A South Carolina couple just had a once-in-a-lifetime vacation moment.
Traveling across the pond for the first time ever, John Strickland and Maria Gabbamonte, both 71, shook hands with new monarchKing Charles IIIwhile outside of Buckingham Palace on Friday. The couple greeted both Charles andQueen Camillaas they were coincidentally in the front row when theroyals stepped out of the car.
“He was just shaking hands and just thanking everybody for being here,” Strickland tells PEOPLE. “People were offering condolences and stuff like that and he was just thanking them.”
Gabbamonte adds, “He tried to reach out to as many people as he possibly could.”
The couple said they were in disbelief that the moment happened.
“It is a dream that I will treasure, and I will tell my grandchildren all about it,” Gabbamonte says. “I am overcome.”
As for what the couple’s plans originally looked like, they were planning on visiting the top tourist stops in the city such as Abbey Road. “But this is way better,” Gabbamonte shares.
John Strickland and Maria Gabbamonte
Strickland explained that a few unfortunate events led to the unexpected meet up. “We flew over yesterday. I accidentally left my phone at Heathrow and had to get on a train to go back to the airport,” he explains, noting that he heard ofQueen Elizabeth’s death on the train. “I had no idea until then,” he says.
“Everybody just kind of looked down at their phones and were very quiet,” Gabbamonte says of the passengers' reactions.
King Charles and Queen Camilla.Samir Hussein/WireImage
The couple also tells to PEOPLE they’re big fans ofQueen Elizabeth, whodied “peacefully in Balmoral"on Thursday at age 96.
“I have always absorbed anything I’ve ever seen about the Queen,” Gabbamonte says.
As for how the two plan to continue their trip, they will travel across Europe visiting Paris, Rome, Switzerland and Sicily. Before that, they’ll get “one or two” beers to recover from the exciting moment.
Charles and Camilla received their new titles immediately after the Queen’s death. Camilla’s title was an honorQueen Elizabethdirectly expressedin February.
The new ranks were reflected in official communications from Buckingham Palace Thursday. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” a statement said.
Charles was also referenced as “His Majesty, the King” on letterhead from Buckingham Palace, in hisfirst statementas monarch following the death of his mother.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles said.
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Upon his ascension in the royal line of succession, Charles follows his mother’s lead in keeping his own first name as monarch.
source: people.com
