For the oldest krewes, the climax of Mardi Gras is not the parades, but the lavish private balls celebrating their Monarchs of Merriment. Rex and Comus throw the grandest fêtes, culminating in a trip by Rex — the King of Carnival — and his debutante consort to pay tribute to the King and Queen of Comus just before midnight. In 1950, Prince Edward and his American bride, Wallis Simpson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor attended the Comus ball, where the British royals bowed and curtsied before the Krewe’s make-believe monarchs, much to the delight of the assembled New Orleans grandees.