Warlingham May Queen and realm at Merrie England and London May Queen Festival at Hayes, Kent (LB Bromley)
The 96th London May Queen was crowned by the Prince of Merrie England at the Merrie England and London May Queen Festival on Hayes Common, Kent on Saturday. Groups from the 22 realms - Beckenham, Beddington, Bletchingly, Bromley Common, Butterhil, Caterham-on-the-Hill, Chislehurst, Coney Hall, Downe, Eden Park, Elmers End, Greet St Green, Hayes, Hayes Common, Hayes Village, Orpington, Petts Wood, Shortlands, Sutton, Wallington, Warlingham and West Wickham, each with their own Queen and her attendants, lined up in alphabetical order for the procession from the common to the village church in Hayes. After a ceremony there, the procession then carried on around Hayes, past the station and up the hill back to the common, where the May Queen was crowned in a ceremony devised by Deedy including the Month of May, Woodland Call and contributions from the Fairy Queen, Bo-Peep, Robin Hood (who issued a challenge, throwing down her gauntlet) before the crowning and the Royal Speech. After a group photo of the queens, the London Queen in her role as Flora, (goddess of flowers and of spring, not the oily spread) along with her attendants walked around the area scattering flowers. Maypole dancing followed, first with an exhibition of three maypole dances by the Chislehurst May Queen group, who had brought their own maypole for the event, and then in a rather less formal manner by the London Queen and most of the children present (along with a few siblings and parents.) Then it was time for tea.
Size: 5040px × 3347px
Location: Hayes Common, Hayes, Kent, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ceremony, costumes, england, english, festival, flowers, girls, hayes, kent, london, merrie, queen, realms, traditional, young
