Who decides what pubs are named, and why are so many named after royalty?

Answer 1

There's a Wikipedia article for everything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub_names

Owners named their pubs for many reasons, including alcohol, found objects, heraldry, historic events, myths and legends, personal names, places, puns, sports, etc.

Concerning royalty:
Royal names have always been popular (except under Oliver Cromwell's rule during the Commonwealth). It demonstrated the landlord's loyalty to authority (whether he was loyal or not) especially after the Restoration of the Monarchy when Richard Cromwell (Oliver's son) was sacked and Charles II was brought back from exile.

* Crown: A name which became very popular after the Restoration of the Monarchy to demonstrate people's loyalty to the Crown.
* King's Arms
* King's Head
* King and Queen: Celebrates the dual monarchy of William III and Mary II.
* Queen's Arms
* Queen's Head: Possibly one of the most comman pub names.
* Alexandra: Wife of Edward VII.
* Prince Leopold, Southsea, Hampshire: Queen Victoria's fourth son.
* Queen Victoria: Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom at the time of greatest expansion of housing stock and associated public houses. She inspired great loyalty and affection, and publicans aimed to reflect this.
* Prince of Wales: the title of the heir to the monarchy was also popular in Victorian times, when Albert Edward was the longest-serving holder of the the title.
* Prince Regent: the title of the future George IV, in the Regency period.

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Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 2

Owner of the pub decides. Medieval times suggests if you want to attract whales (royalty and knights), make a name that will attract their status quo and bring a thought of comfort to that name. In effect, the pub owner gets a more decent pay for his joint.

Answer 3

the owner does.maybe the royal name sounds good!