Rose Queen (or Apple Queen,[1] Cotton Queen[2] or Harvest Queen) is a local or regional tradition associated with Whitsun processions[3] or June[4] festivals and fêtes similar to May Queen. Annual civic honorific titles are bestowed by local election to particular individuals, typically local young women.
it is likely the Rose Queen tradition developed simply because it was the wrong time of year for a 'May' Queen. However, beyond the name, there is no discernible difference between the two, and sometimes they exist side-by-side. The Rose Queens main function is to act as a focal point (albeit a relatively inactive one) in the procession or fête to which she is linked, and in some cases to act as a temporary minor celebrity, gracing other local events with her presence during the year of her reign.
- ^ "Apple Queen Is Crowned". The New York Times. 15 October 1973.
- ^ "Making the Mill Girl Modern?". academic.oup.com.
- ^ "A Rose for My Rose". Smile! Reporting Tameside’s Social History Project. 22 January 2021.
- ^ "Rose Queens". Garden Museum.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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