A Community Fit For a Queen: The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire

In 1961, a drag queen named José Sarria became the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, running for City Supervisor of San Francisco. When she wasn’t revolutionizing the role of LGBTQ+ folks in San Franciscan politics, she was “Her Royal Majesty, Absolute Empress de San Francisco, José I, The Widow Norton.” The “Widow Norton” title came from the first self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States, Joshua Norton, who was dubbed thusly in 1859. Sarria, who passed away in 2013, was posthumously inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2023.

Through her proclamation of royalty she established the Imperial Court System (now the International Court System or ICS), a network of nearly 70 royal courts registered as nonprofit charitable organizations. These courts that span the length of North America have been operating for nearly 50 years. The passion they have for pageantry and pomp is passed doubly by their passion for providing resources to their communities.

“Since [returning to our roles] we’ve raised over $20,000 to help the community. That, for me, is what the love of this is all about.”

I was fortunate enough to sit down with King Bob and Nubbs From Hell, the two reigning monarchs of The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire (RCGSE), Salt Lake City’s chapter of the ICS. The RCGSE, which is now registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was the first gay community organization in the state of Utah, established in 1976. Since their founding, they have raised over one million dollars to support the Salt Lake queer community.

The reigning monarchs, who have returned to their roles after a non-sequential re-election, made it abundantly clear that the RCGSE focuses on one thing: community. “It’s not about us, it’s about the community,” says Nubbs. “Since [returning to our roles] we’ve raised over $20,000 to help the community. That, for me, is what the love of this is all about.” King Bob demonstrated the scale of their community impact: “Last year we raised $75,000, and during my reign 22 years ago, we raised $95,000.” This is around $165,000 today, when adjusted for inflation.

The RCGSE has run into a bittersweet problem, though. There are so many popular LGBTQ+ community organizations in the Salt Lake Valley that the Royal Court is finding it difficult to keep up with costs amid rising competition. There are scores more drag venues than before, but few that will volunteer their space for fundraising efforts. “At one point in time, the Court was the only game in town to do drag,” King Bob says. “We went from a big fish in a little pond, to a little fish in a bigger pond.” The King continues, “Most of our fundraising is done through drag shows and unfortunately, since there are less bars to perform in to do fundraising, it’s been a bit of a hindrance.”

“It goes to prove that an organization like the American Legion, which is primarily military, can get along with the LGBTQ+ community.”

This is not to say that they aren’t finding any venues at all. In fact, one of their most important allies has come in a rather unexpected form. “Our daughter court in Ogden … use[s] the American Legion in Clearfield. These organizations that were once considered conservative have opened their doors and found that there is a way to link us all together,” King Bob says. “It goes to prove that an organization like the American Legion, which is primarily military, can get along with the LGBTQ+ community.”

According to Bob and Nubbs, the event of the season is the Snowball, their annual Christmas-themed fundraiser and coronation ceremony during which the former monarch abdicates the throne to the new inductees. These events contribute funds to the RCGSE’s impressive portfolio of relief funds for people with AIDS, cancer and other financial needs. To learn more about their fundraising events and membership, check them out at rcgse.org or @rcgse on Instagram.

Read more SLUG coverage of the LGBTQ+ community:
BYU’s Gayest Lighting Rig and the Film that Followed
Shannon Beveridge’s exes and o’s hits Salt Lake City