QUEEN OF MAITLAND BIDS ADIEU TO YEAR’S REIGN

A WRITER, cultural activist and mum from the NSW Hunter Valley has spent her first day in casual clothing after a year dressing as the last French Queen, Marie Antoinette.

Helen Hopcroft’s powdered wigs and elaborate gowns have become a fixture of Maitland since she committed to the project on May 1 last year.

Yesterday was her first day back in the modern era after enduring countless gym sessions, school runs, grocery shopping trips and hot summer days in her 18th-century robes.

It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron touches down in Sydney for a two-day visit.

Ms Hopcroft’s goal was to promote the regional city as a creative centre and lobby for the construction of a dedicated museum space.

“I thought that the arts could bring life back into struggling regional areas,” she said.

The “Queen of Maitland”, as locals dubbed her, said she adapted to almost everything from funerals to international travel, nights out and shopping.

Picture: AAP Writer and cultural activist Helen Hopcroft dressed as Marie Antoinette for a year, in an effort to boost the arts industry in her regional city of Maitland.