The borough’s new first citizen took up her position this week at a meeting of Richmond Council.

North Richmond ward councillor Celia Hodges became the mayor of Richmond on Tuesday, replacing Councillor Helen Lee-Parsons.

Councillor Ben Khosa took on the role of deputy at the meeting, replacing Councillor Geoff Acton, while Christopher Hodges and Jasbir Jaur Khosa took up roles as the mayor’s and deputy mayor’s consorts.

Reverend Cate Irvine took up the post as mayor’s chaplain.

Coun Serge Lourie, leader of Richmond Council, said he had great pleasure in proposing Coun Hodges as mayor and also paid tribute to Coun Lee-Parsons.

“Helen has been an energetic mayor,” he said.

“She managed to relate to people wonderfully, I was told she was a wow with the Queen at Kew Gardens.

“I think her main contribution may have been reestablishing the Eel Pie sound. She may go down in history as that person.”

Coun Nick True, leader of Richmond Conservatives, added: “She brought peace and love to wherever she went in the borough.”

Coun Lee-Parsons said she had been trying to think of a word to sum up her year in office and could only describe it as “extraordinary”.

“I have learned so much as mayor,” she continued.

“It is a total education.

“Every mayor feels they know where they live but they really don’t and there is so much more than they realise, I really found that.

“There are people and parts of the borough I knew nothing about.”

She said she was pleased she managed to get a permanent tribute to the music of Eel Pie Island on Twickenham Riverside but had not managed to catch up with the borough’s Olympians – “maybe because they were so hard to catch”, she added.

She also said thank you to her deceased husband Brian and said the year was a gift from him.