

"The people spoke with their actions and they came out, and it was pouring down! It wasn't like it was a nice day and they were coming to sit out and sunbathe, it was absolutely chucking it down, we got soaked.

Read more: Sergeant Dixon represents Durham Police at King Charles III Coronation

"It was completely mad and I've made loads of other friends. It was hectic and it was bedlam at times.

"I wouldn't ever say it was stressful, I was never stressed, I was enjoying every minute of it and I managed to keep up."

She said she was looking forward to King Charles' reign and could not imagine how difficult the "huge burden" of this new role will be for him.

She also said the support shown during the Coronation will be a boon to him and serves as a testament to the support the British public have for him.

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While she said they were not able to meet, other notable royalist superfans such as Jan Hugo from Australia and former Peterlee Mayor Mary Cartwright.

During this, she also met with Stacie Scrimshaw, a huge royals fan from the United States.

She thanked the police officers who she called "absolutely brilliant" for their interactions with the crowd.