i think becoming the pope might be easier

wouldn't it just be faster to become British monarch, then dissolve parliament and take control of the army and conquer the city of London?

"be a British, commonwealth or EU citizen" How times can change

"The butchers, the bakers, and the 2 candlestick makers" that is a great line

Do I have to give the hat back at the end of my term?

Wow, that is literally the most convoluted electoral process imaginable. What happened to strange women in ponds distributing swords?

My grandmother was a freeman of the city of london and after she passed her certificate was passed to us so we have it on our wall

Is there a thieves guild

"The Worshipful Company of Bakers" - You can't make this shit up.

"And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties..." IT WAS ANCIENT EVEN AT THE TIME OF THE MAGNA FUCKING CARTA!?

CGPGrey only made this video because he wants to run for Right Honourable Lord Mayor, and doesn't want his subscribers ruining his chances by running agaisnt him.

In case you're wondering, CGP Grey in this video spoke at 190 words per minute. Needed to determine how long a video I'm making will be based on my script, just in case someone wanted to be saved the effort I went through.

"that fancy hat, which just might make it all worthwhile" tf2 in a nutshell

It's like a medieval guild government time capsule.

@CGP Grey For the record, you don't need to be an Alderman to be a Sheriff of the City of London. You frequently have one Aldermanic Sheriff and one non-Aldermanic Sheriff (the Aldermanic Sheriff will be the one on the path to becoming Lord Mayor). To be eligible to be a Sheriff, you will also need to have been a Master of a Livery Company.

To be fair, that hat _is_ pretty fucking awesome...

I thought the Holy Roman Empire was a clusterfuck.

There is a creeper in the window at 1:02, creeper at the right in a suit at 1:45, creeper down left at 2:05 Illuminati confirmed

I like how they had the candlestick makers and then one guy must have gotten kicked out or something and said, "I'm gonna make my own candlesticks! With blackjack! and hookers!"

never underestimate what a British person will do for a fancy hat...

Wow. Never have I seen a plot of land *so fertile* for seeds of corruption to blossom into giant oaks.

I feel it would be easier to just invade the city and take that hat. And it is a Nice Hat.

Never underestimate what a man can do for a fancy hat.

I became a Freeman of the city of London last year. It’s quite a bit easier than this video makes out

Lots of effort to get a fancy hat Sounds like TF2

If you think about it tho. if you already are part of a guild and/or is a long time business man nearing retirement, you can go into this not really needing the money. It would just be a fun little thing, where you'd truly feel like a king,, Sounds fun for someone who's getting into a midlife crises and hasn't yet decided which Porsche he's going to buy

Instructions unclear, joined a wizard guild

I love that The Knights of Good are in his list of guilds!

That might be the most honest political position ever established. Not only do you have to shell out your own cash to hold the position, but everyone knows exactly which companies' pockets you live in.

You get your power from God, you get your power from the people, I get my power by simply existing.

I suspect that there are probably perks to being Lord Mayor including money and gifts that may not be paid officially but definitely make the burden of covering expenses much more bearable.

Most town mayors in the UK get the hat and chain as well... my friends grandad was mayor in a small town and got a chain and hat and robes and his expenses were paid but he didn’t get a salary and he was only mayor for one year... but all he had to do was 1) live in the town 2) be over 18 3) get elected to the council by the residents 4) get elected mayor by the council

I love the crest at 4:06 with minute physics, CGP, crash course, and vi hart!

... The Bankers, The Wheelwrights, the Butchers, the Bakers, **TWO** different candlestick makers... IDK why but him saying all the "guilds" somehow sounded like an odd nursery rhyme and saying him saying "Two different candlestick makers" is somehow very funny to me

The London metropolitan area used to have a centralized government even before 2000, but Margaret Thatcher broke up the London government into small local governments, because the mayor of London vocally opposed her. You know, normal stuff

No pay? Fuck it I'll do it for that hat.

This point has probably been brought up before, but The City of London is actually a City inside a City (London) inside a Country (England), Inside a Country (United Kingdom), Inside a Continent (Europe) inside a Continent (Eurasia)

Wait, why does the accountant building have a flag on it featuring a skull. What are they pirate accountants?!?

I was not expecting my school to come up in this video. At 3:52 it's one of the schools the Haberdashers funds; I had no idea they were a Guild in the City of London. This is why I watch these videos.

Anyone notice the little smile on the shield of the knight around 3:50?

So I was already so impressed until.............. "one year, with no salary, and you have to cover your own expenses" Like, OH.MY.GOD. what the heck LOL

Me during the entire video: "Oh! Come on!"

Alderman is an archaic form of elderman, or Elder. In the nordic languages elder is still translated as ålderman.

Your videos are such good vibe, so relaxing, I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, aggressively.

Hidden Creeper guy at 1:46

I just want to go there just so I can say I'm a part of guild. How awesome would that be!

It was probably founded in 43 AD, when the Romans invaded Britannica. It was one of the first settlements they built and was the capital of Roman controlled Britain. They founded it by rowing up the River Thames.

The most important question though... Do you get to keep the hat?

You forgot the step where you have to become Hortator.

Sounds like this city likely has a huge corruption problem

who else saw the creeper at 1:47?

Always great videos. Thanks!

I've seen an island on a lake, on an island on a lake. Crater lake Oregon. Pretty place but there is no mayors or hats and stuff.

Im going to do all of that, just so that i can have that dank outfit and people call me "The right honourable, Lord Mayor [Inser name here]"

5:17 - Interesting thing I discovered recently, the street in Canadian Subburbia I used to always walk down for elementary school is actually named after a Lord Mayor of London, as he was at the opening ceremony of the subdivision in the 50s.

1:52 I didn't know Pacman was The Common Council

Let me just say that I'm a proud American, but like sometimes just hearing to be part of a GUILD would be amazing

Britain was built on the back of fancy hats.

I. AM. SHOCKED. I would LOVE to see a good documentary about the current The Right, Honourable, The Lord Mayor of London. Who is this guy?

1:48 that’s an interesting member of parliament right of the blue portion of the pie chart.

Thanks for your great videos of London. I was there in 2011 and I loved it! Also, I am a fan of Rumpole of the Old Bailey and was so glad to make a stop at the Old Bailey when I visited London, England! Hats off to you!!

even if theres no salary, u could get loads of money to pay for it by selling that hat on eBay

I laughed out loud at this video because it's so insane. And I'm British. Our country really does have some crazy, archaic, arcane shit.

You forgot to mention the little ceremony that takes place between incoming and out going mayors.

"The butchers, the bakers, and TWO candlestick makers"

Why would the mayor's office have the flag of South Africa at 4:28?

"But, at least can I keep the hat after my term's over?" "No."

Grey, I know you've got a video pre-uploaded and scheduled to premier because I'm getting your video recommendations out of the blue again. Can't wait to see what you cover next.

Very educating and funny! Thanks for broadening my mind. I occationally work at the home of the Lord Mayor, Mansion House, but had no idea this is how it all works.

One year tenure: Mayor says: yeah sure, I can live with that..it's public service anyway..sure was hellish what I've been through though...but yeah.. No salary: Mayor says: ooookaay..that sucks, but yeah, fine..wouldn't be mayor if I wasn't influential and rich..nice hat though.. No paid expenses + go around the world on speeches to promote city: Mayor says: FUCK THIS SHIT!

Love the music at the end!

no wonder the title sounds so great

Do Americans say 'three-fourths' rather than 'three-quarters'? Never knew that!

It sounds like a punishment to me. Go along with what the rest of us want or we will elect you Mayor.

Outstanding video!

Where can I get more music like this? it's awesome! Thank you for the video I truly enjoyed it.

That chart tho.....

well it is a pretty damn sweet hat...

Great road names in the city, like Threadneedle Street, Poultry and St Mary's Axe.

Well, for those who never heard of there is a place called Mansion House where the ceiling is painted with actual gold and the acting Lord Mayor resides with his/her family, it is where all the fancy dinners and other parties happen. Roughly 17yrs ago I used to work for a company that was in charge of running all catering related events in CoL and I must tell you most people would be outraged to find out who runs the show and whom they worship. Well, the British empire might be long gone but its reach and control is beyond funny. It is surely not about the fancy hat but more likely about being a vital cog in the Illuminati.

1:54 who voted for the creeper?

Now that London doesn't want to leave the EU. This video about City of London might become more relevant.

Wow, that is vastly more complicated than I had imagined it was going to be.

This is quite a strange system of government! Thanks for the video!

2:05 - Bottom left, a creeper?

damn! I was gonna do all that until I heard no pay check, luckily I watched the whole video :D

The Butchers, the Bakers, *_two_* Candlestick Makers I see what you did there

There's a creeper in the top right quarter at 1:44. Close to the middle of the quarter and about a fifth up. Also at 4:27 in the bottom left quarter there's the south African flag. Close to the middle of the quarter again and about a fifth down.

I'm British, and just if anyone's thinking "are the fancy hats necessary?" They are. That is the source of our power!

you get an awesome hat out of it? Hell yeah!

3:10 theres a smiley face on the guild logo lol

Why is there a creeper in a suit on the top right corner at 1:55 !? An other secret of the secret city of london?

whats with the creeper in a suit at 1:55?

It wouldn't be a CGP Grey video without a ‽ (interrobang), or a random creeper just hanging out like at 1:45.

5:16 Hundreds? I don't know about that. If the Mayor is still on the Court of Aldermen (which is what your chart implied) and runs the Common Council (which you straight up declared), then I don't think they'd be cool with the man in charge being gone for a third of the year.

1:02 there’s a creeper in the left window, 1:45 there’s a creeper in a suit in the upper-right corner and 2:05 there’s a creeper in a suit in the down left corner

What of the city's thieves? Do they have a guild?

That fancy hat... put a monocle with it and I swear I will obtain it!

As someone who lives in the uk, I have never heard of this In my life!

"The job pays nothing" "D'OH!" "... Unless you're crooked." "WOO HOO!"