London

London ⁱ/?l?nd?n/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom.^[3] It is the most populous city in the United Kingdom with a metropolitan area of over 13 million inhabitants. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named itLondinium.^[4] London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km²) mediaeval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the termLondon has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.^[5] The bulk of this conurbation forms the Greater London administrative area (coterminous with the London region),^[6]^[7]^{[note 1]} governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.^[8]^{[note 2]}