Liverpool's Albert Dock gets royal title

Albert Dock, opened in 1846, forms part of Liverpool's Unesco World Heritage Status waterfront

Liverpool's Albert Dock has been granted a royal title to mark its role in the city's maritime history.

The Grade I listed site will become known as Royal Albert Dock following a ceremony at Tate Liverpool on Wednesday.

It was officially opened by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert on 30 July 1846 and redeveloped into a visitor attraction in the 1980s.

The new status was sought in advance of the 175th anniversary plans in 2021.

The Albert Dock, designed by architect and dock engineer Jesse Hartley, was given Grade I listed status in 1952 but was abandoned 20 years later.

It was later redeveloped, with the first phase completed in 1984.

Two years later the Merseyside Maritime Museum opened on the site, followed by Tate Liverpool in 1988.

The dock was abandoned in the 1970s

Ian Murphy, deputy director of Merseyside Maritime Museum, said the site had always been important to Liverpool, first as an industrial centre and later as a tourist attraction.

The redeveloped Albert Dock was re-opened in the 1980s

ITV's This Morning was filmed at the dock during the 1990s

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said the royal recognition "solidifies the significance of the dock".

Other institutions given permission to use "royal" in their name include the Royal Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

Among the newer recipients of the accolade is the Royal Papworth Hospital near Cambridge, which carried out the UK's first successful heart transplant.