Lord London Lord London was a title in the hereditary peerage of England that was held by several people on Earth . During the 22nd century it was given to at least two people , the most famous of whom waged a long and bitter war against Lord Haldoran . 22nd century history . Donna ' s father . One Lord London had a daughter named Donna . Along with the Eighth Doctor , he waged a war against Lord Haldoran and . Some time during the war , this London gave his seventeen - year - old daughter to Haldoran to marry to create peace . Haldoran tortured Donna and constantly attempted to impregnate her , until she was found infertile . He divorced her and took her cousin , Brittany , who bore him twelve children . London shunned his daughter after learning of her infertility . He allowed her to go off and become a knight , yet thought of her safety in his last battle . London was killed when one of his own men shot him for bargaining in a surrender . Little known to him or his men , Haldoran had been killed by Donna moments before . Toby Barlow . After the death of Donna ' s father , the previous Lord London , the Domains Haldoran and London were combined under a new Lord London , originally named Toby Barlow . He had been on Haldoran ' s council , and emerged as the most likely heir to both titles once the previous Lords Haldoran and London died fighting each other . He also eventually married Donna , and joked during his marriage proposal that it was merely going to be a marriage of political convenience . Since she was the daughter of the previous London , it could only help cement his claim to the title . However , after they had been married for a while , Donna told the Eighth Doctor that Toby , Lord London , had lied when he said he was not marrying for love . ( PROSE : " Legacy of the Daleks " ) Behind the scenes . The way in which this title passed down was never made particularly clear by " Legacy of the Daleks " . It seems to have worked differently than aristocratic succession at other points in English history . A part of this may be down to the fact that there is no sitting English monarch . Indeed , the battle between London and Haldoran is really for the throne of England , not just control of New London . This lack of central authority may explain why the title seems to revolve around both inherited right and brute force . A particular mystery is why Donna dosn ' t just become " Lady London " on her father ' s death . The Doctor surmises on first meeting Donna that she might be disinherited , yet she is still welcome , even expected , in her father ' s house , and she still retains her title of knight . So if she ' s been disinherited , it ' s been done in a peculiar way . Moreover , if titles are skipping females in the 22nd century England , this would represent a considerable change over the way things had been done in earlier centuries . For instance , the Tenth Doctor tells Donna Noble that Lady Clemency Eddison possessed the title , " Lady Eddison " , in her own right . In early 20th century England , aristocratic titles , though not monarchical ones , passed to the first - born child , regardless of gender — at last , according to TV : " The Unicorn and the Wasp " . Of course , she " does " become " Lady London " ; it ' s just that the book doesn ' t particularly clearly lay out why she needs to do it through marriage .