Tldr is that the official term "city" in the UK is pretty much entirely ceremonial.
All it means is that the ruling monarch liked your town enough that they would give it city status by royal decree. That's why "city status" seems so arbitrary because it's entirely is.
Is the tldr that theyre old as fuck?
Edit: the tl;dr is they're specifically talking about Britainland only. tl;dr @ 2m54s
Every BRITISH city on the official 'City' list was named by the King at some point.
Tldr is that the official term "city" in the UK is pretty much entirely ceremonial.
All it means is that the ruling monarch liked your town enough that they would give it city status by royal decree. That's why "city status" seems so arbitrary because it's entirely is.
Up until 1889, city status was granted on the basis of the existence of having an Anglican cathedral.
It's only been arbitrary since they tore up the rulebook and gave Birmingham city status.