After decades of collecting, SF woman hopes to sell royal family memorabilia for charity
Betsy says she doesn't know exactly how many pieces she has, but estimates it's in the hundreds.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, one San Francisco woman is showing off her collection of royal family memorabilia. Over the years, she's collected hundreds of pieces. Now, she's hoping they'll be able to raise money for a good cause.
Walk into Betsy Nolan's San Francisco home, and you might feel like you've been transported to the U.K.
"Cups and so forth. And then I've got a lot of paper stuff and news articles and magazine covers and coins," Nolan said.
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For the past seven decades, Betsy has been collecting any and everything to do with Britain's Royal Family.
"I feel like I'm on a first name basis after so many years," Nolan said.
Betsy says she doesn't know exactly how many pieces she has, but estimates it's in the hundreds.
She tells me her fascination with the monarchy started when she was a little girl growing up in Virginia.
Back then, the late Queen Elizabeth had just had her own coronation.
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Then just in her 20s, the young monarch caught Betsy's attention.
"She was extraordinary. I have enormous admiration for her," said Nolan.
But now, after years of collecting, Betsy says she's largely stopped.
She's packed most of her items in boxes and hopes to be able to sell them to anyone who might be interested.
"I would love for someone just to take it all at once and get rid of what they don't want," Nolan said.
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Not to keep the money, but instead to donate it to a worthy cause.
"I've been torn between food banks and AIDS organizations," said Nolan.
Even though Betsy's royal collecting may have stopped, she says some habits are difficult to break.
She plans on spending her day Saturday, watching the coronation of King Charles.
"Look at what they're doing, how many people are there, the precision timing. It's just fascinating to watch what they've gone through to do it," Nolan said.
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