The royal treatment

Given the long-standing association Britons have with the Royal Family, it is no surprise that many amenities across the UK have become a tribute to monarchs gone by.

In London, the Royal Albert Hall hosts stars from the world of entertainment, Leicester Square’s Prince Charles cinema showcases latest film releases and connecting Charing Cross and Waterloo stations is the Golden Jubilee bridge.

With royalty so ubiquitous to London’s built environment, the Queen’s latest incarnation in the city’s newest rail engineering project was perhaps to be expected.

Formerly known as Crossrail, the route which will connect Essex with Maidenhead via central London upon its estimated completion in 2019 has been renamed the Elizabeth Line. With its regal, purple colour scheme, the network is intended to serve as a tribute to the reign of Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch.

However this is not the first, or indeed the second, time that a London underground railway brand has alluded to London’s royal associations.

The Victoria Line, which opened in 1968, is so named due to its route through Victoria station, which was in turn named after Queen Victoria, who took the throne 1837 - 1901. Opened by Prince Charles in 1977, the Jubilee Line was titled as a celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee – its silvery grey colour scheme reflects the illustriousness of the occasion.

Branding another facet of London’s built environment after a member of royalty has drawn a mixed response, ranging from jubilation to derision. Some commentators have called for Transport for London to diversify its names away from royalty and instead remain with the already ubiquitous Crossrail name. Others have called for the line to be named in remembrance of much-missed British icons, such as the late David Bowie - in much the same vein as Liverpool named its airport after Beatle member John Lennon.

Regardless, with an estimated 200m passengers expected to ride the Elizabeth Line upon its completion, the attraction of tourists to the royal family brand, which in itself is deeply embedded in the London marque, shows no signs of slowing.

Whether the application of its ‘official’ name will replace the pervasive Crossrail name remains to be seen.