Pearlies

On Thursday we had a really interesting talk about Pearly Kings and Queens- appropriate as it was the eve of the Royal Wedding. We heard about the history of the Pearlies which  was begun in 1875, by Henry Croft. Today they raise thousands of pounds every year for charity.

 This is the wonderful costume of the Pearly Queen of Clapton, Theresa Watts who has sewn 3600 buttons on to complete the decoration. The design is her own and is unique.

Theresa is pictured here with her mother Jackie who is the Pearly Queen of Hackney. Again she has made her own costume and the designs on it are unique to her. We were able to look at the costumes closely and handle them. They are extremely heavy and must be uncomfortable to wear.

The hats are made with dyed ostrich feathers and decorated with buttons.

Theresa brought along her son Alfie who is a Pearly Prince, but he managed to avoid having his photograph taken!

We had a very informative evening and finished off with a true Cockney sing-song.