Manual recline swivel mechanism

A seating assembly comprising a shell assembly, a base assembly operably coupled to the shell assembly, and a control assembly including a handle. The control assembly comprises a spindle gear positioned within the base assembly, a gear plate disposed in the shell assembly proximate the spindle gear, a locking key configured to simultaneously engage the spindle gear and the gear plate, a locking leaf spring configured to bias the locking key into engagement with the spindle gear and the gear plate, and an actuator configured to withdraw the locking key from engagement with one of the gear plate and spindle gear and subsequently withdraw the locking key from engagement with the other of the gear plate and spindle gear.