The small Pacific island erupted in song on Saturday as hundreds of residents celebrated the coronation of King Charles III, a landmark event for a tribe that considers the king’s father, Prince Philip, one of their gods, AFP reported.

The volcanic island of Tanna in southern Vanuatu is the center of the “Prince Philip movement”, which sees Charles’ father as a mythical ancestor from faraway lands.

“I am very happy because Charles is Philip’s son,” Yaba, a local chief who once visited Windsor Castle and met Prince Philip, told AFP. “I want him to come and see me here,” he added.

The movement began in the 1970s when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the former Anglo-French colony, then known as the New Hebrides, which remains a Commonwealth country.

The origin of this belief is not clearly explained, but anthropologists believe that it is based on an ancient prophecy about the return of the white son of the island.

Some even believe that it was from Tanna that the prince left before the Second World War to marry the future Queen Elizabeth.

“There are several clans that have been waiting a long time for this mythical creature to return,” said anthropologist Kirk Huffman, former curator of the National Museum of Vanuatu.

So the island celebrated Charles’ coronation on Saturday in its own way, away from the glitz of Westminster.

Gathered on tropical hills, thousands of men, women and children danced and sang before a banquet of the best local foods accompanied by coffee, a spicy and slightly alcoholic drink made from roots and part of Pacific traditions.

Traffic is concentrated in the villages of Yaohnanen and Yakel, which can only be reached by a difficult jungle road, in a region known for its legend traditions and spirituality.