the area is named after three docks – the royal albert dock, the royal victoria dock and the king george v dock. they are more correctly called the royal group of docks to distinguish them from the royal dockyards. the docks are called "royal" because they are named after royal personages, not because they are in crown ownership. the three docks together formed the largest enclosed docks in the world, with a water area of nearly and an overall estate of . this is equivalent to the whole of central london from hyde park to tower bridge.