It has grown into such an important role that nobody wants to follow it. After all, coming after the Lord Mayor’s show is now in the dictionary as a synonym for an anti-climax, a mundane event which happens after a magnificent occasion. Alastair King laughed at the mention of it and few people are better placed to speak about this subject than this 55-year-old Aberdeenshire stalwart who talked about growing up in the north east of Scotland and relishing his early experiences.
He still splits his time between London and Strathdon – and visits relatives in Banchory and Aboyne – but his calendar promises to be as jam-packed as a Keiller’s factory. And that’s because Mr King is about to take over as Lord Mayor in Britain’s biggest city. Everybody knows the story of Dick Whittington, who lived in the days of Edward III and travelled to London with his cat expecting to find the streets “paved with gold”.
However, as in so many other cases, it’s a myth. The real Richard Whittington did not hail from a poor family and there is no compelling evidence supporting the stories about his feline companion. But, none the less, he was a distinguished Lord Mayor.
Alastair is the Sheriff of London Yet what most definitely isn’t a myth is that Mr King has worked tirelessly for many years, first gaining a position as an alderman – a directly elected role – and subsequently graduating to becoming the Sheriff of London last year. And what’s more, he has done it in the company of not a cat, but a dog: his “wonderful” four-year-old Italian Greyhound called Florence. Some might imagine it’s a ceremonial post, which allows the incumbent to be conveyed around the City of London in resplendent luxury, attending a plethora of banquets.
But again, this is the stuff of legend as Mr King explained during our Zoom call. He told me: “As Lord Mayor – and I have to stress it’s still subject to election – you become the global ambassador for the United Kingdom’s financial and professional services and you have to go round the world banging on the right doors. It’s on behalf of the whole of Britain “Basically, you are trying to bring as much business as you can into the UK, not just for London, but for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, the whole of the country.
“Therefore, it’s very much a nationwide role and I sit on a Scottish Government board – the Financial Services Growth and Development Board [which was launched in 2022]. “So, while there might be a perception in some quarters that the Lord Mayor is solely focused on what’s happening in London, that is simply not the case.” Instead, this redoubtable individual makes a habit of returning home whenever he can.
He’s not only a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London, which means he represents King Charles III at some activities – quite literally, a King for a King – but is also the chairman of the British Liver Trust, a cause which he passionately champions. He said: “It’s a national charity which does a lot of work in relation to both liver cancer and liver disease and we were up in Scotland last month, looking at some robotic diagnostics in Dundee and spending a day at Holyrood. We talked to many of the MSPs “We gave liver tests to some of the MSPs and that offered me the chance to talk to some of them and it’s all very useful in building partnerships.
“As Lord Mayor, you also have to come up with a charity partner to raise money during the year [in office] and mine is the Homewards Fund, which is the Prince and Princess of Wales’ charity [a campaign to end homelessness]. “I will be organising a series of events to raise funds for that in 2025.” It’s a far cry from his days relishing the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, but Mr King has never forgotten the virtues of growing up where he did.
As he said: “I don’t think I could have got to where I am without working very hard and that’s a great Aberdonian trait. “We’ll certainly be up there next year because I’m bringing a lot of London Livery Companies to the city and it will be the first time that the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen have hosted these companies, so I’m looking forward to that. It’s going to be a busy year “It’s an enormous amount of work to pack into just 12 months, so you have to hit the ground sprinting as much as you possibly can.
“It’s a historical accident that it’s only one year – that is because the Lord Mayor used to be a very powerful position in the Middle Ages and I think the King[s] at the time didn’t want the Lord Mayors to become too powerful, so they limited the term. “It means that, subject to election, I will become the 696th Lord Major [in November]. There has to be a ratification vote, but that is a hurdle I would expect to clear.
” Mr King savours the thriving hustle and bustle around him and while there have been financial pressures in the aftermath of Covid and Brexit, he still marvels at the expansion of the City of London even in an economic downturn. As he said: “It’s an extraordinary city which still has an awful lot to shout about. And it’s still No 1 as a financial and professional services centre.
“About 550,000 worked in the City before Covid and now it’s up to 615,000 [more than twice the population of Aberdeen], so it’s a growing organism, if you like. I meet Scots here every day “I meet Scottish people here every day and I’ll be doing some events for the Scottish community. I sit on the trust for the Royal Regiment of Scotland and their pipes and drums will be leading the Lord Mayor’s show.
” And after that? Will he choose to stay in London or return to his roots? He answered immediately with a quiet insistence which suggested it’s not a difficult decision. And he told me: “I hope to end my days up there. It’s a precious part of the world to me.
“When I’m finished doing all the things I have to do in London, I’ll move back up. The north-east of Scotland is where I grew up. “I have never never lost my connection with it.
Nor will he. On the contrary, he is definitely putting the Don into London..
