royal we

Definition

The first-person plural pronoun as traditionally used in formal speech by any royal personage to refer to themselves, most especially a sovereign in their role as the monarch.

Example Sentences

• "Queen Victoria is the monarch most commonly associated with the use of the royal we, as in "We are not amused.""
• "The string of royal we’s in lines 19–27 conflates his personal responsibility with those of the civic institution and the city fathers, and the two analogies he appeals to along the way have self-exculpatory force."
• "I know there are certain conventions of style to be observed when one writes for a professional journal. I’s indicative of real people must be suppressed, even at the cost of substituting royal we’s."