Titles and Honours
Of the 66 cities in the United Kingdom, the City of London is among the 30 that have Lord Mayors (or, in Scotland, Lords Provost). The Lord Mayor is entitled to the style The Right Honourable; the same privilege extends only to the Lord Mayors of York, Cardiff and Belfast, and to the Lords Provost of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The style, however, is used when referring to the office as opposed to the holder thereof; thus, "The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London" would be correct, while "The Rt Hon John Smith" would be incorrect. The latter style applies only to Privy Counsellors.
A woman who holds the office is also known as a Lord Mayor. A male Lord Mayor's wife is known as a Lady Mayoress; no equivalent privilege exists for a female Lord Mayor's husband. A female Lord Mayor or unmarried male Lord Mayor may appoint a female consort, usually a fellow councillor, 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 created knights upon taking office and baronets upon retirement, unless they held those titles already. The custom was applied inconsistently from the 16th until the 19th centuries; creations became more regular from 1889 onwards. From 1964 onwards, the regular creation of hereditary dignities such as baronetcies ceased, but Lord Mayors continued to be granted knighthoods (usually of the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire) until 1993. Since 1993, Lord Mayors have not received any automatic honours upon appointment; instead, they have been created Knights Bachelor upon retirement, although Gordon Brown's government broke with tradition by awarding Ian Luder the CBE after his term of office in 2009, and the following year Nick Anstee declined the offer of any national honour. Furthermore, when foreign Heads of State visit the United Kingdom, they sometimes confer honours on the Lord Mayor. For example, in 2001, Sir David Howard was created a Grand Cordon, First Class, of the Order of Independence of Jordan following the state visit of King Abdullah II. Additionally in recent years Lord Mayors have been appointed Knights of St John (KStJ), of which order HM The Queen is Sovereign Head.
Read more about this topic: Lord Mayors Of London
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