In 1528, a charter of King Henry VIII gave the town the right to be known as "The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield" and to be governed by a warden and society. The charter was secured by Bishop John Vesey. This unreformed corporation survived until 1885, when it was replaced by a municipal borough. Although the title "Royal Town" was still used, the municipality created in 1885 was not itself a Royal borough. However, the townspeople sometimes still use its historic 'Royal' title. This was confirmed to be allowed in 2014 after a two-year campaign by a local newspaper, the Sutton Coldfield Observer, Andrew Mitchell MP, the Sutton Coldfield Civic Society and various local residents. On Thursday, 12 June 2014 government minister Greg Clark confirmed during a special adjournment debate in the House of Commons that "there is no statutory ban to the continuance of historic titles for other [non-governance] purposes" in the absence of a local governing structure using a historic name, and thus the use of the Royal title is not prohibited (although any such usage has a "lack of technical legal effect"). Following that confirmation, the newspaper renamed itself the Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer.
