01/29/2026
A few days ago we shared the incredible news that one of our residents had received a Coronation Metal from King Charles lll. Here is her story;
Maxine’s Journey to Royal Recognition
In 1953, in Chatham, Ontario, a 17-year-old girl named Maxine was sitting in class, focused on the ordinary rhythms of high school life. She was President of the Student Council, active in her church, involved in her community — the kind of young woman who quietly leads by example.
Then a message came that would change her life.
Maxine was asked to leave her classroom and report to the principal’s office. Inside, she found two unfamiliar gentlemen waiting. Her principal smiled and said words she would never forget: “I don’t want you to be shy. Tell these men everything about yourself.”
They asked about her school activities, her goals, her involvement in the church, the kind of life she hoped to lead. What Maxine did not know — what she could not yet imagine — was that her teachers had secretly nominated her to be considered as a Young Ambassador for Canada.
Only later would her family learn that Canadian businessman Garfield Weston, the man behind Weston Bakeries in Canada and the United Kingdom, had made an extraordinary decision: he would sponsor 50 young women from across Canada — from every province and both territories — to travel to the United Kingdom to witness the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
His daughter, Wendy Weston-Rebanks, later explained her father’s vision:
“After the war, he believed there was a great future for Canadian youth and he wanted them to see the world and realize this was just the start for them. The rest was up to them. He was a visionary and he wanted young people — and women — to have a chance. With six daughters of his own, when the Queen’s coronation came he said, ‘That’s the one thing you’ve all got to go to. To see the Queen go by and to be part of something bigger than yourself.’”
After the interview, Maxine was told she must keep everything secret until the final announcement. But secrets are hard to keep in small towns.
Not long after, her mother said, “Something is going on. I keep getting calls from people saying how lovely it is that you’re going to the UK. I keep telling them we don’t know if you are or not.”
It turned out the local radio station had received the announcement — and aired it a full day early, before Maxine’s family even received the official letter in the mail. And just like that, a girl from Chatham, Ontario was about to cross the ocean.
A Journey Across the Atlantic
Each of the selected girls was provided with luggage and clothing — including the now-famous navy-blue skirt suits, red leather handbags, and matching hats they would all wear on Coronation Day. As they were gathered from across the country, they traveled by train to Montreal. Maxine went from Chatham to Toronto, and then on to Montreal, where all 50 girls finally met. From there, they boarded The Empress of France, sailing for six days to Liverpool.
During the voyage, the Weston daughters held daily lessons — teaching manners, etiquette, how to curtsy, and how to dine properly, just in case the girls met members of the Royal Family. There were storms and rough seas. Many girls were seasick. Maxine remembers spotting icebergs and being aboard the first ship through the Strait of Belle Isle that season, following a harsh winter.
They were 17 years old. For many, this was their first time leaving home — their first glimpse of the wider world.
Arriving about a week before the Coronation, they met another group of 50 young women selected from the United Kingdom. Together, they explored historic cities, landmarks, and cultures that had previously existed only in books and imagination.
June 2, 1953 — Coronation Day
The girls were awakened early and dressed in their official outfits. They were taken by bus to Oxford Street in London, where bleacher-style seating had been set up along the parade route. The British girls wore red. The Canadian girls wore navy.
From above, their seating formed a living message — the red-clad girls spelling E R II, while the Canadian girls filled in the background around them.
And then came the moment.
As the Gold State Coach passed, carrying Her Majesty and Prince Philip, Prince Philip was seated on the side closest to the girls. He noticed them, nudged the Queen, and she turned her head to look directly at the young women who had crossed oceans to be there.
Days later, while attending another official event, the girls were given the honor of singing “God Save the Queen” in Her Majesty’s presence. Maxine recalls:
“I remember having the hardest time singing because I had a huge lump in my throat at the idea of singing in front of Her Majesty.”
Lessons That Last a Lifetime
After the Coronation, the girls — now affectionately known as the “Weston Girls” or “Coronation Girls” — traveled for several more weeks through England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and France. Their journey lasted a total of seven weeks.
But the moment that stayed with Maxine the most came in France, during a visit to a war cemetery. Each girl was given a flower to place on a grave. She remembers rows and rows of white headstones. And one in particular that read:
“Unknown. Age 17.”
Maxine was 17. Most of the girls were. In that moment, she understood something deeper — that while they were being given opportunity and hope, others their same age had given everything. It was a lesson in gratitude, responsibility, and perspective that would never leave her.
Coming Home — and Carrying It Forward
When the girls returned to Canada aboard The Empress of Australia, most eventually lost touch. Life carried them in different directions.
A full-page newspaper article was written about their journey, and Garfield Weston Jr. had one framed for each participant. Maxine still has hers hanging in her home — a treasured reminder of a remarkable chapter in her life.
Each girl was also given a medallion inscribed with the words:
“’Tis the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way they go.”
While sharing her story, that medallion still hung around Maxine’s neck.
In 1967, when Queen Elizabeth II returned to Canada for our Centennial celebrations, Maxine — then living in Ottawa — once again performed for the Queen, this time as part of a choir during official ceremonies. History had come full circle.
Finding Each Other Again
In 2003, one of the women decided to try to find the others — using only maiden names and hometowns.
Through determination, phone calls, and a great deal of patience, she succeeded. A 50-year reunion was planned in Ottawa.
Maxine remembers receiving the call in August — the day after her daughter’s wedding — while the family was gathered and gifts were being opened. She was stunned… and absolutely thrilled.
That first reunion brought together the majority of the original 50 girls.
More followed: Newfoundland in 2007, Victoria in 2010 (organized by Maxine and her daughter), and Burlington in 2012.
Reflecting on it all now, Maxine said:
“At the time, we didn’t fully understand the importance of what we were witnessing and the impact of what we were doing. All these years later, we understand now of course.”
A Final Royal Connection
In July 2022, the group sent a letter to Her Majesty, thanking her for 70 years of service and dedication. They shared how connected they had always felt to her — remembering that she, too, had been very young when the weight of the Crown was placed on her shoulders.
They even dared to ask if, someday, they might share tea with her.
Sadly, that meeting was never to be. Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022.
But in December 2023, several of the women traveled back to London, where they received a private tour of Buckingham Palace and tea in the Bow Room — and were surprised by His Majesty King Charles III, who shared stories of watching his mother practice for her coronation by walking the palace halls wearing St. Edward’s Crown, heavy and symbolic, long before the world would see her wear it.
Maxine was unable to attend that trip, but she was later honored in her own way — receiving a Coronation Medal from King Charles III, recognizing her place in this extraordinary chapter of Canadian history.
A Life That Reflects the Journey
Maxine’s story is not only about crowns and ceremonies. It is about opportunity, courage, gratitude, and the lifelong impact of being told — at just the right moment — that you matter, that your character matters, and that the world is bigger than the place you began.
From a principal’s office in Chatham, to the streets of London, to a lifetime of service, family, community, and quiet strength…
Maxine has always carried herself with the same grace she learned as a young ambassador — a reminder that sometimes history touches us gently, and we spend the rest of our lives carrying its lessons forward.
We are honored to say that Maxine calls Cherish home, that we get to participate in a chapter of her story and that she chose to share these beautiful memories with us.
