Lord-Lieutenant

Lois Patricia (Peaches) Golding is the current elected Lord-Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol, who will form a part of the procession party. Prior to this, in 2010 Peaches was appointed High Sherrif of Bristol, the first black woman to be appointed by the Sovereign to this 1,000-year-old post and only the second Black person to hold the office.

In 2009, Golding was awarded an OBE for services to minority ethnic people in the South-West of England.

As the Lord Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol. It’s my responsibility to be the personal representative of the King. And that means that I carry out all of the administrative duties that require to be done for this county area. So that might be anything from arranging a Royal visit to taking a military salute or representing the King at a church service. There are times when the Royal households might ask me to do particular things. And that is, as I say, the main portion of my role. But also as the patron of many voluntary organizations within the city. I’m involved in, with them and also other voluntary sector and community-based organizations. A lot of the things that I do are, are really quite secret, as you might imagine. But certainly, there are the King’s awards for enterprise and those go to businesses and I’m always interested in the business community. It’s not a role that you actually go for. I was asked if I was content for my name to go forward. And let me tell you, it is such a privilege and honor to be among the names that are being considered. So my husband and I discussed it. Because, of course, it changes one’s life. And how can you turn it down? It is literally one of those once in a lifetime offers. One of the things that is really pleasurable about the role is when I’m crafting a Royal visit. I think it’s really lovely because everyone is very excited about it. But it’s left up to me to determine exactly where that visit will go. So if someone, for example, has an interest in music, then Bristol is a great place and we have a range of venues. And so, choosing which ones, understanding what story we want to tell about Bristol is very important. Of course, that’s how we, as Bristol, show who we are and what we are. What’s important to us.