Susan Langley is the East End girl in the Mansion House

Growing up in the East End, Susan Langley never dreamt she would one day live in the grandeur of Mansion House, ride in a golden coach or entertain the world’s dignitaries dressed in regalia of gold, diamonds and ermine.

Dame Susan, as she has become, does all of this and more in her job as the first woman to dub herself Lady Mayor of the City of London in the eight centuries of the role’s history.

But, as a true daughter of the working-class East End of London – her father was an electrician and her mum a housewife – Langley has achieved something that means even more.

‘I always wanted to be Lady Mayor. I used to watch the Lord Mayor’s parade on my granddad’s shoulders,’ the 62-year-old says. ‘But I am even more proud I am a Pearly Queen.’

With their clothes covered in mother-of-pearl buttons, Pearly Kings and Queens, originally market traders, raise money for charity and celebrate Cockney culture.

‘My gran used to take me to watch the Pearlies as a girl. I really wanted to be one, but you can’t become a Pearly Queen, you are born into it. There is a hierarchy in the Pearly Kingdom, passed down the generations,’ she says.

But her luck was in, she explains: ‘Someone heard me say I wanted to be a Pearly Queen and told the Pearly Association. I had an installation ceremony with a chaplain. They all came here to Mansion House. If only my gran could see.

‘There are all sorts of traditions. When a Pearly dies the buttons are distributed to the others. Some outfits weigh more than two stone. The men do the sewing, not the women,’ she adds with a smile.

Langley is the 697th occupant of her position and the first Lady Mayor. There have been two women Lord Mayors, Dame Mary Donaldson in 1983 and Dame Fiona Woolf in 2013, but she is the first to feminise the title.

She was at the centre of a colourful parade in November for the first Lady Mayor’s Show, resplendent in a red cloak, frothing lace ruffles and an extravagantly feathered three-cornered hat, travelling in the gold State Coach. ‘I could hear women shouting ‘girl power’ and ‘do it for us’ – it felt amazing,’ she says. ‘The next day my inbox went mad. One woman said she had been working in the City for 20 years but never felt she fully belonged until my parade.’

All the pomp and ceremony might seem archaic, but Langley calls her approach ‘modern mayoralty’ – it is about the role, not the individual. She already knows who her two successors will be, so they can pursue a coherent agenda, recognising one year is not long enough to promote the City.

She defines her role as an ambassador for financial and professional services, saying: ‘I have convening power, this house and the ability to talk independently. I am completely apolitical. No one tells me what to say. It is a huge power having the microphone.’

The Lady Mayor, whose office began in 1189, is addressing modern issues. One is the social media narrative depicting London as a crime-infested hellhole.

‘Once misinformation is out it is amplified,’ she says. ‘In my first week someone said their colleague wasn’t going to wear nice jewellery visiting London. The next week it was the Association of Arab Banks worried about crime.

‘We must speak up against it. Perception can become reality. We can’t sugarcoat it. Crime is an issue, but we have huge positives: the talent pool, the innovation, the liquidity. We need to be less British and blow our own trumpet.

‘The UK is home to the most fintech unicorns in Europe; the London Stock Exchange attracts over twice as much capital as any other European exchange. The insurance market is worth more than $187 billion (£138 billion). It underpins global trade: without it, ships wouldn’t sail and planes wouldn’t take off. Rival financial centres would happily eat our lunch if we’re not at the table.

‘My mayoralty has become a positivity campaign for the City.

‘I am just one person and it can feel lonely. We are becoming a nation of managers not leaders. People are less inclined to speak out with a view.’

What would she tell a US tech boss considering coming to London? ‘We have the talent, diverse skill sets, and world-class universities. London is a safe and lovely city,’ she replies, citing the time zone and English language too.

She muses: ‘I need a killer one as to why not New York. Here you go: we have much better parks. The parks are London’s glory.’ What of the image of the Square Mile as a hotbed of greed, ambition and vice?

‘I was born in the East End,’ she says, ‘and the City has given me an amazing career. I don’t recognise that image.’

A degree in geography at Southampton was followed by an ascent of the corporate ladder in insurance, with jobs at Hiscox, Gallagher and Lloyd’s of London, interspersed with stints at the Department for International Trade and the Home Office.

Sadly, her parents and grandparents did not live to see her become a Dame. At her side is husband Gary, whom she met three decades ago at accountant PwC. He is milling around the grand parlour, chatting to guests from the Japanese Securities Association.

‘He doesn’t like publicity. On the Tatler photo-shoot he ducked every time they approached him with a powder puff,’ she says, referring to a recent feature in the society magazine, where she appears in high-glamour photographs in a Vivienne Westwood gown.

‘This is a partnership. He says he has gone from consulting to table plans, but it would be hard to do this job on your own.’

Was the Tatler shoot a Cinderella moment for the East End girl?

‘It has a posh readership but the article made the point that you can be feminine and be a leader. It was the best day ever,’ she says, joking of her cleavage: ‘I had a bit of loo roll down the dress as I don’t have the assets!’

Referring to the upmarket West End jewellers, she says: ‘Boodles turned up with all these diamonds and as soon as they finished shooting they stripped the bracelet off me.’

She laughs: ‘I thought, I’m not going to nick it.’

The couple live in Mansion House during the working week and retreat to Hertfordshire at weekends. She explains: ‘It is cool to live here but not exactly homely. I don’t have chandeliers at home or cornicing.’

Langley is at ease in her grand surroundings yet remains down-to-earth. She is a West Ham supporter, proud of her East End childhood and a staunch champion of her hometown.

‘The Square Mile is the economic engine of the UK. It gives people opportunities they might never imagine,’ she says. ‘I just wish my parents were still around so they could see what the City has given me.’