The Diplomat
The British Government has granted Gibraltar “city” status, 180 years after it was first granted by Queen Victoria, reports Efe.
BBC television reported yesterday that earlier this year, the colony’s authorities applied for Gibraltar to be officially granted the recognition as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, her 70th year on the throne.
On checking the National Archives, researchers found that Gibraltar had already been designated as a city for the first time in 1842, during the reign of Queen Victoria, although this fact was omitted, for unknown reasons, during all these years. In this way, the Rock now sees its status reaffirmed, which is a “huge recognition”, as the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, stressed to the aforementioned channel, of the Rock’s “rich history”.
During the recent celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, 39 places formally applied to adopt the status of city, something that Doncaster, Bangor and Dunfermline, among others, obtained.
As a result, Gibraltar is now one of only five places outside the UK to be recognised in this way, in addition to Hamilton in Bermuda, Jamestown in St Helena, Douglas in the Isle of Man and Stanley in the Falkland Islands.
City status is associated with having a cathedral, university or a large population, although there are no official rules for granting it, and it is granted by the British Queen on the advice of the government. Becoming a city does not bring economic benefits, although, as the BBC points out, it provides a boost to local communities by putting it on the map.
Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, Kit Malthouse, told the BBC that “the cities on this list are incredibly rich in history and culture, and their residents are rightly very proud to see the significance of their cities put down on paper”.
