Eligibility

1.All entrants must have held the office of Queen or Princess (Rosebud, Junior or Senior) of a town or village Carnival Court within the County of Essex for at least one full year.

2.All entrants must have no dependants on date of entry.

3.Aged between 15 years and 25 years on the day of selection.

3aAll entrants 18 and over must agree to undertake a dbs check. 

4.Entrants must not wear anything identifying a carnival court by dress, regalia, sash or badge.

5.Previous Court of Essex Queens are not eligible to re-enter and any previous Court of Essex Princesses are only eligible to enter for position of Queen, even if they have had a year/several years out.

6.Entrants are not permitted to hold any other carnival title (other than a Deputy Queen sash) & must ask the Chairman & committee’s permission if they wish to enter for any other sashed pageant during their reign. (If you already hold a sash please state this on your entry form).

7.If you were dismissed from your Court for any reason, then please state this on your entry form. The Chairman or one of the committee will then contact you and your former committee to discuss further.

8.Any entrant failing to comply with the above will be disqualified.

9.You will be able to attend the contract signing, followed by with dress fitting which will be held between 2 to 4 weeks of the selection. Failure to attend this will result in immediate dismissal from the Court of Essex. 

Conditions of Entry

In an ordered world we would all expect to follow rules, these are the rules that the Court of Essex require from those selected to represent the Court of Essex County as Queen or Princess, and these will form part of the contract you are asked to sign if successful.

10.Attend all functions as detailed by the committee.

11. Hold no other sash, (with the exception of Deputy Queen Sash for your carnival), without written permission of the Chairman and committee.

12.Attend no other carnival or similar event as a member of the Court of Essex without written permission of the Chairman or committee.

13.Make no statement to the press, radio, TV etc without written consent and the presence of a Court of Essex committee member.

14.Maintain a high standard of appearance, behaviour and decorum whilst undertaking carnival and similar duties. 

14a.To maintain a high standard of behaviour and decorum aswell as outside of carnival. 

15.To seek and obtain permission from the committees appointed chaperone before leaving an official function.

16.Whilst on duty remain directly and solely answerable to the Court manager & Chaperones. Family and friends of court members are expected to respect this requirement and maintain a distance.

17.To respond within 24 hours to committee communication. 

17a.To keep the committee informed, in advance, of any dates when not available for official court duties, the committee feels that seven day’s notice is reasonable, if unwell the Chairman or Court Manager must be advised as soon as possible.

Should a member of the court miss several events without an acceptable reason the committee will consider termination of reign

18.Keep all Court of Essex Regalia, dresses & sash etc in good clean order. The committee reserve the right to seek financial redress for loss or damage sustained to their property whilst in the holders’ possession.

19.If any member of the court should resign or be dismissed by the committee during the term of office, the following will apply –

Queen position: will be filled by the Deputy Queen, if available, until reviewed by the committee

Princess position: will be offered to the entrant who came next in line on selection.

20.The committee expect high standards of attendance, behaviour and commitment from their court.

Should the committee decide that the entrant is not meeting with the standards and expectations, a verbal warning will be issued and note made in the Court of Essex Minutes.

If the situation does not improve, the committee will issue a written warning indicating what action will be taken if an immediate improvement is not made. Should the situation not alter, the committee will dismiss the title holder from the court, and will require the return of all Court of Essex property. This decision will be notified in writing, and the title holder can appeal the decision and lodge an appeal in writing to the Chairman/Committee within 10 days. The appeal will be heard within one month of the date of the dismissal correspondence, in front of the full committee and the title holder may be represented by a family member or a friend.

21.If you fall pregnant during your reign, you must inform the Chairman and Court Manager at the earliest date possible, in person and by form of a written letter or email. A. Meeting will then be arranged with yourself to discuss the best course of action and a decision will be made by the committee as to whether your position will be terminated or you can continue due to health and a safety concerns. You will be informed within 14 days of receiving the letter as to the decision.

To be considered for the role we require you to be an active member of a court in the county of Essex and is succesful you reign will start when your active year has finished and you have stood down.

We work in a scouting fashion once an application has been submitted the current court will visit with the court managers and a person from the commitee to the events your court is attending to watch how you conduct yourself and perform throughout the day