Pluralis Majestatis
Pluralis Majestatis, literally Grandiose Plural, is the use of the plural pronoun in reference to one individual her-, him-, or itself alone. This is also known as the Royal we, because it has usually been restricted to august personages such as monarchs, bishops, and university rectors.
Examples of purported instances:
- We are not amused. Queen Victoria (in at least one account of this quotation, though, she was not speaking for herself alone, but for the ladies of the court.)
- We are a grandmother. Margaret Thatcher announcing the birth of Mark Thatcher's son Michael in 1990.
To be distinguished from Pluralis modestiae, also Leibniz
- We are thus led also to a definition of 'time' in physics. Albert Einstein
See also
