The use of plural personal pronouns, known as the royal we or nosism, is often associated with monarchs and can indicate representation and importance. The real we is interpreted differently in Islam, where it refers to Allah’s all-encompassing nature. The use of the plural has fallen out of use, possibly due to the decline of monarchy and fear of revolution. It is now mainly encountered in historical films and literature.
Royal we, Victorian we or in Latin pluralis majestatis is how a person, usually a ruler, can use a plural personal pronoun to refer to himself. Kings and queens are more famous for usage, and the royal suggests that the king or queen is more than a singular person. A common explanation is that a ruler speaks as an individual and representative of his people.
The use of a real we is also known by the distinct word nosism, and has been both praised and criticized. Many reject the use of nosism for those who are not entitled to the phrase when it makes sense. Royalty as a representative of a people is decidedly plural, but so are pregnant women and, as Mark Twain suggests, “people with tapeworms.” Such critics of nosism may have rejected it in writing or when a subordinate speaks as a representative of those he or she truly does not represent. Also, clearly a monarch does not truly represent the people when he announces, “We will take our bath now.”
This is why, in addition to speaking as a representative, the real us indicates that an individual is somehow more important than most other individuals. It can be called the singular of intensity. This is how it is interpreted when the real we occurs in the Qur’an. Although scholars have debated the point, most conclude that when Allah’s words refer to Allah as “we” they simply mean that Allah is all and highest, or the highest. They do not suggest a plurality of gods, something the Islamic religion avoids and protests against. In Islam there is “no God but Allah”, and only Allah has the right to be “us” because only his stature is worthy of worship.
Along with the real we, you will find its compliment in plural pronouns. These include ours, ours and us. When referring to a monarch in the third person, however, he is usually not referred to as them or as theirs. The form “Your Majesty, is more common than Our Majesty, unless the speaker represents more than one speaker.
It should be noted that the plural is rarely used nowadays. Even in the Victorian period, the use of Queen Victoria in the phrase “We are not amused” is disputed as not a true plural of majesty. You were talking about a group of women who didn’t even enjoy themselves when you made this statement.
You will see a series of period films where the use of the real is very constant. Queen Elizabeth I certainly used it, as did many Russian rulers and French rulers. Some suggest it has fallen out of use because monarchies are simply not vested with as much power as previously. While they may be rulers, parliaments tend to make most of the decisions concerning a country, and people can elect members of parliament.
There is also some suggestion that the fall of the French monarchy during the French Revolution may have prevented other monarchs, who feared similar revolutions, from using the real we. Using it to suggest height over the people could inflame those who were most oppressed in a monarchical system. Thus the plural of majesty or intensity has largely fallen out of use, and the places where it is easiest to encounter it now are in films, screenplays or books that represent some distant time period.
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