Barbara Larsen reckons Charles will do a good job with Camilla at his side Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin
Taranaki's most ardent royalist will be sitting up with a cup of tea and her family for the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
Barbara Larsen has been collecting royal memorabilia since she was a child and more than 17,000 books and periodicals line the walls of her New Plymouth home.
She has a special room dedicated to all things royal.
Shelves heave with folders filled with newspaper clippings alongside books, posters and magazines, and a work station stands ready for filing incoming material.
And it doesn't end there.
The garage holds yet more material and somewhere in the attic are hundreds of scrapbooks and royal jigsaw puzzles.
Barbara Larsen is already adding new Charles themed books to her collection Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin
The 87-year-old said she took a shine to the royals early on.
"I was four years old when I started [the collection] because they brought out these little Queen books and the Queen was only 10 years older than me you see and in those days I liked the jewellery. I think that's what started me."
Although Queen Elizabeth II is her all-time favourite, Larsen was an equal opportunity royalist.
"I've got royal families of the world, not just the English. I've got every royal person in the world in here even the Africans.
"They had kings and queens every country did and you'll find them in here somewhere."
Charles got her endorsement ... sort of.
"Oh, I don't mind him. I think he'll do a good job and Camilla will do a good job.
"I've got more faith in her than I would've in Diana don't worry about that."
Camilla was having a positive effect.
"Since he's been with Camilla he's never stopped smiling, has he? You want to look back at all the photos he never used to smile, but now she's a good back stop for him.
"I think she's going to help him a lot more than Diana would."
Barbara Larsen has collected more than 17,000 royal-themed items which have spilled out into her garage Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin
Larsen expected the monarchy to be scaled back under Charles.
"You won't get another one like the Queen, it's too expensive anyhow for England to run them like that, aye?
"It will be ... more like Belgium and all those ones that've got a queen. They just live a normal life and they get all decked up when they have to."
But that wouldn't stop Larsen collecting.
"I'll add to it because my family will take it on. Both daughters are really interested in it and the granddaughter loves it.
"It will go through the family. It won't be going anywhere else because if I gave it to the museum they'd throw half of it out, aye?"
Plans for the big night were low key.
"I'll watch it but it won't get me upset or anything like that, I'm past that business.
"But I'll have a cup of tea for him yeah, and the kids might come and have a cup of tea with me."
King Charles III's coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey begins at 10pm Saturday, New Zealand time.
A star-studded concert on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle will follow as part of celebrations over the weekend.
