thumb|[[Henry Croft (pearly)|Henry Croft, the first Pearly King, c. 1900]]

Pearly Kings and Queens, known as pearlies, are an organised charitable tradition of working-class culture in London, England.

Henry Croft

The practice of wearing clothes decorated with mother-of-pearl buttons In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley, north London. In 1934, a memorial referring to Croft as "The original Pearly King" was unveiled in St Pancras Cemetery and in a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised £5,000 for those suffering in London's hospitals.

Pearly organisations

thumb|A group of Pearly Kings and Queens collecting for charity at [[Covent Garden in London, 2008]]

The pearlies are now divided into several active groups. Croft's founding organisation is called the Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association. It was reformed in 1975 Modern additions include the London Pearly Kings and Queens Society, which started in 2001 Despite the rivalries, each group is associated with a church in central London and is committed to raising money for London-based charities.

References

  • www.thepearlies.co.uk The Original Pearly Kings and Queens Association
  • www.pearlies.org.uk Pearlies of Kings Cross & St.Pancras
  • www.pearlysociety.co.uk The London Pearly Kings and Queens Society
  • www.pearlykingsandqueens.com Pearly Kings and Queens Guild
  • Henry Croft, Pearly King and other Pearly photos on flickr
  • The Pearly Families - The Hitchen Family - Pearly King City of London
  • "The War of the Pearly Kings", by Mary Braid. The Independent, (16 April 2014). Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  • "One last knees up: What does the future hold for London's ageing Pearlies?", by Charlotte Leedham. Goldsmiths University of London, (8 January 2018). Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  • "What's All This Then? – London's Pearly Kings and Queens.", by John Rabon. Londontopia, (23 February 2017). Retrieved 13 March 2021.