List of Veiled Prophet Belles and Queens

This is a list of women who have been particularly honored at the Veiled Prophet Ball in St. Louis, Missouri, as either belle or queen.

The custom of singling out a young woman for special attention began with the first Veiled Prophet Ball in 1878, when Suzanne (Susie) Slayback was chosen by the first Veiled Prophet, John G. Priest, to be the "belle" of the ball at the age of 16.

According to a 1958 article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, in those earlier times it was "the custom of the Prophet to select a girl for his partner in the first dance at the ball.

"[1][2][3] The first crowned "queen" was Hester Bates Laughlin in 1894, whose coiffure was topped with a headpiece supposedly a replica of that worn by Queen Victoria.

[1] The Veiled Prophet honorees have been:

Some Veiled Prophet Queens, St. Louis Republic, September 23, 1900. They are, clockwise , from top left, Hester Laughlin, 1894; Jane Dorothy Fordyce, 1897; Marie Theresa Scanlan, 1898; Ellen Humphries Walsh, 1899; Mary Louise McCreery, 1896; and Bessie Kingsland, 1895. The woman in the center was not identified.
Suzanne Slayback, 1878
Hester Bates Laughlin, 1894
Marie Scanlan, 1898
Ellen H. Walsh, 1899
Louise Chouteau , 1903
Jane Taylor, 1912
Adaline Capen, 1913
Ella Zeibig, 1914
Jane Shapleigh, 1915
Mary D. Jones, 1916
Marian Franciscus, 1919
Ada R. Johnson, 1920
Eleanor Simmons, 1921
Alice Busch, 1922
Ellie Kemper , 1999