Kenilworth Carnival looking to crown its first ever King

Mayor of Kenilworth and carnival president Cllr Richard Davies said the new role could help boost the carnival’s publicity and get more young people involved.

He said: “My hope is it will get more people interested - we’ll see. If nobody enters for the role then there won’t be a Carnival King.

“It’s never too late to start a new tradition - if we do something three times in Kenilworth then it becomes a tradition, that’s a fact.

“Until the 1920s we didn’t have a carnival. I’m sure there were people at the time who would say ‘what should we do this for?’

“There will always be people who don’t want to change things, but I can see the time coming if it does go down well when people say ‘why didn’t we have this years ago?’

“If the carnival is to survive, it has to adapt.”

The King will be selected at the Priory Theatre in Rosemary Hill on Saturday March 4 at 7.15pm alongside the traditional Carnival Queen, maids of honour, Carnival Princess and junior attendants.

The Carnival King and Queen and their Maids of Honour should be between 15 and 25 years old on the day of the carnival, Saturday July 1.

The Carnival Princess should be between 12 and 14, the female junior attendants should be between eight and 11, and the male junior attendants should be between six and nine.

All entrants must live in Kenilworth or one of the surrounding villages of Ashow, Beausale, Burton Green Crackley, Honiley, Leek Wootton, Hill Wootton, Meer End or Stoneleigh.

Applicants must be prepared to participate in Carnival Day, Saturday 1 July and attend various Kenilworth events throughout the year.

Anyone wishing to apply for any of this year’s roles should email their name, date of birth, address, email, phone number and what role they want to apply for to Elizabeth Meaton at [email protected], or post their details to her at 6 Bertie Road, Kenilworth, CV8 1JP. All entries must arrive no later than Wednesday March 1.