The Lord Mayor of Oxford has said he would be “happy to act as assistant butler to the king if called upon to do so.”

In his speech at the proclamation of King Charles III on Sunday in Oxford city centre, the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor James Fry, told a story about how in the past, the Lord Mayor of Oxford would be called upon to serve as an assistant butler at a new monarch’s coronation feast.

Expanding on this in an interview with the Oxford Mail after the event, Mr Fry said: “Originally the butler assistant’s job was to help put on the shoes of the monarch.

“Historically it was quite a serious role, but I doubt now that I’ll be called upon to do any ‘buttling’.

“Perhaps I’ll be asked to carry in, or wash cups or something, who knows.”

During his speech Mr Fry also shared a memory from his childhood: “One day, when I was a little boy, my teachers told me the Queen was going to be passing nearby our school.

“They marched us out into the street – South Circular in Dulwich – and we sat on the kerb for hours and hours.

“We thought there was going to be a procession or something, but alas, the Queen whizzed by in her car, and we had no idea she was even there.”

Met with laughter from the crowds, the Lord Mayor went on to praise King Charles.

Read more: Hundreds gather to watch the proclamation of King Charles

The assistant butler honour given to the Lord Mayor of Oxford is thought to date from the end of the tenth century.

The job usually led to a knighthood for the mayor in question.

Only London and Winchester had similar rights – the Lord Mayor of London and the Mayor of Oxford assisted the chief butler, and the Mayor of Winchester assisted the monarch’s cook.

During the early centuries after the Norman conquest, nearly all royal administrative offices and certain ecclesiastical positions were hereditary or semi-hereditary, meaning the role was filled by members of the same broader family.

On the day of the proclamation one or two people shouted anti-monarchist sentiments from the crowd.

Which resulted in the arrest of a man named Symon Hill, who shouted “who elected him” during the High Sheriff’s reading of the proclamation.

Other comments were shouted during the Lord Mayor’s speech.

In the post-event interview, the Lord Mayor told the Oxford Mail he heard some hollering and shouting during his talk, but he couldn’t really make out what was being said.

“I certainly heard something being shouted, but I couldn’t very well stop what I was saying and respond.

“After I’d given my speech a deputy lieutenant came up to me and told me the person was shouting ‘take off your hats’.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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