The history of Westminster begins with Thorney Island, a marshy eyot at the confluence of the River Tyburn and the River Thames. According to tradition, a church was built here in the 7th century, though the area gained prominence when King Edward the Confessor began constructing Westminster Abbey in the 1040s. A royal palace soon followed, establishing a geographic separation between the political power in Westminster and the commercial power in the City of London—a dual-center dynamic that defines London to this day.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Palace of Westminster served as the principal royal residence. By the 13th century, it had also become the permanent home of the English Parliament and the royal courts of justice. In 1540, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, King Henry VIII elevated Westminster to the status of a city by making the Abbey a cathedral, a title it retained even after the bishopric was abolished a decade later.
The modern City of Westminster was created on April 1, 1965, under the London Government Act 1963. This sweeping reform merged the Metropolitan Boroughs of St Marylebone, Paddington, and the original, smaller City of Westminster into a single massive inner-city authority. In the decades since, Westminster has continued to evolve, surviving the devastation of the Blitz during World War II and transforming into a global tourism and retail destination while preserving its centuries-old heritage.