Unexpected Guest to King Charles' Coronation 'Blown Away' by Invite: 'It's a Moment in History'

The coronation invites are out — and one local vicar couldn't be happier.

The Reverend Matthew Price, who has been vicar of Gorleston's Mary Magdalene church since 2018, was delighted and surprised when he received an invitation from Buckingham Palace, asking him to be a guest at the upcoming coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

"I received an email a few weeks ago so I knew it was coming, but I was blown away by the beauty of the invitation when it arrived — it's stunning!" Price tells PEOPLE from his family home in Gorleston, Norfolk (about three hours east of London). "The idea of being there in person is just extraordinary — it's a moment in history, something we haven't seen for 70 years!"

Price, 45, has been invited to attend the historic event at Westminster Abbey on May 6 after becoming a British Empire Medal recipient, an honor he received in 2020 as a result of his tireless work in the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our church became a massive food hub, providing food for people who couldn't source food for themselves," explains Price. "At the peak, we were sending out over 100 food parcels every week and working with a team of about 100 volunteers."

After being presented with the medal by the Lord Lieutenant, Price and his wife were also invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace last summer.

"It feels like the gift that just keeps on giving," he jokes, adding that his wife is very happy for him — despite his solo invite.

In fact, the whole community is getting excited about his brush with royalty.

"Even the post lady was excited when she delivered it, she said, 'I think it's from the King!' as it had the King's monogram in the corner."

The locals from his parish have been taking turns snapping photos of the heavy, gilded invitation to send to their families.

"What's amazing is that I live and work in quite a deprived community and the idea that someone from our community is going to be at this event is just extraordinary," he says.

Due to the early start of the ceremony (guests have to be seated in the Abbey by 7.30 a.m. — 3 1/2 hours before the ceremony begins!), Price will be staying overnight in London and plans to wear his BEM medal with pride.

On what he's most looking forward to, he says: "The music, definitely. I've read that there are lots of new pieces that have been composed and at a building like Westminster Abbey, which has extraordinary acoustics, I think the music be amazing."