Rick-The london tradition of pearly kings and queens began in 1875 by a young lad named Henry Croft,he wanted a way to raise money for disabled children (at that time there was no welfare system),he knew that if he went to carnivals etc he needed a way to draw attention to himself,so decided to cover his suit inhundreds of "pearly " buttons,his plan was a sucsess in that he raised the equivalent of 200,000 pounds.The tradition is still carried on today with an annual Pearly Parade,sorry i dont know when it is.john