Lord Mayor's Banquet
The Lord Mayor's Banquet is a debut banquet by the newly sworn Lord Mayor of London in honor of his predecessor.
It takes place regularly on the Monday after the Lord Mayor's Show in the Guildhall (London) . The numerous ceremonies include a government address by the Prime Minister on foreign policy issues.
It is one of London's premier social events, held annually at the Guildhall for more than four centuries in peacetime. It is believed that the custom of Lord Mayor's Banquet is almost as old as the office of Lord Mayor of London itself. Kitchens were added to the Guildhall at the end of the 15th century. In 1501 it was Sir John Shaa who was the first to have his feast there. Lord Chancellor and many of his colleagues were among the guests as early as 1529, and the tradition of annual banquets was firmly established as early as 1580 when the Privy Council asked for the reason for the festival. In the long tradition it has been established that the Lord Mayors of London and the Sheriffs are the hosts.
The 700+ guests included: the government, officials from the Commonwealth and other countries, Church, trade, military and military leaders, and judges in their official attire. The guests are introduced with trumpets and the Lord Mayor of London greets them.
When all guests have been welcomed and have found their place, they line up for a solemn polonaise (dance) to slow marching music from the first scene by Publio Cornelio Scipione . Trumpeters in medieval costumes take the lead, followed by City Marshall and the mayor's confessor, wearing a hat and robe with a long train; then the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with the swordtail to the right and behind them the wife of the Prime Minister and the wife of the Lord Mayor of London lead the procession through the picture gallery of the Guildhall, making a round of the banquet room until the participants are back at their seats at the dinner table arrived.
One of the guests on November 9, 1934 was Ivan Michailowitsch Maiski , who vividly reported on the ceremony in his diary:
"10 ноября
Вчера вечером был на ежегодном обеде лорд-мэра. 9 ноября - большой день в жизни Сити. В этот день с незапамятных времен происходит смена лорд-мэров Сити (лорд-мэры выбираются ежегодно из числа так наз [ываемых] "олдерменов" Сити) торжественно-средневековая процессия "Lord Mayor Show» на улицах города и вечером в здании Guildhall пышный банкет для нотаблей Лондона с участием 500-600 гостей. "
The official residence of the Lord Mayor of London during his year in office is the Mansion House (London) .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Theresa May , PM speech to the Lord Mayor's Banquet: November 12, 2018, [1]
- ↑ Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, John Keay, Julia Keay, The London Encyclopaedia, p. 512
- ↑ Ноябрь, Западный Абенд, Ням, Йерлихен, Ужин Бюргермейстеров, Наука, Иван Михайлович Майский, Александр Оганович Чубарьян, Дневник дипломата, Лондон: 1934--1943, 2006, page 24 [2] ; Gabriel Gorodetsky, Die Maiski-Tagebücher: A diplomat in the fight against Hitler 1932-1943, 2016, p. 76