Cape Breton church to hold service for the coronation of King Charles III

SYDNEY -

One of the oldest churches in the Maritimes is hosting a celebration service for the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.

"We are having a coronation celebration service to honour the new King, King Charles III," said Anne Lewis, chairperson for the heritage committee for St. George’s Anglican Church in Sydney.

The St. George’s Anglican Church is the official place of worship for the Royal Family when they visit the area, so it was a natural choice for Saturday's coronation service.

"(It was originally) a garrison chapel for the British soldiers that first came to Sydney,” said Lewis. “It was built in 1785. It's the oldest building on the Island. It's the oldest church on the Island."

While CTV Atlantic was visiting St. George’s, a cruise ship visitor who happened to have been born in Yorkshire - in the north of England – stopped by to check out the historic church.

"There's never been a coronation in my lifetime,” said Valerie Maloney. “So this will be very interesting to see. It will be interesting to see how they handle it differently."

King Charles III has never paid a visit to St. George’s, but his mother Queen Elizabeth II has visited twice. The first time was when Queen Elizabeth II was still a Princess in 1952. Then fifteen years later, Queen Elizabeth celebrated Sunday Service at St. George's in Canada's centennial year.

"And we're hoping of course that King Charles will come here to visit at some point," said Lewis.

The building's centuries-old bells will ring out before the service begins at 1pm, and the guestbook will be part of a time capsule to commemorate the event for future generations.

"It's a little bit of history happening right here in Cape Breton," said Lewis.