St Ives crowns the May King and Queen in the 450-year-old custom

There was royalty on the streets of St Ives as a new May King and Queen were crowned for 2024. A revived tradition dating back more than 450 years, the town’s May Day celebrations are organized by the Rotary Club of St Ives and always seem to be blessed with sunshine.

Steeped in tradition, the celebrations can be shown to date back to 1573 and were revived in 2000 by the then mayor, the late Chris Cocklin, with the help of former mayor Shirley Beck.

In addition to the election of a May King and Queen, the ceremony also involves the election of two attendants of the May Queen, a Prince and a May Princess, and two attendants of the May Princess. An official trumpeter for the year is also chosen and asked to blow the horn in front of the assembled crowd.

Read more: The tradition once banned for being too noisy is making a comeback with the dying crow

After the royalty was crowned, local children from Nancledra School danced around a maypole outside the Guildhall, then twice more down the harbor during a procession through the town.

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