The soaring status of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was formally recognised today when the couple were named among the top 20 most influential Londoners.
Almost a year to the day when their engagement was announced, William and Kate were chosen as the most influential royals in the fifth annual edition of the Evening Standard’s The 1000 list.
Mayor Boris Johnson was named the most influential Londoner — pipping Prime Minister David Cameron after the pair shared the title last year — while new entries included royal wedding dress designer Sarah Burton, singer Adele and Westfield shopping centres boss Michael Gutman.
The panel of judges said the influence of the Duke and Duchess, both 29, had grown hugely since their April wedding. In the week of the announcement of their move to a permanent home in Kensington Palace, they were judged global ambassadors for the capital and dynamic charity campaigners.
Last week they visited a Unicef distribution centre in Copenhagen to draw global attention to the famine in East Africa. Charities desperately seek their patronage: William is patron of 21 organisations while Kate is due to announce early next year which charities she will support.
Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton makes the list for the first time, as does the Duke of Edinburgh, 90, reflecting his enduring status as the Queen’s consort as they approach her Diamond Jubilee next summer.
The Mayor took top spot after the Standard judges decided his influence was unrivalled in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. By comparison, Mr Cameron is under pressure as the economy struggles and he battles to keep his own backbenchers and his Liberal Democrat coalition partners on side.
Chanceller George Osborne and Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King were third and fourth in the list, reflecting the importance of managing Britain’s finances during the present economic turmoil. Deputy Prime
Minister Nick Clegg was fifth. Tottenham-born Adele made the top 20 because she has broken sales records in Britain, America and around the world with her album, 21. Mr Gutman, UK and Europe managing director of Westfield, has been responsible for two of London’s most successful new retail sites, at Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford.
Other notable new names in the top 20 are Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate in next May’s mayoral election, and Bob Crow, hardline leader of the RMT Tube union. The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, is also in the top 20, after the shock resignation of predecessor Sir Paul Stephenson in connection with the phone-hacking scandal.
High-profile names to fall out of the top 20 include News Corporation’s top UK executive, James Murdoch, who must testify to MPs about hacking on Thursday, and Simon Cowell, whose X factor show has seen audiences fall.
Geordie Greig (pictured), Editor of the London Evening Standard, says, “Our capital leads the way in so many arenas from sport, finance, film, publishing and medicine to fashion and design. The London Evening Standard is proud to celebrate those who make our city great.”
With just eight months to go until the Olympics, the 1000 magazine is focused on the Games, which form part of an extended Running London section at the front of the magazine.
The 24 categories represented in the Top 1,000 magazine, out on 9th November are: Running London and the Olympics, Digital, The City, Tycoons and Retailers, Art & Design, Foodies, Classical Music including Dance, Pop & Rock, Politics, Fashion, Literati, Property, Film, Theatre, Law, Environment, Health, Education, Sport, Media, Gatekeepers & Fixers, Faith and Philanthropy, Most Invited and Night Owls.
The 1000 is published today in print, online and on iPad.
The London Evening Standard used a panel of specialist contributors – both from the paper and externally to compile the list.
