A HUGE carnival set to light up Dursley has been given the royal approval – from a new king, queen, prince and princess.

Dursley Carnival’s royalty have been chosen ahead of the big event on Saturday, July 15.

Chairman of the carnival committee Wayne Paice, mayor of Dursley Neil Grecian and deputy mayor Suzi Abraham had the honour of choosing the youngsters who would play the royal family.

Thomas Hooper, aged six, was chosen as king; with Claudia Reeves, eight, as queen; Harry Delrosa, seven, as prince; Macy Bendall, six, as princess; Ayden Wood, six, as pageboy; and Olivia Farnsworth, five, as rosebud.

They had all auditioned for the roles at The Pulse leisure centre where they were asked questions about themselves such as their hobbies, what they like about Dursley and what they would add to the town if they could choose anything.

Julie Paice, carnival co-ordinator, said: “The swimming pool was the favourite place, and they wanted to see a theme park brought to the town.

“They were asked to show us their royal wave and the judges were very impressed with them all.”

The carnival royalty will be crowned at the opening of the event at 9.30am by Charles Berkeley, where they will receive their sash and trophy, and the girls will get their hair and make-up done by hairdressers from Let it Go hair and beauty in Parsonage Street.

Their first ‘royal duty’ will be to take part in the procession at 12.30pm, when they will be chauffeured through the town for all to see.

The carnival on July 15 starts at 9.30am in the town centre, where there will be various activities such as treasure hunts, chalk pavement art, circus skills, stalls and live music and entertainment.

From 2pm to 11pm, the activities and entertainment will take place on the recreational ground, and there will be live bands, talent show finals, a keg run, tug of war, fair, beer tent, challenges, arts and crafts, under-four’s soft play, dance groups, tribute acts Bruno Mars and Olly Murs and much more.

Julie added: “We need volunteers to help run all the activities on the day as planned so please get in touch if you can spare some time.”

See carnivaldursley.co.uk and facebook.com/carnivaldursley for more information.