The best opportunity to see the Lord Mayor is during the Lord
Mayor’s Show which takes place on the Saturday after the second
Friday in November. The Lord Mayor’s Show is the largest
unrehearsed pageant in the world. It brings together all the pomp
and pageantry the City can muster. The Show dates to 1215 (the year
of Magna Carta) when King John gave the City a charter which
stipulated that the new Lord Mayor must swear an oath of allegiance
to the Sovereign and ‘show’ himself to the people.
Since then the Lord Mayor has made the annual journey from the
City to Westminster or the Royal Courts of Justice from the
Guildhall. First on horseback, then by barge and back again. The
journey to Westminster on the river was a splendid occasion
commemorated by many artists including Canaletto. This part of the
show only stopped when the building of the Embankment made the
tides too difficult - and since those days the gaily coloured
vehicles taking part in the Lord Mayor's show are called 'floats'.
In the mid 18th Century the press of people was so great, the Lord
Mayor was thrown from his mount and broke his leg. This emboldened
the Court of Aldermen to approve the construction of the Golden
State Coach (1753) which is now the oldest carriage in regular use
in the United Kingdom. Weighing four tons it can be seen in the
Museum of London.
The Lord Mayor’s Show is a great, free day out, a visual feast of
floats from local and City businesses, ward clubs, livery
companies, schools and community groups. They are joined by more
than 2,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and cadets, the mounted branch
of the City of London Police Force and much more. It concludes with
a stunning fireworks display on the Thames: the only one in central
London. For more information visit the
Lord
Mayor's Show website.
