On the occasion of a State entry to the City of London, the Lord Mayor meets the Sovereign at the City boundary – Temple Bar in Fleet Street – and offers his sword of state, point downwards. The Queen touches the sword, after which she continues on her way. This custom dates from the time when Elizabeth I passed through the City boundary on her way to St Paul’s Cathedral to give thanks for the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. In November 1972 The Queen attended a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey before proceeding to the Guildhall in the City of London – via Temple Bar – for lunch with the Lord Mayor.