View source for Lady Mayor of London

{{short description|Mayor of the City of London and leader of the City of London Corporation}}
{{for|a list of Lord Mayors|List of lord mayors of London}}
{{about|the mayor of the City of London|the directly elected mayor of Greater London|Mayor of London}}
{{Infobox political post
| post = Lady Mayor
| body = London
| nativename = 
| image = Dame Susan Langley.jpg
| alt = 
| incumbent = [[Susan Langley|Dame Susan Langley]]
| incumbentsince = 7 November 2025
| style = My [[Lord mayor|Lord/Lady mayor]]<br />[[The Right Honourable]]
| residence = [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House, EC4]]
| appointer = Electors: [[Court of Aldermen|Aldermen]]
| termlength = One year
| formation = 1189
| succession = 
| inaugural = Sir [[Henry fitz Ailwin|Henry FitzAlan]]
| deputy = 
| salary = None (''[[pro bono]]'')
| website = {{Official website|https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-us/about-the-city-of-london-corporation/lord-mayor}}
| flag = Flag of the Lord Mayor of the City of London.svg
| flagsize = 160px
| flagcaption = Flag of the Lady Mayor
}}

The '''Lady Mayor of London''' is the [[Mayors in England|mayor]] of the [[City of London]], England, and the [[Leader of the council|leader]] of the [[City of London Corporation]]. Within the City, the Lady Mayor is accorded [[Order of precedence|precedence]] over all individuals except the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|sovereign]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allan C. Fisher Jr. |date=June 1961 |title="The City" - London's Storied Square Mile |journal=[[National Geographic]] |volume=119 |issue=6 |pages=735–778}}</ref> and retains various traditional powers, rights, and privileges, including the [[title]] and [[Style (manner of address)|style]] ''[[The Right Honourable]] Lady Mayor of London''.

One of the world's oldest continuously elected [[Civil office|civic office]]s, it is entirely separate from the directly elected [[mayor of London]], a political office controlling a budget which covers the much larger area of [[Greater London]]. Dame Susan Langley serves as the 697th Lord/Lady Mayor (for 2025–2026).

The Corporation of London changed its name to the City of London Corporation in 2006, and accordingly the title '''Lord/Lady Mayor of the City of London''' was introduced, so as to avoid confusion with that of Mayor of London. The legal and commonly used title remains ''Lord/Lady Mayor of London''. The [[Lord mayor|Lord/Lady mayor]] is elected at ''Common Hall'' each year on [[Michaelmas]], and takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday in November, at ''The Silent Ceremony''. The [[Lord Mayor's Show|Lady Mayor's Show]] is held on the day after taking office; the Lady Mayor, preceded by a procession, travels to the [[Royal Courts of Justice]] at the [[Strand, London|Strand]] to swear allegiance to the Sovereign/Monarch before the [[High Court judge (England and Wales)|Justices]] of the [[High Court of England and Wales|High Court]].

Currently, the Lady Mayor's main role is to represent and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. Today these are mostly financial businesses, and the Lady Mayor is regarded as the champion of the entire UK-based financial sector. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lady Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority and also has important ceremonial and social responsibilities. The Lady Mayor is non-affiliated politically (not a member of any political party), typically delivering hundreds of speeches and addresses per year and attending many receptions and other events in London and beyond, and usually makes overseas visits under the auspices of the [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|FCDO]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityam.com/the-lord-mayor-is-taking-too-many-overseas-trips-according-to-a-new-city-of-london-corporation-report-by-sir-simon-fraser/|title=The Lord Mayor is taking too many overseas trips, according to a new City of London Corporation report by Sir Simon Fraser|first=Caitlin|last=Morrison|date=18 February 2016|website=CityAM}}</ref> The Lady Mayor is ''[[ex officio]]'' [[Rector (academia)|Rector]] of [[City University London|City University of London]] and [[Port of London Authority|Admiral of the Port of London]].

The Lady Mayor is assisted by the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]] [[Esquire]]s including the [[Marshal#England|City Marshal]], [[City of London swords|Sword Bearer]] and [[Town Crier|Common Crier]], as well as the [[Chaplain]], [[The Venerable|Venerable]] [[Ray Pentland]]. The Lady Mayor has six Cadet Aides de Camp representing the Uniformed Youth Organisation branches connecting with the City Cadet Forces. The ADCs welcome inquiries to arrange new affiliations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 January 2017 |title="Bishop joins birthday celebrations for St Mary's Church, Harrow on the Hill" |url=http://bishopoflondon.org/news/bishop-joins-birthday-celebrations-for-st-marys-harrow-on-the-hill/}}; {{Cite web |last=Pullman |first=Nigel |date=17 April 2020 |title=Guildhall last night confirmed that William Russell will now remain in office [as LM] until November 2021, subject to being formally re-elected later this year. |url=https://twitter.com/NigelPullman/status/1251046946724286464 |access-date=17 April 2020 |publisher=liverycompanies.info |language=en |via=Twitter}}; {{Cite web |date=29 September 2020 |title=Calendar Event |url=https://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/mgCalendarEvent.aspx?Id=138&RPID=0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://liverycommittee.org/about/livery-companies-and-guilds/military-affiliations/uniform-youth-organisations/ | title=Uniform Youth Organisations }}</ref>

Historically known as ''Lord Mayor of London'', in 2025 the title was restyled as ''Lady Mayor of London'' following the appointment of Dame [[Susan Langley]] to the position.

==Titles and honours==
[[File:William McArthur, Vanity Fair, 1881-10-08.jpg|thumb|upright|[[William McArthur (Lord Mayor of London)|Sir William McArthur]], Lord Mayor of London, [[Cartoon|caricatured]] by [[Leslie Ward]], 1881]]
Of the 69 cities in the United Kingdom, the City of London is among the 30 with lord mayors (or, in [[Scotland]], [[lord provost|lords provost]]). The Lord Mayor is entitled to the prefix [[The Right Honourable]]; the same privilege extends only to the lord mayors of [[York]], [[Cardiff]], Bristol and [[Belfast]], and to the lords provost of [[Edinburgh]] and [[Glasgow]]. The style is used when referring to the office, not to the holder: thus, "The Rt Hon Lord Mayor of London" would be correct, while "The Rt Hon Alastair King" would be incorrect. The prefix applies personally only to [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|privy counsellors]] and peers.

Women who have previously held the office have been known as a [[Lord Mayor]] but Alderwoman Dame [[Susan Langley]] DBE taking office in November 2025 announced her intention to adopt the style of Lady Mayor following the established precedent of having Lady Justices and indeed currently a Lady Chief Justice. The wife of a male Lord Mayor is styled as [[Lady Mayoress]], but no equivalent title exists for the husband of a female Lord Mayor or Lady Mayor. A female Lord Mayor or an unmarried male Lord Mayor may appoint a female consort, usually a fellow member of the Corporation, to the role of Lady Mayoress. In speech, a Lord Mayor is referred to as "My Lord Mayor", and a Lady Mayoress as "My Lady Mayoress".

It was once customary for Lord Mayors to be appointed [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Knighthood|knights]] upon taking office and [[baronet]]s upon retirement, unless they already held such a title. This custom was generally followed from the 16th to the 19th centuries; creations became more regular from 1889 onward. From 1964 onward, the regular creation of hereditary titles such as baronetcies was phased out, so subsequent Lord Mayors were offered knighthoods (and, until 1993, most often as Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (GBE)). Since 1993, Lord Mayors have not automatically received a national honour upon appointment, but have been made [[knights bachelor]] upon retirement. [[Brown Ministry|Gordon Brown's Government]] broke with that tradition by making [[Ian Luder]] a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] after his term of office in 2009, and the following year [[Nick Anstee]] declined offers of an honour. Furthermore, foreign heads of state visiting the City of London on a UK state visit, diplomatically bestow upon the Lord Mayor one of their suitable national honours. For example, in 2001 [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King&nbsp;Abdullah&nbsp;II]] of [[Jordan]] created [[Sir David Howard, 3rd Baronet|Sir David Howard]] a Grand Cordon (First Class) of the [[Order of Independence (Jordan)|Order of Independence]]. Recently Lord Mayors at the beginning of their term have been appointed [[Venerable Order of Saint John|knights or dames of St John]] by the late Queen [[Elizabeth II]], Sovereign Head of the [[Venerable Order of St John|Order of St John]] until [[Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II|her death in 2022]].

==History==
{{see also|List of lord mayors of London}} 
[[File:Stained glass illustrating Henry Fitz-Ailwin, Guildhall. London.JPG|thumb|Stained glass in Guildhall, London, showing Henry fitz Ailwin]]
[[File:Lord Mayor's Show (Canaletto).JPG|thumb|In 1747, the Lord Mayor proceeded to Westminster Hall via [[barge]] on the River Thames.]]
[[File:Admission ticket to Lord Mayor Thomas Gabriel's reception of H.I.M. The Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz Khan at The Guildhall, 18 July 1867 issued to the Chairman of P. & O. Navigation Company.jpg|thumb|Copy of admission ticket as issued to the Chairman of P&nbsp;&&nbsp;O Navigation Company for Lord Mayor Sir Thomas Gabriel's reception of [[Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz Khan]] at Guildhall, 18 July 1867]]
The office of Mayor was instituted in 1189, the first holder being [[Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone]]. The Mayor of the City of London has been elected by the City, rather than appointed by the sovereign, since a royal charter issued by [[John of England|King John]] in 1215. The title "Lord Mayor" came to be used after 1354, when it was granted to Thomas Legge by [[King Edward III]].

Lord Mayors are elected for one-year terms, and customarily serve only one term. Numerous individuals have served multiple terms, including:

As Mayor
* 24 terms: Sir [[Henry fitz Ailwin|Henry FitzAlan]] (1189–1212)
* 9 terms: [[Ralph de Sandwich]] (1285–1289, 1289–1292)
* 8 terms: [[Gregory de Rokesley]] (1274–1280, 1284)
* 7 terms: [[Buckerl|Andrew Buckerel]] (1231–1237); [[John de Breton|John le Breton]] (1289, 1293–1298); [[John le Blund]] (1301–1307)
* 6 terms: [[Richard le Ranger]] (1222–1226, 1238); [[Hamo de Chigwell]] (1319, 1321, 1322, 1324, 1325, 1327)
* 5 terms: [[Serlo le Mercer]] (1214, 1218–1221)

As Lord Mayor
* [[Nicholas Brembre|Sir Nicholas Brembre]] (1377, 1383–1385; 4 terms)
* [[Richard Whittington|Sir Richard ('Dick') Whittington]] (1397, 1398, 1406 and 1419; 4 terms)
* [[William Sevenoke]] (1418)
* Sir [[Sir Robert Fowler, 1st Baronet|Robert Fowler]] (elected in 1883 and 1885).<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Mayoralty |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/history-and-heritage/mansion-house/Pages/history-of-the-mayoralty.aspx |publisher=City of London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020124623/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/history-and-heritage/mansion-house/Pages/history-of-the-mayoralty.aspx |archive-date=20 October 2013 }}</ref>
* Sir [[William Russell (Lord Mayor)|William Russell]] (2019–2021, 2 terms)

Almost 700 people have served as Lord Mayor. 

Dame [[Mary Donaldson, Baroness Donaldson of Lymington|Mary Donaldson]], elected in 1983, and Dame [[Fiona Woolf]], elected in 2013, are women to have already held the office of Lord Mayor. Alderwoman Dame [[Susan Langley]] has assumed the Mayoralty in 2025–2026, setting the precedent of taking office as Lady Mayor.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-us/about-the-city-of-london-corporation/lord-mayor/about-mayoral-appraisal-process | title=About Mayoral Appraisal process }}</ref>

Some Lord Mayors in the [[Middle Ages]], such as Sir [[Edward Dalyngrigge]] (1392), did not live in London. Since 1435, the Lord Mayor has been chosen from amongst the [[aldermen]] of the City of London.

==Election==
The Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall, comprising [[Liveryman|liverymen]] belonging to all of the City's [[Livery company|livery companies]]. Common Hall is summoned by the sitting Lord Mayor; it meets at [[Guildhall, London|Guildhall]] on [[Michaelmas Day]] (29 September) or on the closest weekday. Voting is by show of hands; if any liveryman so demands, balloting is held a fortnight later.

The qualification to stand for election is that one must have served as a City sheriff and be a current alderman. Since 1385, prior service as [[Sheriffs of the City of London|sheriff]] has been mandatory for election to the Lord Mayoralty. Two sheriffs are selected annually by Common Hall, which meets on [[Midsummer|Midsummer's Day]] for this purpose. By an ordinance of 1435, the Lord Mayor must be chosen from amongst the [[Alderman|aldermen]] of the City of London. Those on the electoral roll of each of the City's 25 wards select one alderman, who formerly held office for life or until resignation. Each alderman must now submit for re-election at least once in every six years.

The Lord Mayor is sworn in each November, on the day before the Lord Mayor's Show (''see below''). The ceremony is known as the "Silent Ceremony" because, aside from a short declaration by the incoming Lord Mayor, no speeches are made. At Guildhall, the outgoing Lord Mayor transfers the mayoral insignia – the [[Seal (emblem)|seal]], the purse, the [[City of London swords#State Sword|sword]] and the [[Ceremonial mace|mace]] — to the incoming Lord Mayor.

==Lord Mayor's Show==
{{Main|Lord Mayor's Show}}
[[File:LordMayorprocession2011.jpg|thumb|The [[Doggett's Coat and Badge|Doggett's Coat & Badgemen]], State Coach and Company of Pikemen and Musketeers of the [[Honourable Artillery Company]]) awaiting the lord mayor outside the [[Royal Courts of Justice]] on 12 November 2011]]
The day after being sworn into office, the Lord Mayor leads a procession from the City of London to the Royal Courts of Justice in the [[City of Westminster]], where the Lord Mayor swears allegiance to the Crown. This pageantry has evolved into one of London's longest-running and most popular annual events, known as the "Lord Mayor's Show". The Lord Mayor travels in the City's [[Lord Mayor of London's State Coach|state coach]] that was built in 1757 at a cost of £1,065.0s.3d. Nowadays, this festival combines traditional British pageantry with the element of [[carnival]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pghpr| title = www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer ''Lord Mayor's Show 2014''}}</ref> and since 1959 it has been held on the second Saturday in November. Participants include the livery companies, bands and members of the military, charities and schools. In the evening, a fireworks display is held.

==Role==
[[File:2011 Lord Mayor emerging from Royal Courts of Justice 2011.jpg|thumb|left|Lord Mayor [[David Wootton (lord mayor)|David Wootton]] and entourage emerging from the [[Royal Courts of Justice]], at the end of the 2011 Lord Mayor's Show]]
The Lord Mayor is a member of the City of London's governing body, the [[City of London Corporation]] (incorporated as ''The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London''). The Corporation comprises the [[Court of Aldermen]] and the [[Court of Common Council]]; the former includes only the aldermen, while the latter includes both aldermen and common councilmen. The Lord Mayor belongs to and presides over both bodies.

The main role of the Lord Mayor is to represent, support and promote all aspects of the UK's financial service industries, including maritime. This is undertaken as head of the City of London Corporation and includes hosting visiting foreign government ministers, business people and dignitaries as well as conducting foreign visits of their own.<ref name="auto"/>
[[File:Paddington Bear, Canalside Plaza - geograph.org.uk - 4235879.jpg|thumb|upright|Lord Mayor of London-themed [[Paddington Bear]] statue in 2014, auctioned to raise funds for the [[National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children]] (NSPCC)]]
Banquets hosted by the Lord Mayor serve as opportunities for senior government figures to deliver major speeches. At the Lord Mayor's Banquet (held on the Monday after the Lord Mayor's Show), the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] delivers the [[keynote]] address. At the Bankers' Dinner in June, the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] delivers a speech known as the "Mansion House Speech", which takes its name from the Lord Mayor's residence. At the Easter Banquet, also hosted each year at the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]], the [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] addresses an audience of international dignitaries.

The Lord Mayor takes part in major state occasions; for example, in 2013, the then-Lord Mayor, Sir [[Roger Gifford]], carried the [[Mourning Sword]] at [[Margaret Thatcher's funeral]], processing ahead of the Queen and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], into [[St Paul's Cathedral]].

The Lord Mayor performs numerous other functions, including serving as the [[chief magistrate]] of the City of London, [[Port of London Authority#Traditions|admiral of the Port of London]], [[Rector (academia)|rector]] of [[City, University of London]], president of [[Gresham College]], president of City of London [[Reserve Forces and Cadets Association]], and trustee of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. The Lord Mayor also heads the City's Commission of Lieutenancy, which represents the sovereign in the City of London (other counties usually have [[lord lieutenant]]s, as opposed to Commissions), and annually attends a meeting of the [[Treloar School|Treloar Trust]] (named after [[Sir William Treloar, 1st Baronet|Sir William Treloar]], Lord Mayor in 1906), in [[Hampshire]]. The Treloar Trust runs two educational sites for disabled children: a school and college.<ref>A more detailed account of the role of the lord mayor can be found in former Lord Mayor Sir John Stuttard's ''Whittington to World Financial Centre&nbsp;– The City of London and its Lord Mayor'' (2008 by Phillimore & Co) {{ISBN|978-1-86077-586-4}}.</ref>

==Rights and privileges==
[[File:Hans Holbein, the Younger - Sir Thomas More - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Lord Mayor's Collar of Esses also used as the symbol of office by Lord Chancellor [[Sir Thomas More]].]]
The residence of the Lord Mayor is known as the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]]. The establishment of the residence was considered after the [[Great Fire of London]] (1666), but construction did not commence until 1739. It was first occupied by a Lord Mayor in 1752, when [[Gascoigne|Sir Crispin Gascoigne]] took up residence. The official car of the Lord Mayor is a [[Rolls-Royce Phantom VI]] with registration number LM 0.

In each of the eighteen courtrooms of the [[Central Criminal Court, London|Old Bailey]], the centre of the judges' bench is reserved for the Lord Mayor, as chief justice of the City of London. The presiding judge therefore sits to one side.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/about-us/buildings-we-manage/Pages/old-bailey-history.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413112633/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/about-us/buildings-we-manage/Pages/old-bailey-history.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Old Bailey History|archivedate=13 April 2015}}</ref>

It is sometimes asserted that the Lord Mayor may exclude the monarch from the City of London. This legend is based on the misinterpretation of the ceremony observed each time the sovereign enters the City at [[Temple Bar, London|Temple Bar]], when the Lord Mayor presents the City's [[City of London swords#Pearl Sword|Pearl Sword]] to the sovereign as a symbol of the latter's overlordship. The monarch does not, as is often purported, wait for the Lord Mayor's permission to enter the City. When the sovereign enters the City, a short ceremony usually takes place where the Lord Mayor presents a sword to the monarch, symbolically surrendering their authority. If the sovereign is attending a service at St Paul's Cathedral this ceremony would take place there rather than at the boundary of the City, simply for convenience.

The importance of the office is reflected in the composition of the [[Accession Council]], a body which proclaims the accession of new sovereigns. The Council includes the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, as well as members of the [[House of Lords]] and [[privy councillor]]s. At the [[coronation of the British monarch|coronation banquet]] which follows, the Lord Mayor has the right to assist the royal butler. The same privilege is held by the [[List of mayors of Oxford|lord mayor of Oxford]], while the [[mayor of Winchester]] may assist the royal cook. Such privileges have not been exercised since 1821, when the [[coronation banquet]] (celebrating the coronation of [[George IV]]) was last held. {{cn|date=November 2025}}

==Official dress==
[[File:British (English) School - Sir Rowland Hill (1492^–1561) - 609006 - National Trust.jpg|alt=Sir Rowland Hill, who coordinated the Geneva Bible translation, wearing his chain of office as Lord Mayor in 1549|230px|thumb|[[Rowland Hill (MP)|Sir Rowland Hill]], who coordinated the [[Geneva Bible]] [[translation]], wearing his Lord Mayor's chain of office in 1549]]
On formal occasions the Lord Mayor wears traditional black velvet [[Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom|court dress]] consisting of a coat, waistcoat and knee breeches with steel cut buttons. This is worn with black silk stockings, patent court shoes with steel buckles, a white shirt with lace cuffs and a large jabot stock. This form of court dress is worn by all Lord Mayors regardless of gender.

When outdoors, the Lord Mayor wears a black beaver plush [[tricorne hat]] trimmed with black ostrich feathers and a steel 'loop' for the cockade. Traditionally, this has been made by Patey's, and re-commissioned by the [[Worshipful Company of Feltmakers]] for each incumbent Lord Mayor.

Since 1545 the Lord Mayor has worn a Royal Livery [[Livery collar|Collar of Esses]]. The collar's origins are not royal, [[John Alleyn (mercer)|Sir John Alleyn]], twice Lord Mayor, having bequeathed it to the next Lord Mayor and his successors "to use and occupie yerely at and uppon principall and festivall dayes". It was enlarged in 1567, and in its present shape has 28 Esses (the [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] ‘S’), [[House of Tudor|Tudor]] roses and the tasselled knots of the [[Garter]] (alternating) and also the [[Portcullis]], from which hangs the Mayoral Jewel.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/3511978/The-Lord-Mayor-of-Londons-treasures-go-on-show-as-the-Mansion-House-opens-its-doors.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/3511978/The-Lord-Mayor-of-Londons-treasures-go-on-show-as-the-Mansion-House-opens-its-doors.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=The Lord Mayor of London's treasures go on show as the Mansion House opens its doors | access-date=11 May 2010 | date=24 November 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Weinreb" /> The collar is worn over whatever the Lord Mayor may be wearing, secured onto their underdress or State Robes by means of black or white silk satin ribbons on the shoulders.

===Robes===
[[File:Gavyn Arthur.jpg|thumb|left|[[Gavyn Arthur (judge)|Lord Mayor Arthur]] wearing the state robe over court dress]]
As an [[alderman of the City of London]] the Lord Mayor has a scarlet gown and a violet gown, which are identical to those worn by their fellow aldermen except that they are [[Train (clothing)|trained]]. The violet robe is worn at most formal meetings of the Corporation with the scarlet robe substituted on certain days or occasions as directed by the City Ceremonial Book.

For state occasions when the monarch is present, the Lord Mayor wears a crimson velvet robe of state trimmed with an ermine cape and facings, similar to a royal earl's coronation robe. It is tied with gold cordons, and dates from the reign of George IV.<ref name="Weinreb"/>

On other ceremonial occasions a black silk damask robe trimmed with gold lace is worn, of a design the same as that of the [[Lord Chancellor]]. This is known as the Entertaining Gown.<ref name="Weinreb">{{cite book|author1=[[Ben Weinreb|Weinreb, Ben]] |author2=[[Christopher Hibbert|Hibbert, Christopher]] |title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]] |edition=reprint |year=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |page=496}}</ref>

At coronations, the Lord Mayor wears a special coronation robe: a mantle of scarlet superfine wool trimmed with bars of gold lace and ermine and lined with white silk satin; they also carry the [[Crystal Sceptre]] as a baton of office. After the coronation, the incumbent may keep their coronation robe as a personal token.

A plain black gown is worn by the Lord Mayor in times of national mourning.<ref name="Weinreb"/>
<gallery>
File: Lord Mayor of London's coronation robes.JPG|The Lord Mayor wearing the coronation robe and carrying the [[Crystal Sceptre]] at George IV's [[Coronation of the British monarch|coronation]]
File:George Wyatt Truscott Vanity Fair 4 November 1908.JPG|The scarlet robe, with train
File:Joseph Cockfield Dimsdale Vanity Fair 23 October 1902.jpg|The Entertaining Robe
File:Arms of William Russell as Lord Mayor of London.svg|[[William Russell (Lord Mayor)|Lord Mayor Russell]]'s personal [[Coat of arms|arms]]
File:Mainelli_Arms_Impaled_City_of_London.svg|[[Michael Mainelli|Lord Mayor Mainelli]]'s personal [[Coat of arms|arms]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Mayor of London]]
*[[Town Clerk of London]]
*[[Chamberlain of London]]
*[[City status in the United Kingdom]]
*[[List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Lord Mayor of Dublin]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101102190105/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation City of London Corporation home page]
*[http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/mayors/government/coronation.html Jenkins, S. (2004). "Royal Coronations and Oxford Mayors."]
*"London (England)." (1911). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
*[http://www.welcometolondon.com/Articles/LordmayorshowOct2001.htm "Lord Mayor's Show." (2002).]
*[http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/ "The Lord Mayor's Show Saturday 13th November 2004." (2004).]
*"Temple Bar." (1911). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
* {{Cite book |last=Stuttard |first=John |title=Whittington to World Financial Centre: The City of London and its Lord Mayor |publisher=Phillimore & Co. |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-86077-586-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/whittingtontowor0000stut |url-access=registration}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lord Mayors of London}}
*{{Official website|https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-us/about-the-city-of-london-corporation/lord-mayor}}
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fmghb BBC – Lord Mayor's Show]

{{London}}
{{London history}}
{{City of London}}
{{City University London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Mayor of London}}
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