Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association’s Queen Rosemary Elaine Dunning
Spend one minute with Queen Rosemary Elaine Dunning and you are blown away by both her beauty and her genuine personality. Chosen as this year’s MAMGA Queen, Rosemary is using her platform to speak on the importance of mental health while simultaneously honoring century-old traditions.
by Caroline Edmondson; photography by Stevye Murray
The daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dunning, Jr., Her Majesty, Queen Rosemary Elaine Dunning, is delighted to have been chosen as this year’s MAMGA Queen. “This means everything to me,” she exclaims. Her mother, Valerie Dunning, shares in her daughter’s excitement for the season ahead, adding, “To share such an experience is exciting. For me, it’s about family legacy, as well as being a role model to others, not to mention giving back to the community. She now has an opportunity to take a stand, state her platform, and leave a legacy of her own – one that will be woven into the fabric of Mobile’s history,” Valerie says. “To have a voice is powerful. To be among the few ladies chosen to lead this organization for one season as Queen is a privilege and honor,” she adds.
Rosemary attended high school in Charlotte, NC at Gaston Day School before attending High Point University to obtain a degree in both Psychology and Spanish. That’s right: Rosemary is bilingual, able to speak and write fluently in Spanish. Rosemary says she has plans to further her education by obtaining her Masters, then Doctorate, in psychology. “I want to serve those with mental illness and disorders in a higher capacity, while capitalizing on an entrepreneurial and creative drive through the arts and business,” Rosemary says. Not only is Rosemary evidently left-brained, she also is a talented artist and writer, with some of her work featured in several museums in Charlotte, including the Mint Museum as well as the Levine Museum of the South.
Rosemary says family tradition means everything to her and will be at the center of her reign as Queen. From early childhood, Her Majesty remembers her sweet Granny presenting the first beads and serving their first drink as soon as her family arrived back home in Mobile for the season and recalls fondly her Granmamom kick-starting their celebration with a delicious bowl of Southern gumbo. “Rosemary and I have always shared the memory of having brunch on Fat Tuesday at the Spot of Tea,” her mother adds. “We love spending quality time together, and this has been a family tradition every year.”
Royalty runs in the family, as her mother once served as First Lady in Waiting in the MAMGA Court where she met Rosemary’s father, Richard, who served as a Knight. In addition, her grandmother, Rosemary Watson, was selected at First Lady in Waiting in 1949.
When it comes to Queen Rosemary’s royal regalia, both Rosemary and her mother spent countless hours designing every aspect of her costume. The theme of her regalia is “Family Heritage,” emphasizing the culture, family, and traditions Rosemary is surrounded with each day. Rosemary enlisted the help of Patricia Halsell-Richardson of Patricia Ann’s to create her intricate train and mantle, Camila Ford of Gabriella Rothschild’s to design her crown and scepter, and Shelia Powell of Port City Designs and Emma Bettis to commission her gown.
Rosemary’s train features a backdrop of geometrical shapes that flow together to create a pattern. Each shape in the design represents a family member of her royal lineage and creates a motif of symmetry and balance. Branches extend from the train’s initialed focal point representing her deep cultural roots, as mink fur trims the entire train, representing the warmth and richness that surrounds her family when in one other’s company. “Four stones (two rubies, a diamond, and a peridot) surround the ‘D’ focal point at the center of my train,” Rosemary details. “As a feminist, I hold a strong belief that both sexes carry the same weight. These stones align with this value system by representing the matriarchs in my family that herald the women in my life [her mother and grandmothers] and that I will pass down to my children. They also stand beside – not in front of or behind – the name which I inherited from my father,” Rosemary shares.
Ever proud of her heritage, Rosemary’s crown and scepter incorporate the original metal hand scrollings of Oliver Irving of New Orleans, perhaps one of the only black crown and scepter makers in America. Rosemary will also be wearing two diamond rings from both her mother and grandmother to complete her look.
One of the most important events for the MAMGA Queen is the Queen’s Luncheon wherein Queen Rosemary is expected to give her speech highlighting her platform. “Advocating for mental health as my platform is something I am all too excited about, as it is the focal point of my reign,” she says. Her mother has enjoyed helping Rosemary create ways in which she can make a difference in the community in which she began her educational experiences, and eagerly awaits the moment her daughter’s hard work pays off at the luncheon. “Watching Rosemary fulfill her duties as Queen have encompassed my most favorite moments,” Valerie beams. “She’s a very passionate young lady and takes on tasks full-force. It takes a lot to excite her. To observe her planning process has been quite interesting. She has always been a perfectionist. Watching her take receipt of her crown and scepter was the most exciting so far. The smile on her face was priceless,” Valerie shares.
Rosemary loves her home, especially all of the delicious creole and soul food around every corner. But more so, she says she enjoys our culture, and how that translates to our way of living. “The pace is perfect for building lifelong relationships and focusing on what is important in life instead of being distracted by things that can be taken away,” she says. And as the season begins, Rosemary looks forward to the experiences that she will share with her court and the subsequent memories to follow, as she knows they will stay with her for a lifetime. “Mostly, I am looking forward to sharing this experience with the small group of ladies, both before and after me, that are in this exclusive club,” Rosemary says.
