One of our senior editors recounts what it was like to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla to her small hometown in Virginia.
FRONT ROYAL, Va. — St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, a historic parish with ties to the American Civil war, stands at the end of Front Royal’s Main Street where, on April 30, the reigning king and queen of England were welcomed. A few parishioners watching from the church steps, with the help of binoculars, managed to catch a glimpse of British royalty as they passed by in their motorcade.
Nestled in Virginia’s rural Shenandoah Valley, Front Royal residents are accustomed to the knowledge that people of some importance, from celebrities to the world’s leading religious and political figures, frequently visit the (somewhat) nearby U.S. capital. A number of locals even work in Washington.
But a formal visit by King Charles III, the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch, and Queen Camilla to the small town of Front Royal was a happy surprise, if very unexpected.
“One of the reasons that I wanted to bring my children and be here is not just
