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Royal We: Difference between revisions
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|[[HM The Queen|ELIZABETH THE SECOND]], by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth}}
When royalty speak on behalf of their office (at least in Western systems) they tend to use the '''Royal We''' or ''Pluralis Maiestatis''. This was most famously used<ref>Maybe - see the Real Life section of this trope.</ref> by Queen "We are not amused" Victoria, who believed herself to be the avatar for the British Empire. This happens in fiction as well. A good way to show when the monarch in question has had enough and demands obedience is to have them switch to this form of address. Another way is to use this comedically, have a monarch use this in informal contexts or have people confuse the majestic plural for the regular one. ("Where are the rest of them?")
The origin of this tradition is the idea that the monarch in question is speaking for the nation, although it was also used by religious officials in times gone by. (Although using that phrase when discussing your breakfast can be a bit strange.) Sometimes other characters will reinforce this by referring to the monarch by the name of their country; in ''[[Hamlet]]'', for example, Claudius and the dead king are both referred to as Denmark, and another king is only ever called Norway.
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