By Ashlee Clark

LOUISVILLE — It’s good to be the queen.

But it might not have felt like it under the 50-pound cape that Taléa Drummer wore during Thursday’s Pegasus Parade. [STORY CONTINUES BELOW SLIDESHOW]

AUDIO SLIDESHOW BY JENN ACKERMAN

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The decades-old cape, red and trimmed in real fur, added a certain regal flair as Drummer took the only seat on the float adorned with, of course, red roses.The other princesses had to stand, one hand clutching a pole, the other cradling a bouquet, as they managed the 2-mile parade route.”I know I’m the queen, but when I put on the cape,” Drummer said, “It really sinks in.”

Drummer, a former Lexington resident, is one of five Derby princesses who serve as ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival, that packed schedule of events ranging from waiter races to hot-air balloon events.

For the past three weeks, the women, picked from a pool of 91 applicants, have endured 19-hour days, painful high heels and identical clothing to promote the Derby and show adoring little girls that yes, there is such a thing as a real, if temporary, princess.

The Derby pins are a mass of gold regalia on the princesses’ sashes, a testament to their frenzied schedule. But some stick out, like the little turtle they received after attending a reptilian race at a nursing home (”the longest two minutes in sports”) and the one in the shape of a keyafter Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson honored them with a key to the city.

Drummer, 24, was selected to be the queen of the court by the spin of a wheel, a tradition that has existed for the court’s 50-year history.

Drummer’s duties are the same as the other princesses’. But she wears the cape and a crown and holds a scepter during the Pegasus Parade, symbols that solidify the surreal royal experience.

For example, the race earlier in the afternoon to find a place in front of the mirror as each princess touched up makeup, pre-parade, at a Louisville home. And, then, each stepping into identical voluminous white ball gowns, not unlike the shape of a cupcake, and featuring, for the first time in Derby princess history, barely visible pale pink accents.

While there was excitement when the dressing was done, three weeks into the job, even a ball gown becomes just another official garment. For the princesses and queen take their duties during their short but royal reign seriously.

Even in the midst of preparing for the parade, arguably their biggest turn in the spotlight, Christin Herbst, a senior at the University of Kentucky, made it a point to haul out a notebook and make a list of all the people who should receive thank-you notes.

In fact, all five women are college students and have balanced their royal responsibilities with impending final exams. They studied between events in the van that transports them around the city. They rearranged finals beforehand with their professors. But, most important, they were there for one another during stressful times, said Drummer, who had to complete her duties as a second-year master’s student and resident director at the University of Louisville.

“We’ve all been a support system for each other,” she said. “Finals are happening. Classes are tight. The support is there on all fronts. It’s a good feeling.”

But don’t cry for them, Kentucky. Being a princess has its perks.

“It’s kind of like a dream,” said Katie Allen, a Louisville native who goes to Belmont University in Nashville. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

The five women said they are lucky to have been selected as Derby princesses. They have had the chance to meet celebrities (America’s Next Top Model star Nigel Barker is a favorite), eat free food (Derby pie at every meal) and keep all their clothes (jewelry, shoes and all). Plus, the princesses have behind-the-scenes access to the Derby that makes them appreciate the experience even more.

“My head spins every time we go down to Churchill Downs,” said Herbst, an Adair County native who plans to attend graduate school to study equine health.

The past three weeks have given the women a chance to bond as they never thought they would. They zip each other’s gowns, find emergency nail glue and give each other hair tips.

“I feel we all are queens, even though we’re called princesses,” Drummer said.

And, as the float made its way through the crowd, little girls leaned forward and, for a second, believed they, too, might grow up to be a real-life princess and, with the right spin of a wheel, maybe even a queen.

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