Royal Hotel

The Royal Hotel was an up-market establishment in Manchester which hosted the annual dinner of the Licenced Victuallers' Association in March 1962. Jack and Annie Walker attended the dinner as per their usual habit and thought they had made a booking for a bedroom but when they came to retire for the night they discovered that because no follow-up confirmation had been made in writing, their room hadn't been reserved. Annie naturally blamed Jack and insisted on a taxi back to the Rovers Return Inn, refusing to get a late-night 104 bus after a meal of prawn cocktail, roast chicken and chocolate mousse.