Meaning of royal we | Babel Free

Definitions

1. 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.
2. Synonym of editorial we.
   humorous

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

“It may not sound⟳ very revolutionary to the modern ear—with all those royal wes and the orotund periods of Ciceronian dimensions which, with their apparently endless sub-clauses building slowly to a climax as they do, would probably read⟳ and sound⟳ better in Latin.”

““So it wasn’t a royal we,” said Jane, turning around to face⟳ former Evanston police detective Bruce Oh and his wife, Claire. / Bruce Oh raised an eyebrow slightly, which for him was a thoroughly out-of-character display of expression. Jane did not know⟳, however, whether he was surprised to see⟳ her or had no idea what she meant by the reference to the royal we. / “When we spoke on the phone,” said Jane,” you said when we return⟳ from California, but I didn’t know⟳ you were in California, so I thought you were just—””

““We want⟳ you to apply⟳ to Stanford, UCSF, University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dana-Farber, Mass General, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, and the National Cancer Institute.” We is Herr Doktor Ultmann, a royal we. “You will get⟳ a letter of recommendation from us. Every time you see⟳ a place⟳, you will rank every one of them until that point⟳. Then you will call⟳ and tell⟳ us what your choice is.””

“The narrator remarks, “[W]e know⟳ that Nestor shouldn’t drink⟳ that drink⟳ (Alice! Dorothy!) but the anger blooming in his chest will cause him to see⟳ one of the men and think⟳ he is a good-looking man. (We hate⟳ to admit⟳ that the men are good-looking.) We know⟳, even through their clothes, that they are slick as seals and hard” (174). The content of the two parentheticals signal that this is a royal we speaking; its royal we tone is a blend of a camp sensibility with a genuine pathos for poor Nestor. It is a mock royal we that goes over the top with its tone to make⟳ a serious point⟳.”

““If I had the energy, I’d object to your high-handed bossiness.” / “Mmm, I’ll give⟳ you a rain⟳ check, how’s that? Now, we need⟳ to get⟳ you out of these clothes.” / “I’ve got a headache, Chance. I think⟳ I can still manage⟳ to undress on my own⟳.” / He grinned. “That was one of those royal we’s.[…]””

“He let⟳ his hand drop and, without preamble, said, “I am old, cousin. I would see⟳ this war end⟳ before my reign does.” The royal we was gone again, but he amended the breach as he continued. “You are thinking that we do not look⟳ old, but you are palatine.[…]””

“Regarding we, scholars have⟳ developed taxonomies clarifying potential referents: a common distinction is between inclusive we, referencing both speaker and hearer (we instead of you and I), exclusive we, referencing speaker and a group not including the hearer (we meaning we without you), and a royal we referencing only the speaker, as traditionally used by a sovereign (Fontaine 2006; Íñigo-Mora 2004).”

“For example, in lines 021–022, Mr. Bader says we in “excuse⟳ me skateboard people, we are recognizing the order⟳ of events.” It is not immediately clear whom we refers to in this case. There are at least four possibilities: an inclusive we, an exclusive we, a “royal we” and a “patronizing we.” We might refer⟳ inclusively to Mr. Bader and all of the students in the room. We might refer⟳ exclusively to Mr. Bader and only some of the students in the room (for example, perhaps not the “skateboard people”). In its “royal” form⟳, we might refer⟳ to Mr. Bader alone, speaking about himself in the plural because of his social status.”

“She’s still droning on about the conference using the royal we because she likes to pretend⟳ that her bosses care enough to involve⟳ her in their decisions. / ‘There’s a large new prospective client going. We need⟳ you to secure them.’”

CEFR level