Gibraltar, which has been British since the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713, was first given city status by Queen Victoria in the fifth year of her reign, in 1842. However, was not on the list of cities recognized by the Ministry of the Interior as its status, for what would have been a clerical error, was granted under the Diocesan Letters Patent, rather than the normal City Status Letter Patent. The error will be corrected 180 years after the appointment of the queen after an exhaustive investigation that was carried out in the National Archives after an official drew attention to it.
The authorities of the Rock had also requested recognition on the occasion of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee, which has finally been granted to him… for the second time. So starting this Monday will appear in the log updated with 81 new regions with city status. One of the places featured is Southend-on-Sea, whose campaign to become a city was spearheaded by MP David Amess, who was assassinated on October 15 last year, as well as Bangor, Douglas, Dunfermline, Doncaster, Wrexham, Milton Keynes, Colchester and Stanley, which Elizabeth II named as new cities on the occasion of the celebrations for her 70 years on the throne of England.
“It’s great to see the official recognition granted to the city of Gibraltar, a great compliment to its rich history and dynamism”, congratulated the still Prime Minister Boris Johnson this Monday, who added that “this official recognition reaffirms the special status of Gibraltar in the kingdoms of Her Majesty, and It rightly represents the pride that Gibraltarians take in their community and distinctive heritage.”
And although, according to the local press, traditionally, the status of city was associated with having an Anglican cathedral, currently the monarch can choose to name cities without any prior requirement and without this entailing any economic benefit for said territory.
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