THIS year’s Holsworthy Carnival will be breaking with tradition.

The carnival is believed to date from the turn of the twentieth century and for all that time there has been a carnival queen and a fairy queen.

But, following a good-natured query on one of the local Facebook sites as to why boys were excluded from taking part in the carnival as carnival royalty, the carnival committee has decided to break with the long-standing tradition and invite applications from boys and men for the roles of this year’s carnival royalty.

A spokesperson said: “Although the committee believes it is unlikely that they will receive many, if any, applications for the position of carnival ‘King’ or ‘Prince’, it is hoped that there will be boys under the age of twelve who would like to be the ‘Fairy Prince’ at this year’s carnival — which takes place on Saturday, November 18.”

Anybody interested should get in contact with the carnival committee via its website or Facebook page.