THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504080256
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Even queens get sick.
Polly Astor, the 23-year-old college student who was to be the Norfolk International Azalea Festival's 42nd queen, has contracted mononucleosis. On March 31, festival officials were notified that under her doctor's orders, Astor, of Norwich, County of Norfolk, England, would not be able to attend the event here.
Rebecca Temperley of London, England, has been selected to assume the crown. Temperley is a 25-year-old second-year student at the College of Law in London.
The festival, Norfolk's salute to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, runs from April 23 to April 30. Great Britain has been selected as this year's most honored nation.
This marks the second time in the event's history that a queen has had to be replaced. In 1971, Sarah Churchill, granddaughter of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, refused the crown because of her sentiments against the Vietnam War, said Anne Lankford, chairwoman for this year's festival.
Officials were scrambling when they received the news.
``We were in a frenzy when we got the phone call,'' said Julie McCollum, public relations chairwoman for the festival. ``The queen is the focal point of the week's activities, and it's three weeks away.''
The royal replacement was found within a day, however.
Temperley was chosen from about 15 candidates. Queen selection is overseen by the British ambassador to the United States, and the lord lieutenant of the County of Norfolk, England.
Temperley attended high school for a year in Charlottesville while her father was a visiting professor at the University of Virginia. Her father is now Astor's professor at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. When asked for a recommendation for a new queen, he suggested his daughter, said Capt. Richard Meryon, with NATO's Supreme Allied Command Atlantic and a member of the Azalea Festival Committee.
The selection process is informal. Candidates are measured on a broad range of qualities. Style, a gregarious personality, public speaking ability, attractiveness and stamina are among the attributes sought.
Despite the change in queen, there will be no change in the schedule of events.
``Nothing will be eliminated from the original plan,'' McCollum said. ``There may, however, be some additional functions that the new queen may elect to attend.''
Meryon said he's not worried about the substitution. ``Miss Temperley will make a fine queen. She's lived in Virginia, so there's linkage. Plus, she fits into all of Polly Astor's dresses.'' ILLUSTRATION: Rebecca Temperley
by CNB