History of the Royal Court
The Royal Court participates in the Freedom Festival Parade in Cedar Rapids.
The Royal Court program dates back to 1981 when the Czech Heritage Foundation formulated a program under which boys and girls could compete for the title of Czech Heritage Foundation Prince and Princess. The royal couple was crowned during the annual Houby Days Festival in Czech Village. Since its inception, there have been numerous princes and princesses who have served as cultural ambassadors.
In 2005, the Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa pageant committee started a Little Sister program to encourage youngsters to become more involved in their Czech heritage. (This program was inspired by the Little Sister program used at the Miss Czech-Slovak US Pageant, where each queen is assigned a little sister for the weekend, with the purpose of showcasing what it is like to be queen and foster interest in heritage.)
In 2015, the Czech Heritage Foundation expanded the concept to include little brothers, and program and the Little Sister and Little Brother program moved under the umbrella of the Prince and Princess Program to create today’s Royal Court program.
In 2023, the Czech Heritage Foundation expanded the program to include King and Junior Queen titles. The Royal Court hierarchy now includes, Czech King and Junior Queen, Czech Prince and Princess and Little Brother and Little Sister.