The following list of place names with royal styles in the United Kingdom includes places granted a royal title or style by express grant from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

(usually by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

) and those with a royal title or style based on historic usage.

England

Royal

The following places have been explicitly granted or confirmed the use of the title "royal" by

or similar instrument issued by the monarch. Since 1926 the entitlement to the title "royal borough" has been strictly enforced.

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, which had previously used the title without authorisation, was forced to end the practice.

Former

* Royal Liberty of Havering – abolished in 1892.

Regis

''Regis'',

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "of the king", occurs in numerous placenames. This usually recalls the historical ownership of lands or manors by the Crown. The "Regis" form was often used in the past as an alternative form to "King's", for instance at King's Bromley and

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

. Examples include Houghton Regis in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, Salcombe Regis in Devon, Bere Regis,

Melcombe Regis Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th cen ...

and

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, Milton Regis in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, Beeston Regis in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, Grafton Regis in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Brompton Regis Brompton Regis (formerly known as Kingsbrompton) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England about north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Pulham in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park, close to Wimbleball L ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, Newton Regis in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and Rowley Regis in the West Midlands. There is one modern example of the granting of the suffix "regis". In 1929,

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

, having spent several months recuperating from a serious illness in the seaside resort of Bognor,

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, allowed it to be renamed as "

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

King's

* Kingham * Kingsbury * Kingsclere * King's Cliffe * King's Cross * King's Heath * Kingskerswell * Kings Langley *

* King's Norton * King's Sutton * Kings Ripton * Kings Tamerton *

Kings Worthy Kings Worthy is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately two miles north-east of Winchester, Hampshire, Winchester. Kings Worthy was a Tithe, tithing of Barton Stacey when the Domesday Book was w ...

* Kingstanding * Kingsteignton * Kingston by Ferring *

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

* Kingswear *

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands (county), West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. T ...

Kingswood, Surrey Kingswood or Kingswood with Burgh Heath is a residential area on the North Downs in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. Part of the London commuter belt, Kingswood is just to the east of the A217 road, A217 separating it from ...

* Winterborne Kingston * Kingsthorpe, Northampton

Somerset

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...

* Kingsbury Episcopi * Kingsdon * Kingston Bridge * Kingston Seymour *

Kingston St Mary Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills north of Taunton. The village has a population of 921. The parish includes the hamlets of Yarford which includes the grade II Cutl ...

* Kingstone * Kingweston * Kingswood

Queen's

* Queen Adelaide, Cambridgeshire * Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey, Kent * Queen Camel * Queen Charlton * Queen's Park, London * Queensbury * Quendon

Prince's

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England; it is located about south of Aylesbury and northwest of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through ...

Princetown Princetown is a villageDespite its name, Princetown is not classed as a town today – it is not included in the County Council's list of the 29 towns in Devon: located within Dartmoor national park in the English county of Devon. It is the ...

Scotland

King and Rìgh

* Various places called Kingshouse * Kingdom of Fife * Dalrigh and possibly some of the places called Dalry * Portree (disputed) Kingsburgh, Skye is a corruption of Cinnseaborgh, which is in turn a corruption of a Norse name. In many places "Kin(g)" is a suffix meaning "head", an anglicisation of ''Ceann'':

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; ) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Known as the place where K ...

and Kingussie, for example, are nothing to do with royal patronage.

Regis

* Cramond, formerly referred to as Cramond Regis.

Queen

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is now administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. It lies ten miles to the nor ...

* Queen's Park, Edinburgh

Royal

* "Royal" Deeside – location of

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

Former royal burghs

In Scotland a royal burgh was a

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

or incorporated town founded by, or subsequently granted, a

. By 1707, when the Act of Union with England and Wales came into effect, there were 70 royal burghs. None were created after 1707, and they were formally abolished in 1975. Notwithstanding their abolition, the term is still used in many of the former burghs.Select Committee on Privileges Second Report, September 1999
/ref>

Wales

Royal

* Royal Town of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

. The status of royal borough was granted to then

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

of Caernarvon in August 1963. The borough was abolished in 1974 and replaced by the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Caernarfon, to which the status of royal town was granted. Caernarfon was the site of the investiture of

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

Northern Ireland

Royal

* Royal

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen'Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

: On 1 June 2021

Brandon Lewis Sir Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 201 ...

, the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

, announced that the prefix "Royal" would be granted to the exurban village. The local Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council had requested this in recognition of Hillsborough Castle, the official royal residence for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, as well as to mark the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland.; Letters Patent were issued and unveiled in October 2021 to effect this.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/33011/details/CAERNARFON%3B+CAERNARVON/ , title=Caernarfon; Caernarvon , work=Coflein , publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales , first=M. Lloyd , last=Davies , date=19 January 2009 , access-date=6 October 2012 Place names with royal styles, List of UK Place names with royal styles English royalty Place names with royal styles UK place names with royal styles Royal styles Place names with royal styles Scottish royalty Place names with royal styles Place names with royal styles, List of UK

England

Royal

Former

Regis

King's

Somerset

Queen's

Prince's

Scotland

King and Rìgh

Regis

Queen

Royal

Former royal burghs

Wales

Royal

Northern Ireland

Royal

See also

References