King Charles III turns 77 this weekend, and businesses in North Texas with ties to the United Kingdom are marking the occasion. Charles became king in 2022.
Charles, then prince, visited Texas in 1977 and 1986. Queen Elizabeth II visited Texas in 1991.
The U.S. Census says 102,970 people from Great Britain live in Texas; Texas trails only California in the number of residents born in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom has become Texas' 12th biggest trading partner. Last year, Texas exported $12 billion in goods to the UK and imported $6 billion.
In Grapevine, Sheela Bailey has been running British Emporium since 1992.
"It is a whole, glorious bunch of everything," Bailey says of her customers. "We get ex-pats in here, we get people who have lived or worked in England and then come back here, even people who have been to London or the UK and were served something wonderful for breakfast like an English marmalade, jam or English butter. They are so delighted they can find that item right here in historic Grapevine."
Bailey says she saw a spike in British customers during the World Cup and the Formula One race in Austin has brought additional attention to her business, but she says she also enjoys introducing native Texans to British culture.
"I welcome them into the store and say, 'Have you ever been to London? If not, have you ever had marmalade for breakfast? Have you ever had an afternoon tea? Do you drink your tea hot or cold?' I draw them in that way because there is always something in the shop you're going to like. 'Do you like chocolate? You don't eat chocolate, do you like gummies? We have a whole wealth of gummies made with natural ingredients.' There is always something to talk about, and the common denominator is food, favorite treats, what you like for the holidays," Bailey says.
British Emporium has hosted watch parties for royal events, during Wimbledon and also hosts car shows featuring British manufacturers.
"We love to keep the spirit of British motoring alive here in Texas," Bailey says. "It's really amazing how many people have British cars stashed away in their barns or garage."
Bailey says she has stayed busy, even as British foods and teas are more available through Amazon, because British Emporium has a wide variety of products available all the time. Plus, she says she and her staff can answer questions people might have about preparations and the best way to use products.
"We are here with the expertise. You may be able to find some of our British groceries elsewhere, but you come in here, ask us questions, and we will have those answers for you. 'What's a pub lunch?' 'What's a roast dinner?'" she says. "We love it when people visit. We really do."
More information about British Emporium is available here.
In Terrell, the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum tells the story of pilots who trained in the city during World War II. Since airspace over Great Britain was already crowded during the war, cadets were brought to Texas to train as pilots.
"From our standpoint, it's a global story because the little town of Terrell played a role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in Europe," says Executive Director Denis Rottler. "It's a national story because there were six of these schools built in the United States, and it's a regional story because it was the first and only surviving example of that part of our countries' histories."
Rottler says the museum tells the story of the bonds formed between the cadets and the people of Terrell.
"You've probably heard stories about how America was in a period of isolationism, and the British weren't sure how the cadets would be accepted. They wrote pamphlets for the boys with, 'Here's what you say. Here's what you don't say. Be careful.' But as soon as those boys, who probably hadn't even shaved yet, stepped off the train, those parents thought, 'That could be my kid.' They literally adopted these boys. They took them to church on Sunday, they had them over for Sunday suppers, they moved furniture out of the way so they could have USO dances in their homes. There are just a million of those stories."
Rottler says Terrell tried to help cadets feel more at home in Texas.
"The flight school was trying to figure out how to relate the scale of the United States to the cadets. They lined one of the walls with aviation sectionals, but they superimposed outlines of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the coast of Europe. They centered the map on Terrell, but they named the Texas towns for English towns. Terrell is called Greater London. Manchester is Gainesville. It's really brilliant scale, you can stand back and really get an idea of how small or large our respective countries are."
Veterans Day was this week; the United Kingdom marks Remembrance Day on the second Sunday of November. Both holidays coincide with the end of World War I.
In Terrell, 20 British cadets died in training. They are buried in Oakland Cemetery where the land is considered sovereign British territory.
