Definition:

A form of the first-personpluralpronoun (we, us, our, ours, ourself/ourselves) as it's used by kings, queens, or other rulers to refer to themselves on formal public occasions. The royal we is also known as the majestic plural or plural of majesty (in Latin, pluralis majestatis).

Although obviously related in form to the editorial we, the royal we is generally regarded as more elevated in style.

When this ritualistic expression is used in informal settings, the speaker may be perceived as comically pompous or absurdly self-important. While the editorial we is used most often in writing, the royal we is used primarily in speech.

See Examples and Observations below. See also:

• First-Person Point of View
• Editorial We, Exclusive We, and InclusiveWe
• Honorific
• Illeism
• Voice (Rhetoric)

Examples and Observations:

• "Whereas we, George III, in this year of our Lord 1788, do open this Parliament, giving notice that our will and pleasure is that the following bills shall be laid before this House. . . ."
  (Nigel Hawthorne as King George III in The Madness of King George, 1994)
   
• "We have become a grandmother."
  (British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, addressing reporters outside 10 Downing Street, 1989)
   
• "We always wanted to feel the reason for being the meaning of our life."
  (Computer programmer Qohen Leth in the film The Zero Theorem, 2013)
• "We dreamt of that Palme d’Or! We didn’t get it. It’s fine."
  (Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, quoted by Peter Howell in "Xavier Dolan Hates the Beatles but Loves Attention." Toronto Star, October 3, 2014)

• Origins of the Royal We
  "Don't be fooled by the Latin: the royal we has enjoyed popularity far beyond Rome by monarchs, popes, and even university rectors. The origin of this pronoun has been traced variously to 1169, when the English king Henry II used it to mean 'God and I,' and to King Richard I, whose use of the pronoun bolstered his claim to be acting in concert with the deity and to be the ruler by 'divine right.' . . .
  
  "It's amazing how easily politicians slide into the royal we, especially when they become presidential candidates, although in that case they usually mean not 'God and I' but 'my campaign and I.'"
  (Constance Hale, Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose. Three Rivers Press, 2013)
   
• The Presidential or Premier We
  - "Royalty, office holders, and senior administrators occasionally slip in the royal we when they should really be using the word I."
  (James W. Pennebaker, The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us. Bloomsbury, 2011)
  
  - "The most striking example of egocentric reference, and noted in some grammars, if only to be labeled as 'virtually obsolete' (Quirk et al. 1985: 6.18 note (a)) or 'dying out' (Greenbaum and Whitcut 1988: 765), is the so-called royal we, meaning 'I' alone, as in the oft-cited 'We are not amused,' allegedly uttered by Queen Victoria. . . .
  
  "Virtually obsolete it may be in the mouth of the current monarch, but it is very much alive in the 'royalese' of satirical journalism, parody, and caricature, a crude symbol of royalty, like the orb and sceptre: e.g.

  (24) Hellay. Since we spoke last Christmas a great deal has happened . . . we were bitten by our dog, and there has been talk of taxing us upon our enormous income. (The Guardian, 24 December 1991)

  [T]he present queen is more likely to use the properly exclusive 'royal firm we,' speaking on behalf of the royal family present and past . . ..
  
  "I should like to argue here that the 'royal we' is actually by no means dying, but can be relabelled the 'presidential or premier we,' as . . . in the rhetoric of President [George W.] Bush and [British Prime Minister] John Major. The we of such powerful figures is ostensibly exclusive (and even inclusive), but it is also highly representative or synecdochal, and often hides an egocentric agency. Moreover, in the discourse of the former premier Margaret Thatcher, the egocentricity of reference often clearly surfaced, when personal and public roles became confused; and interestingly, she was much ridiculed in the media for her supposed use of 'royal we,' and its implication as a consequence of the upstaging of the queen."
  (Katie Wales, Personal Pronouns in Present-Day English. Cambridge University Press, 1996)
   
• Shakespeare's Use of the Royal We
  - "Shakespeare's monarchs don't often combine 'I' and 'we' in the same breath; rather, they use one or the other according to the situation. King Henry, in the council that begins Henry IV, Part 1, speaks in the royal we when considering public affairs--plans for a crusade, troubles with the Welsh and the Scots. When the talk turns to Hotspur, however, Henry shifts to 'I.' He now speaks less as a king than father as he measures the achievements of the young warrior against the perceived worthlessness of his son."
  (Susan Snyder, "'Who's There?' Talking to Others and Talking About Yourself in Shakespeare." Teaching Hamlet and Henry IV, Part 1. Washington Square Press, 2006)
  
  - "What touches us ourself shall be last served."
  (Roman leader Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's Tragedy of Julius Caesar, 1599)
• The Lighter Side of the Royal We
  The Dude: We dropped off the damn money.
  Jeffrey Lebowski: We?
  The Dude:I! The royal we! You know, the editorial we.
  (Jeff Bridges and David Huddleston in The Big Lebowski, 1998)
  
  Nurse Kelton: Goodbye, Grandma.
  Endora: Why do I have to leave?
  Nurse Kelton: [referring to Samantha] Because we are about to take our nap.
  Endora:Our nap? Are you going to climb into bed too?
  Nurse Kelton: I was using the royal we.
  Endora: Are you a member of royalty?
  Nurse Kelton: Yes, I'm queen of this floor. That means I can tell you when to visit and when not.
  Endora: When did you get out of charm school?
  Nurse Kelton: Well, let me put it another way. Get out!
  (Eve Arden and Agnes Moorehead in "And Then There Were Three," an episode of the American television comedy Bewitched, 1966)