Royal Wootton Bassett, formerly Wootton Bassett, is a small market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 12,000 in 2020. Situated in the north of the county, it lies 6 miles (10 km) to the west of the major town of Swindon and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Calne. From 1447 until 1832 Wootton Bassett was a parliamentary borough which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. In 1832 it was deemed a rotten borough and abolished by the Great Reform Act. The town was granted royal patronage in March 2011 by Elizabeth II in recognition of its role in the early-21st-century military funeral repatriations, which passed through the town. This honour was officially conferred in a ceremony on 16 October 2011 – the first royal patronage to be conferred upon a town (as distinguished from a borough or county) since 1909. Royal Wootton Bassett is represented by 16 Town Councillors in 3 wards.