It’s difficult to piece together the origins of a process to award the honour of a Gala Queen in Cowdenbeath, but there is certainly evidence of a selection back in 1948, in our Archive section and in an article from 1950 in the Cowdenbeath Advertiser, which talks about “the resuscitation of the ceremony to crown the Co-op Queen”.

They’ve taken various forms in the past, from selection and interview panels to chidren’s discos in modern times, but always focussed on a young person who displays a willingness to do good for their town and for others.

In more recent times, the Gala Queen and Princess selection was adjusted to include boys as Ambassadors.

Here are some of those proud Gala Queens, Princesses and Ambassadors from photos which have been donated to us.

The Cowdenbeath Gala Queen and Royal Party was ended in 2018 by the Civic Week committee.