| If you thought Queen Elizabeth II was the only | | | | a pearly queen in her own right in the same area |
| queen to live in London, you'd be wrong. Get | | | | of north London where Henry grew up. There is a |
| ready to meet London's alternative kings and | | | | statue of Henry Croft (paid for by the numerous |
| queens. | | | | charities he had supported over the years) in the |
| The costume of a pearly king or queen is a suit | | | | church of St Martins in the Field, on the north |
| or dress covered in mother of pearl buttons. | | | | east corner of Trafalgar Square. |
| Many of these costumes are treasured family | | | | Over the years the tradition of the pearly kings |
| heirlooms passed down through the generations. | | | | grew to include both the king and his "donna", |
| The very early origins of the pearly kings and | | | | from the Italian for woman. Over time elaborate |
| queens are shrouded in mystery. It was probably | | | | patterns emerged to signify special meanings. |
| started in the London street markets by the stall | | | | These include: |
| owners, or costermongers, who began to sew | | | | - Playing Cards = The Gamble Of Life |
| mother of pearl buttons onto their clothes, so | | | | - Wheel = The Wheel Of Life |
| potential customers would be able to distinguish | | | | - Horseshoe = Good Luck |
| them from the rest of the crowd milling around | | | | - Doves = Peace |
| the stalls. | | | | - Heart = Charity |
| One of the people who worked in a market was | | | | - Cross = Faith |
| Henry Croft, from north London, who had been | | | | Because the pearly kings were originally |
| brought up in an orphanage. He was aware that | | | | connected with the costermongers, they have |
| costermongers -- in the absence of the welfare | | | | two specific costermonger patterns: flower pots |
| state in those days -- looked after other needy | | | | and donkey carts. Nowadays, the role of the |
| costermongers and wondered how he could build | | | | "perlies" -- as they are called -- is to follow the |
| on this generosity to collect money for the | | | | excellent example of Henry Croft and be involved |
| orphanage. | | | | in charitable work. |
| His chance came in 1875, when a Japanese cargo | | | | At the height of their popularity, each London |
| vessel foundered in London's River Thames and | | | | area and both the twin cities of Westminster and |
| lost its cargo of mother of pearl buttons. London's | | | | The City of London all had their own pearly king |
| river, with its constant traffic of cargo ships from | | | | and queen. |
| all around the world, supported many families who | | | | One of the places you are bound to see pearly |
| made a living salvaging the flotsam and jetsam of | | | | kings and queens is at the annual race meeting on |
| the river and the cargo of buttons was much | | | | Epsom Downs, in the country just south of |
| sought after. Henry Croft was lucky enough to | | | | London. Here the running of the famous Derby |
| acquire a considerable amount of these buttons | | | | horse race has been a London tradition for many |
| and this gave him the usp he had been looking | | | | years, with whole families camping out on the |
| for. | | | | Surrey Downs to hold picnics, place bets, watch |
| So he decorated his clothes entirely with the | | | | the races and generally enjoy themselves. |
| buttons -- even down to his walking stick! Thus | | | | Copyright 2007 Jon Michael and |
| Henry Croft became the very first pearly king. | | | | LondonVacationSecrets. |
| That tradition lives on as his granddaughter is now | | | | |