Lord Mayor of London

The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London, England, and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign^[1] and retains various traditional powers, rights, and privileges, including the title and style The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London.

One of the world's oldest continuously elected civic offices, 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. Alastair King serves as the 696th Lord Mayor (for 2024–2025).

The Corporation of London changed its name to the City of London Corporation in 2006, and accordingly the title Lord 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 Mayor of London. The Lord 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 is held on the day after taking office; the Lord Mayor, preceded by a procession, travels to the Royal Courts of Justice at the Strand to swear allegiance to the sovereign before the Justices of the High Court.

Currently, the Lord 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 Lord Mayor is regarded as the champion of the entire UK-based financial sector. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority and also has important ceremonial and social responsibilities. The Lord Mayor is non-affiliated politically, 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 FCDO.^[2] The Lord Mayor is ex officio Rector of City University of London and Admiral of the Port of London.

The Lord Mayor is assisted by the Mansion House Esquires including the City Marshal, Sword Bearer and Common Crier, as well as the Chaplain, Venerable Ray Pentland. The Lord 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.^[3][4]