Freedom of the City of London
[1] In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or right to trade, becoming closely linked to the medieval guilds, the livery companies.[1] Whilst no longer carrying many substantive rights and largely existing as a tradition, the freedom is a pre-requisite for standing for election to the Common Council[2] and Court of Aldermen[3] of the City of London.It is the greatest honour that is in the power of the City of London to bestow, and usually takes place in Guildhall in the presence of the Common Council and the lord mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen, along with invited guests.For example, in 2013, after a gap of some eleven years, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, with the ceremony taking place at Mansion House.The presentation on such occasions is made by the Chamberlain of the City of London and is often followed by a banquet at Guildhall or Mansion House.
City of Londonfeudal lordMiddle Agesguildslivery companiesCommon CouncilCourt of AldermenLord Mayor of the CityChamberlain's CourtliverymanLiverymenGuildhallArchbishop Desmond TutuNelson MandelaChamberlain of the City of LondonWilliam Pitt the ElderSouthwark BridgeWorshipful Company of WoolmenPrince George, Duke of CambridgeEdward VIIPrince Albert VictorGeorge VILouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of BurmaElizabeth IIPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghQueen Elizabeth The Queen MotherPrincess Margaret, Countess of SnowdonCharles IIIAnne, Princess RoyalDiana, Princess of WalesPrince Edward, Duke of EdinburghWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt the YoungerArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonBenjamin DisraeliRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyWilliam GladstoneDavid Lloyd GeorgeStanley BaldwinWinston ChurchillClement AttleeMargaret ThatcherWilliam ReidJoshua LeakeyMargrethe II of DenmarkDavid Bagration of MukhraniOtto von HabsburgMichael I of RomaniaKigeli V of RwandaUlysses S. GrantTheodore RooseveltWoodrow WilsonFranklin D. RooseveltDwight D. EisenhowerGiuseppe GaribaldiMir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung ILouis BothaWilfrid LaurierRobert BordenJan SmutsV. S. Srinivasa SastriR. B. BennettJawaharlal NehruLester B. PearsonLee Kuan YewHelmut KohlBob HawkeMarjorie Jackson-NelsonAlan GreenspanLee Hsien LoongGeorge PeabodySir Albert SassoonSir George Stokes, BtBenjamin Henry BlackwellBlackwell'sMark Watson-GandyPatrick BoylanBill GatesJimmy ChooMark CarneySir Tim Berners-LeeGeorge HelonThe 4th Earl of SelborneDame Kate BinghamJulia HoggettRandall, Lord Davidson of LambethGeoffrey FisherRobert RuncieRowan WilliamsWilliam BoothArnold BrownCormac Murphy-O'ConnorRobin DunsterVincent NicholsRenato MartinoFerdinand de LessepsAlexander Downer, Sr.Daniel MulhallSylvie BermannArkady RzegockiĽubomír RehákJohn KerryUnited States Secretary of StateDame Vera LynnRaymond BaxterRon GoodwinJustin ConnollyEric SykesPaul HumphreysAnnie LennoxAudrey RussellLuciano PavarottiDame Barbara WindsorSimon Russell BealeColin FirthJ. K. RowlingDame Judi DenchSir Michael CaineDamian LewisPlácido DomingoBob GeldofHenry WinklerTeriy KeysDame Joan CollinsSir Ian McKellenMorgan Freeman