King Charles' coming coronation stirs memories of queen 70 years ago

Pamela Tawse, 88, poses for a photograph in the library room of the Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking in Stroud, Britain, April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

LONDON (Reuters) - Pamela Tawse was 18 and still in her nurse's uniform and cap when she made her way to central London after her night shift, eager to catch a glimpse of the new Queen Elizabeth on the day of her coronation.

It was the huge crescendo of noise she remembers today, aged 88, twinkling in delight as she thinks back to a time when Britain, still enduring rationing eight years after the end of World War Two, turned out in force to see the opulence and glamour of the start of a historic reign.