The Lord Mayor of London: Carnivals, Cloaks and Financial Control

Most people know the Mayor of London. Not only are they a prominent figure, but Londoners actually get a say in who they are. The Mayor of London, however, is actually a brand spanking new role. It only came into being in 2000, and to date there have only been three: Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and now Sadiq Khan. The Lord Mayor of London, however, has some serious history.

Perhaps you know all about the LMoL. Maybe you were, like me, taken as a child to see the Lord Mayor’s Show. You may work in the Corporation of London and know all the ins and outs of office. Regardless, the two positions have undoubtedly caused confusion. The Lord Mayor’s official title actually changed in an attempt at disambiguation, but it didn’t really stick. So what difference does the Lord bit really make to the role?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. Lord Mayor of London has been a position since 1189; its a time-honoured role. The jobs certainly differ, but one of the major points is that the Lord Mayor only deals with the City of London. This is the small central part, stretching from just Tower Hill to Temple and up past the Barbican, which is actually a county all of its own. The Mayor of London looks after Greater London as a whole: a far bigger fish to fry.

Size isn’t everything though: the Lord Mayor has a lot of kudos. In the City, he bows to absolutely no one except monarchy – move over Khan. It’s also one of the world’s oldest civic offices and the Lord Mayor’s power stretches outside the City walls. The LM represents and supports both business and residents in the City, which includes the financial sector. Since our finance is so London-based, the Lord Mayor became champion for the UK’s entire financial sector, regardless of location.

So the Lord Mayor has all UK finance under their wing, has only the Queen to answer to and gets to live in Mansion House. Anything else we’d like to hand over? How about a pearl-encrusted sword? That’s right ladies and gents: you might think we live in a modern metropolis, but we actually have a pearl sword of state. London’s very own vajazzled weapon of choice. Bet Boris didn’t even have a glittery letter opener.

It’s not just bizarre armoury that the role comes with. There’s a whole host of archaic rituals and facts. Women can be Lord Mayor, but the title Lady Mayoress can only be given to Lord Mayor’s wives. If you’re a female Lord Mayor and have a husband, he gets nada. Instead, female Lord Mayors may elect a female consort to be Mayoress in his stead. It’s rare to find an antiquated system that seemingly encourages a female presence.

Obviously one can’t have a pearl sword and wear skinny jeans. Luckily, the Lord Mayor is bedecked in the most elaborate outfits, looking like they’ve taken the wrong turn off a pantomime stage. Regardless of gender, they wear black velvet court dress – you know, the standard coat, waistcoat, buckled shoes, black silk stockings and breeches. It’s all very Mr. Darcy, don’t you know. This says nothing of the plethora of capes and gowns. There’s one for every occasion – scarlet, violet, crimson velvet, black silk with gold, red wool and a fetching fur trim. There’s also the tricorn hat – a three-pointed affair that has an ostrich feather because why the hell not. It’s like Project Runway from the Regency Era.

The pomp doesn’t end there. Step up The Lord Mayor’s Show, which takes place the day after election. The role is just one year long, meaning not only that the show happens annually, but that there have been over 700 Lord Mayors in history. The show is the closest thing we have to traditional English carnival (much as I’d love to claim the roots of Notting Hill Carnival for our culture). There’s a big procession through the City where everyone dresses up, and it’s all topped off with a fireworks display. They Lord Mayor gets to see all of this from the comfort of a gold carriage, naturally.

By now, I’d be feeling pretty hard done by if I were Mayor. Lord Mayor’s seem to get a remarkable amount for a rather vague sounding job description. When you look into it, it mostly involves state visits and speeches. Having worked for the Corporation I’ve met a couple of them, been to state events, heard some of those speeches, and I’m frankly none the wiser. All I know is, next time the Mayor is up for election, we better get a carnival out of it or Khan’s successor may just quit and join the Corporation instead.

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