Carnival queen dethroned in the drive for equal rights
FOR generations teenage girls have vied for the honour of representing Southend as the carnival queen.
Indeed the seaside town is renowned as having one of the longest-running contests in the country – dating back almost a century to the early Twenties.
But this year’s queen will be the last of her kind. The organisers have decided to depose her, along with her two princesses, because, they say, the “royal court” is “too old fashioned”. The decision has divided residents.
Southend Carnival Association ran a series of online polls, questionnaires and workshops to gauge public opinion. “It was not a decision we took lightly and it was the conclusion of the trustees after extensive discussion, particularly with young people,” said Gemma Cartwright, its vice-chairman.
“The overwhelming feeling was that the royal court is old fashioned and traditional and that it needs to be modernised. The young people we consulted felt it was out of date and they wanted to be represented in a different way.”
In the queen’s place organisers are considering appointing a carnival ambassador, open to young men as well.
The last reigning queen, Chloe Davey, 16, and her princesses Madison Ball and Carla Davey, both 13, will keep their positions until this year’s carnival in August. But the decision has met with accusations of political correctness.
“It is a stupid idea,” said Arthur Woodward, 74, a local historian whose wife Lesley, 65, was in the procession in the Sixties. “It is a highlight of the year and it brings people to Southend. We have always got these blithering idiots. They try to change things but they just end up ruining everything.”