Over the past year, Mrs Florence King’s (AKA LBdr Walker) tenure as the Lady Mayoress has been defined by an unwavering commitment to London’s Armed Forces community. Serving with the Royal Artillery, LBdr Walker’s tenure highlighted that the relationship between local communities and our military is not just ceremonial but actively rooted in civic life.
Her husband, the Lord Mayor for 2024/25, Alderman Alastair King embraced his wife’s dedication to promoting the armed forces. Together, he and Florence welcomed distinguished guests including Sir Keir Starmer, the President Macron, members of the Qatari Royal family and countless ambassadors and their spouses to Mansion House. In among these guests, whenever it was appropriate, the couple ensured that raising the profile of the need for more support for defence was raised – ensuring the City remained a platform for strategic conversation.
From hosting monthly defence breakfasts, fundraisers for memorials including the Royal Regiment of Scotland to visiting cadet forces, Florence has used the platform of the mayoralty as a Reservist to showcase the often-overlooked value of our Armed Forces.
A highlight of this work was a formal dinner at Mansion House for City organisations to promote the Armed Forces Covenant, and thank those organisations already involved, with speeches from Junior Defence Minister Al Carns and Barclay’s former CFO, Alistair Currie. Another significant achievement was driving forward support for the AFC among the City’s historic Livery Companies. Through consistent engagement and tireless advocacy, she has encouraged over eighty to pledge their support.
Florence King with her husband Lord Mayor for 2024/25, Alderman Alastair King.
Complementing this, she used the backdrop of the Mansion House to host monthly defence breakfasts to bring together a mix of banking institutions, top brass and senior civil servants as well as subject matter experts to create a space for informal discussions on bio-security to issues of debanking defence companies. The programme was so successful, she will be running it into 2026 with the support of corporate sponsors.
We are assured it wasn’t all hard work though, “My best memory of being in Mansion House was a game of hide and seek.” LBdr Walker shared, “It took them thirty minutes to find me so they learned their way round!” But Florence ensured that even the work was fun, “The Lady Mayoress has a leaving party to thank all of her supporters from the year – about 300 people are invited so I asked LtCol Karl Eze to provide a drone display inside the Egyptian Hall to fascinate the guests but also to expose members of the City to what military hardware is beginning to look like.”
She also hosted the Lady Mayoress’ Big Sleep Out, raising awareness for vulnerable individuals facing homelessness. Equally inspiring was her decision to run the London marathon for The British Liver Trust as their ambassador. In total she raised £20,000.
On being asked about her biggest learning moments on this journey, she replied: “The training you are given in the forces is as useful on a weekend away as it is in real life. At any moment when I was in doubt or felt like I didn’t know what to do, there was always the voice of a corporal in my head reminding me of a vital bit of training that could be useful in that moment. Basic training doesn’t just teach you how to be a soldier – it teaches you how to be an effective and vital member of society at every level.”
Left to right: Sheriff Greg Jones QC. The then Minister Veterans & People Alistair Cairns. Lady Mayoress, Lance Bombardier Florence King. Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, Dame Sharon Nesmith DCB, ADC Gen. Lord Mayor, Alistair King DL. Group Chief Operating Officer and CEO Barclays, Alistair Currie. Sheriffs Consort, Mrs Miranda Chalk. City of London Policy Chair, Chris Hayward. Sheriff David Chalk.
Reflecting on her dual role as the Lady Mayoress and a Reservist with the Royal Artillery LBdr Florence King observed, “I’m glad that I did this role as a Reservist. Even in the Mansion House, presenting yourself as this titled being, ‘Lady Mayoress’, can feel a little bit disingenuous. But using the role for something I care about made me feel like I was getting away with cutting my own detail… something I will endeavour to try not to do when I return to training nights!”
During her term, two members of the household approached her to ask about joining the reserves. In her last week in office, one of them produced their newly minted MOD90 (Official photo ID Card for serving UK Armed Forces Personnel). If that approach is what keeps a Lance Bombardier committed to service, it is difficult to argue that the Royal Artillery is anything other than the beneficiary.
If using influence to encourage service is her version of “cutting her own detail,” it is difficult to argue that the Royal Artillery is anything other than the beneficiary.