Tributes have poured in for two Pearly Queens who died in a traffic collision last weekend.
Joyce Carr MBE, the Pearly Queen of Southwark, and Peggy Oliver, the Pearly Queen of Redbridge, both died following a collision in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.
The two women, who were sisters-in-law, had been on their way to visit a sick relative when their car collided with another.
Both cars spun off the road and ended up in a field, where Joyce, 75, and Peggy, 83, were declared dead.
The pair had “spent their lives with their families raising funds and promoting various charities,” according to a spokesperson for the original Pearly Kings & Queens Association.
They added: “This is a very sad time for our Association Members, who all knew and worked with them, so we share their loss and send our condolences to the two families.”
Jimmy Jukes, the Pearly King of Camberwell and Bermondsey, also added his condolences.
The founder of charity Homes 4 Heroes UK said: “I’ve known Peggy for years, she was a good girl. I didn’t really know Joyce, although I had met her at a few events. Of course it’s never nice when anyone dies but they were also our pearly sisters. It’s a real shame.”
Joyce’s daughter and Peggy’s niece Denise was also in the car. She remains in a serious but stable condition in a Cambridgeshire hospital. The driver and passenger in the other car received minor injuries.
Police are now appealing for information about the cause of the deadly crash.
Sergeant Simon Goldsmith from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit, said: “The driver of the Qashqai recalls seeing a car pass them at the time of the collision, so I am appealing to whoever was in that car to get in touch with us urgently.”
Anyone who witnessed the collision or either of the vehicles in the moments leading up to it should anonymously call the road policing unit on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or report via their website www.crimestoppers-uk.org.