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As a girl from a Taranaki dairy farm, Kiwi Olympian Rebecca Scown never imagined she would be attending a coronation at Westminster Abbey.
“It was one of those things that you can’t really prepare for, it just blows you away,” Scown told Stuff over the phone from the UK where she now lives.
Scown said she was surprised to receive her invitation from the NZ High Commission: in fact, she nearly missed out on the whole opportunity – she had even missed their calls letting her know she had been chosen.
Scown joined the other Kiwi delegates at an in-person event at the High Commission, where they received the “beautiful” invitation.
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“They hand-calligraphied my name on there and it’s just absolutely stunning. It will be framed for sure.”
Scown, 39, described King Charles’ coronation itself as a “huge sensory overload”.
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Rebecca Scown, right, described meeting Dame Emma Thompson as “engaging” and “amazing.”
“When you’ve got everything there in person, it just really sparkles – the crown sparkles, the royals sparkle, and to be in there saying God Save the King was spine-tingling.”
Wearing a cream lace dress with a bow by UK label Self Portrait – a favourite of Kate Middleton’s – Scown chose matching accessories: “I did a lot of panic buying, my room looked like a wedding suite of some sort.”
Scown arrived at Westminster Abbey at 8am on the morning of the coronation to proceed through security.
“We were in Westminster Abbey having gone through the security by 8-8.30 it was such an amazing atmosphere, celebratory, happy vibe.”
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Scown (3rd from right) poses with UK composer Andrew Lloyd Weber at the coronation.
“It was a proud New Zealand moment to be there amongst the event”
She said being there in person to witness heads of state, the royal family, and the crown itself process down the aisle was “surreal.”
“It was one of those things that … you can’t really prepare for it just blows you away.”
“Everything is just amplified.”
Scown was delighted to meet Dame Emma Thompson at the event, whom she described as being “as amazing as you would imagine.”
“She was telling us how much she loved New Zealand, and that she’s going back there soon because they’ve got friends in New Zealand. She was so engaging.”
As part of the Kiwi delegation that included Richie McCaw and Willie Apiata, she said this was an amazing opportunity to meet other dignitaries – who themselves were fascinated by the NZ delegation.
“We could walk around and speak to various people – the boys had their kākahu on, we got a lot of attention from lots of dignitaries who were very interested to know more about the look, so that was really fun.”
Scown and the other Kiwi delegates left the abbey around 2pm.
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Scown, first from left, also managed to snap a photo with UK comedians Ant and Dec (for right)
“We went back to the hotel because we were starving. Then we went straight back to Honest Burger in all our refinery.”
Scown described the group selected as “such an incredible group of New Zealanders.”
Grahame Cox
Rowers Juliete Haigh, Joseph Sullivan, and Rebecca Scown with their Bronze medals from the London 2012 Olympics.
“There’s no way coming from dairy farming Taranaki that I thought I would go to the coronation and then go to the Olympics.”
Scown already had a close fondness for the UK after winning Bronze at the London 2012 Olympics for women’s pair rowing with Juliette Haigh. She also won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with Genevieve Behrent.
Scown has lived and worked in the UK for four years now as CEO of YES Charity, an organisation started by Tony Mellon providing financial support to sports clubs and sports charities to help support young people in sports.
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