Gibraltar forgot it was a city for 180 years.

Pinpointing location of Gibraltar

As both a city and a British overseas territory, Gibraltar has held a unique status since Queen Victoria granted it cityhood in 1842. It seems no one wrote that down in 1842, however, because the territory bid to become a city in advance of the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 — leading some to remark that Gibraltar itself simply forgot it was a city. After the bid, researchers realized that Gibraltar had already held that vaunted status for 180 years, but due to a technicality with the paperwork, its cityhood was overlooked by future officials and largely forgotten.

Only four other locations outside the United Kingdom have received similar recognition as British cities: Hamilton, Bermuda; Jamestown, St. Helena; Douglas, Isle of Man; and Stanley, Falkland Islands. It’s up to the monarch to make the final decision on such matters, though they do so on the advice of ministers who consider such factors as population and whether a would-be city has a cathedral or university. In the case of Gibraltar, one can only assume that having a very large rock proved advantageous as well.

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Did you know?

There are wild monkeys in Gibraltar.

If you want to see wild monkeys in Europe, look no further than Gibraltar. Barbary macaques roam the city — including the Rock, where there are thought to be some 230 of them — and are among its most popular attractions. They’re the only wild monkeys on the European continent; they’re also endangered. Direct interaction with the macaques is thus strongly discouraged, not that tourists — or the monkeys themselves — always listen.