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Little is known of the city prior to Queen Boadicea's revolt against the Romans in A.D. 61. The Roman legions withdrew in the 5th cent. Celts, Saxons, and Danes contested the area, but it was not until 886 that London emerged as an important town under King Alfred. Under the Normans and Plantagenets the city became self-governing and grew commercially and politically. By the 14th century, it had become the political capital of England.

The reign of Elizabeth I brought London great wealth, power, and influence as the centre of England's Renaissance in the age of Shakespeare. A plague (1665) was followed by the Great Fire (1666), that virtually destroyed the city. Sir Christopher Wren played a large role in rebuilding London, designing over 50 churches, most notably Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

London grew enormously in the 19th cent., acquiring great prestige in the Victorian era as the capital of the British Empire. The city was heavily bombed during World War II in raids that killed thousands of civilians. Many of the bombed areas were subsequently rebuilt with tall, modern buildings.