Lexington Royalty Brings Parade To Halt

Lexington's annual Fourth of July Parade came screeching to a halt when the entry from The Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of All Kentucky rolled in front of the Bar Complex. Cheers were heard throughout the audience as Empress 6 Twyla Knight, Imperial Crown Princess 15 1/2 Tracy Taylor, along with Rayna Starr, waved to a receptive audience. The crowd roared even more when Tracy began her "Evita-like" wave atop a red convertible. The crowd began to pour into the street, with dollar bills in hand, approaching the drag queens to tip them. The Imperial Court's entry was directly behind that of the local ABC television affiliate. The female co-anchor smiled when she saw the drag queens receiving all of the attention. Emperor 16 Elvin Harkins, Imperial Crown Prince 16 Jeff Morrison, his girlfriend Joy Sanders, Imperial Crown Princess 16 Eden Towers, Imperial Princess Royale 16 Mika Milano, Duchess 16 Ginger Grant, as well as many other Court members cheered from the sidewalk. Also present was Empress 16 Chanda Lier, who was also celebrating her birthday. As the cars began to roll, raindrops began to fall. Twyla Knight unfolded her handy umbrella, all the while smiling and waving to her adoring fans.

As the parade began to roll, again, down Lexington's Main Street, the Imperial Court entry once again stopped in front of the television cameras of the local CBS affiliate. The female co-anchor announced to the audience and television cameras that the Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of All Kentucky had recently raised almost $6000.00 for local charities. With cheers from the crowd, the parade began to roll once again; only to halt in front of Lexington's newest gay nightspot - Vertigo. The staff of the club ran drinks out to the drag queens, opening the way for even more tipping.  Emperor 8 Terry Stroub personally took a "cold beverage" to each of the three lovelies, after which the rain stopped completely. The parade then began it's way around Broadway and over to Vine, where this reporter lost track of them.

The Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of All Kentucky is a non-profit organization, which holds fund raisers to benefit the gay & lesbian community. Now in it's 16th year, The Imperial Court is currently led by Empress 16 Chanda Lier & Emperor 16 Elvin Harkins.

This was an anniversary, of sorts, for Twyla Knight. As Empress 6, Twyla organized the Court's first entry into Lexington's Fourth of July Parade. Now, ten years later, she once again proudly represented the Imperial Court.