ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — St. Augustine is home to the Kings Head British Pub, where the First Coast and the United Kingdom meet for a cold one.
If the double-decker bus and red phone booth outside the establishment didn't give it away, it's a British style pub. It's also a home away from home to owner Ann Dyke. Her business as been around for 30 years.
"It took two and a half years to build it because my husband, who is now deceased, and I actually physically built it every weekend," Dyke explained.
It hasn't been a whole day since the Queen's death and Dyke is still reeling it in. Queen Elizabeth was the longest serving British monarch. The pub owner said the news "hit all of us Brits like a ton of bricks."
To Dyke, she says she witnessed the end of an era. She grew up watching the Queen.
"I was born during the war. I know Queen Elizabeth and George the Sixth," Dyke said. "I remember she was on her honeymoon. Because the king died, she became the queen immediately."
To honor the royal matriarch's memory, everyone at the pub raised their glasses and Dyke's daughter chanted "God bless the queen" and "Long live King Charles."
Dyke said her queen stood tall during adversity and admired her commitment to her people.