LOUISVILLE, Ky. — You don't have to travel to Buckingham Palace to get a glimpse of royalty. You can now find it right here in the Commonwealth!

The Kentucky Derby Festival on Monday introduced its 2023 Royal Court, tapping five young women to serve as Princesses at this year's festival.

The princesses—Hayley Benson, Lauren Carter, Mahshad Taheri, Mallory Hudson and Valerie Tran—were crowned during an event at the Dillard's in Mall St. Matthews. They'll each act as ambassadors for the community as they attend over 70 Derby Festival events in the run up to the 149th Kentucky Derby.

You can learn more about each princess below.

The Royal Court Program celebrates the state’s most civic-minded and academically achieving college students, and each woman receives combined scholarships of $3,000.

“For the past six decades, seeing the Derby Festival Princesses out in the community has been one of the most visible and anticipated signs that the fun and excitement of the Derby Festival season is around the corner,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO. “We’re honored to partner with Luzianne® Tea, an iconic brand that shares our values of celebrating traditions that bring people and communities together.”

Two alternates were also chosen – Brooke Berry, of Eminence, KY, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, was chosen as the first alternate. Arushi Gupta of Louisville, KY, a senior at the University of Louisville, was chosen as the second alternate. They will become Princesses if one of the other women is unable to serve.

One of the five Princesses will be crowned the Derby Festival Queen by a spin-of-the-wheel at the annual Fillies Derby Ball on Saturday, April 15 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown.

The first Derby Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the second year of the Festival. Previous Princesses have included former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins and the late Gail Gorski, the first female pilot ever hired by United Airlines