Lady mayoress is an official female companion to the lord mayor of a major city in the

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Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, or a

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of an

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. Traditionally this was the wife of a male mayor. It is not an elected office.

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

is used here as a title of respect. The lady mayoress accompanies the lord mayor to many events and also carries out engagements on her own. As an example, the

Leeds Children's Charity Silverdale is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. The village stands on Morecambe Bay, near the border with Cumbria, north west of Carnforth and of Lancaster. The parish had a population o ...

states that "it has been the right of every new lady mayoress to become the president of the charity".

Variations

The lady mayoress was traditionally the wife of a male lord mayor, but the mayor can choose their own mayoress. Some mayors have chosen their daughter, mother, or another female relative. A male companion for a female mayor may be given the title of lord mayor's consort. When Jessie Beatrice Kitson was the first female lord mayor of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, West Yorkshire, England in 1942–1943, she chose her friend

Elinor Gertrude Lupton The Lupton family in Yorkshire achieved prominence in ecclesiastical and academic circles in England in the Tudor era through the fame of Roger Lupton, provost of Eton College and chaplain to Henry VII and Henry VIII. By the Georgian era, the ...

as her lady mayoress. ''Image of Kitson and Lupton'' When

Bernard Atha Bernard Peter Atha (27 August 1928 – 22 October 2022) was an English politician and actor. He served as Lord Mayor of Leeds and a major figure in the arts and sport in West Yorkshire and elsewhere; he also appeared in a number of films. Life ...

was lord mayor of

in 2000–2001, he selected 18 "high-profile, well-known Yorkshire women" to act in turn as his lady mayoress.

Australia

As in the

, the lady mayoress of an

is usually the wife of an elected lord mayor. A lady mayoress acts as a hostess for the city at official functions and sometimes acts as Chair of social and charitable committees. Where a woman is elected to the office of lord mayor, there is usually no lady mayoress although during part of the time in office as lord mayor of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

of Sallyanne Atkinson, her mother served as lady mayoress. Atkinson's husband had served for a time as the president of the City of Brisbane Benefit Fund, a social and charitable organisation associated with the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

References

Women's social titles {{UK-gov-stub