The family of a Scots schoolgirl who has been crowed Bo'Ness gala queen transformed their home into a two-storey high fairytale castle.
The beautiful pink castle is part of the Bo'ness Children's Fair Festival, which was first held during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
As part of the celebrations, a young girl is named queen of the gala each year, with 12-year-old Aimee Gilchrist being elected the 125th Queen this year.
She was crowned in the town's Glebe Park in front of nearly 10,000 people, following a procession around the town.
Aimee, who was elected in by fellow pupils at Bo'ness Public Primary School in January, wore a stunning ivory dress and tiara for her special day, which is regarded as the highest honour in the town.
The Bo'ness Fair is perhaps most famous for the dozens of themed "arches" that appear around the town to mark the event.
This year's main theme was "Beauty and the Beast" and Aimee's family transformed the front of their home into a fairytale castle 24 feet high and 32 feet wide, complete with turrets.
She will represent the town and carry out a range of civic duties throughout the year. Her responsibilities are likely to range from grand openings and handing out awards to visiting care homes and switching on the Christmas lights.
Aimee, who celebrated her 12th birthday on Thursday said: "I was shocked to be elected, but it's the best thing ever.
"My sister Chloe and I were flower girls three years ago but I always wanted to be the Queen.
"When I found out, I asked if I could have a castle as big as our house. It's amazing. My friends love it."
Mum Morag, 42, a paediatric nurse, was born and raised in Bo'ness, and was a fairy in the 1986 Fair. Dozens of other family members have held ceremonial roles over more than a century, from presentees and flower girls to ladies in waiting and Queen of the Fairies.
Aimee's great great grandfather, Archie McKay, was Yeoman of the Guard in the 1920 event.
And Morag revealed her youngest daughter may have been born for the role.
She said: "Aimee was born the day before the Bo'ness Fair (in 2010) and I was worried I was going to miss the crowning in the park for the first time.
"When we were discharged from the hospital we came straight to the Fair. We got back in time for the procession. That was Aimee's first day after she was born and exactly 12 years later she's being crowned herself.
"I'm very proud of Aimee because it's the biggest honour you can have. She'll be known as the Queen for the rest of her life."
Morag added: "When Aimee found out she was to be Queen, she said she wanted a Beauty and the Beast castle for her arch.
"My only stipulation was it was to be no bigger than the house. My poor dad George landed the job of building it, but he had help."
Dad Steven, 42, said: "Aimee's just taking it all in her stride."
Local man Alan Christie is a friend of Aimee’s grandfather and helped build the castle.
Speaking to the Record he explained that although Aimee’s castle is unique in its colour and detail he says it is ‘moderate’ for Bo’ness Fair.
He said: “Aimee’s castle has been months in planning.
"We started sketching it out in January but didn’t start building until March, when a local farmer let’s people in to use his barn.
“That offers plenty space to get things together and we worked on it from March right up until to the last couple of weeks.
“We used plywood for the walls, the stain glass windows were made up of a special plastic and the paint was just ordinary stuff from B&Q but we used a layer of PVA glue to waterproof it, that’s an old fair trick that has been getting used for years!
“We were happy with the finsihed product, it is striking with its details and colors but compared to previous entries I would say it is fairly moderate in height for Bo’ness Fair.”
Bo’ness Fair began as a celebration of coal miners’ freedom. Until the end of the 18th century, all Scottish miners were the property of the pits they worked in, as were their children. In 1779, an Act of Parliament released them.
To celebrate, Bo’ness pit workers marched to the homes of the colliery owners, led by their elected deacon, wearing his ornate bonnet, sash and sword. They were given glasses of whisky toddy, before a brass band led them to the banks of the Forth, to enjoy horse races.
A fairground was set up and there was dancing in the Town Hall for all the mining families. Gradually, other workers in the town began to take part in the fair and, in 1894, local police commissioners who governed Bo’ness joined in the procession, to take the focus away from drunkenness and improve the event’s reputation.
Children first formed an official part of the fair’s festivities in 1897, for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Scot McBride, Chairman of the Bo'ness Children's Fair Festival, said: "We went ahead with the Fair through the pandemic to keep the tradition going but they were very scaled down affairs.
"This is the first full-scale Fair we've had since 2019, and people are so happy that it's back. Nothing else brings a community together like this."
He added: "We've picked a fantastic Queen. From this day on, she will always be known in Bo'ness as the 125th Fair Queen"
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