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All In the Family

London Calling!

S T O R Y & P H O T O G R A P H Y
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY
Sharon Whitley Larsen

“Look, Kalea! There's Windsor Castle!

It's over 900 years old! The oldest and largest oc-
cupied castle in the world! And the queen is there
most weekends! We'll be touring it inside tomor-
row!”
I couldn't contain my excitement to show my
precocious and delightful niece, 8, what I love
about Union Jack territory—from historic royal
castles, vivid green fields with grazing sheep--to
“Mind the Gap” British charm.
We had just arrived at London's Heathrow
Airport on a crisp, fall Sunday afternoon with her
folks—myyoungerbrotherMark,sister-in-lawBe-
tiana--and my husband, Carl, riding in a privately
hired SUV with driver for 25 minutes to our first
stop, Windsor. The castle was off the motorway
hillside in the fleeting distance and Kalea gave an
excited yelp when she saw it.
I had been Kalea's age when I first fell in love
with All Things British--after watching Princess
Margaret's lavish 1960 wedding on black-and-
white TV, and receiving a thank you note that year
on Windsor Castle letterhead from Queen Eliza-
bethII'slady-in-waiting—afterIhadwrittentothe
queen's daughter Princess Anne, suggesting that
we be penpals!
A Royal Duo: Sharon and her niece
Kalea at Windsor Castle.

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