Sgt Donald C Todd/ UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023

The Cabinet Office has announced that Queen Elizabeth II’s name will be closely controlled and that organisations and businesses must meet “strict standards” with their application to use the late sovereign’s name. 

Pubs across the United Kingdom have names in honour of different historic royal figures, but Queen Elizabeth II will most likely not be included in that. Businesses will need to show strong royal connections in order to use her name. 

Some monarchs feature more than others when it comes to pub names. There are nearly 400 pubs known as the Royal Oak, a name that is a nod to King Charles II, who hid in an oak tree before escaping from Parliamentarian forces in 1651. 

Queen Victoria comes next with over 150 publican houses named after her and her lengthy reign. There are over 130 pubs named the Prince of Wales (though they are not all named for the same Prince of Wales), and there are over 30 pubs named for King William IV. 

There are also many pubs named for the royals without being associated with a specific royal. There are nearly 500 pubs named the Crown, over 200 pubs named the Rose and Crown, and there over 200 pubs with the name King’s Head and another 200 with the name Queen’s Head.