Is the British Queen regnant/reigning King allowed into the City of London?
Halsbury’s Laws of England: Local Government says this about the relationship between the Lord Mayor of the City of London (not the Mayor of Greater London) and the Queen:By ancient custom the Lord Mayor tenders the City Sword to the Sovereign when she enters the City on state occasions, in token acknowledgement of her overriding authority. The Sovereign touches the sword and, by that gesture, returns it to the Lord Mayor with implied permission to carry it before her whilst she is in the City. Also by ancient custom the permission of the Lord Mayor is sought for the passage of troops through the City, and he receives quarterly, under the Sovereign’s sign manual, the password of the Tower of London. As spokesman for the citizens, he is entitled to the right of special access to the Sovereign.
From this page: The Lord Mayor, who is elected for a one year stint, is the monarch in the City. As Aubrey Menen says in “London”, Time-Life, 1976, p. 16: “The relation of this monarch of the City to the monarch of the realm [Queen] is curious and tells much.” It certainly is and certainly does ! When the Queen of England goes to visit the City she is met by the Lord Mayor at Temple Bar, the symbolic gate of the City. She bows and asks for permission to enter his private, sovereign State. During such State visits “the Lord Mayor in his robes and chain, and his entourage in medieval costume, outshines the royal party, which can dress up no furhter than service uniforms.” The Lord Mayor leads the queen into his city. And from here: The City is not a part of England, just as Washington is not a part of the USA. The City is referred to as the wealthiest squar
Wikipedia: “It is sometimes asserted that the Lord Mayor may exclude the Sovereign from the City of London. The legend is based on the misinterpretation of the ceremony observed each time the Sovereign enters the City. At Temple Bar the Lord Mayor presents the City’s pearl-encrusted Sword of State to the Sovereign as a symbol of the latter’s overlordship. The Sovereign does not, as is often purported, wait for the Lord Mayor’s permission to enter the City.
From the official website of the British Monarchy: Is it true that through an ancient law, The Queen can be prevented from entering the City of London? The citizens of London, through the Corporation of the City, still retain their ancient privilege of being able to bar the Sovereign from entering their streets. Technically, before Her Majesty may enter the boundaries of the City, she must seek the formal permission of the Lord Mayor and on State occasions this colourful ceremony is usually carried out at Temple Bar, near the Law Courts. The custom goes back to the days when London was a walled city whose gates were closed at the order of the Lord Mayor. The ceremony is now symbolic as the ancient walls and old Temple Bar no longer exist. When the Royal carriage is about to cross the boundary of the City of Westminster to enter the City of London, the Sovereign is challenged by the Lord Mayor, the City Marshal and the Aldermen.
