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The royal "we", or majestic plural (''pluralis majestatis'' in Latin, literally, "the plural of majesty"), is the use of a plural pronoun to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a sovereign (e.g., a monarch or sultan) or religious leader (e.g., the Pope or a bishop). The more general word for the use of ''we'' to refer to oneself is nosism. Speakers employing the royal we refer to themselves using a grammatical number other than the singular (i.e., in plural or dual form). For example, the Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman opens with "''On the Issue of the Basic Law of the State We, Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman...''".〔(Constitution of Oman )〕 == Western usage == It is commonly employed by a person of high office, such as a monarch, earl, or pope. It is also used in certain formal contexts by bishops and university rectors. William Longchamp is credited with its introduction to England in the late 12th century, following the practice of the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs. Its first recorded use was in 1169 when King Henry II, hard pressed by his barons over the Investiture Controversy, assumed the common theory of "divine right of kings", that the monarch acted conjointly with the deity. Hence, he used "we", meaning "God and I...". In the public situations in which it is used, the monarch or other dignitary is typically speaking not only in his or her personal capacity but also in an official capacity as leader of a nation or institution. The habit of referring to a leader in the plural has further influenced the grammar of several languages, in which plural forms tend to be perceived as deferential and more polite than singular forms. This grammatical feature is common in languages that have the T-V distinction, including those, such as English, which used to have a T-V distinction in the past, but lost it. Popes have used the ''we'' as part of their formal speech with certain recent exceptions. The English translations of the documents of John Paul II dispensed with this practice, using the singular "I", even though the Latin original usually continued to use the first person plural "We".〔http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/〕 In a 1911 letter, Daniel David Palmer, founder of chiropractic, spoke of establishing it as a religion, and placed himself on a par with other founders of religions ("Christ, Mohamed, Jo. Smith, Mrs. Eddy, Martin Luther"). In the letter he refers to himself with royal third person terminology.〔(D.D. Palmer's Religion of Chiropractic ) – Letter from D.D. Palmer to P.W. Johnson, D.C., 4 May 1911.〕 In 1989, Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was met with disdain in the press for using the 'royal we' when announcing news that she had become a grandmother.〔The Phrase Finder. (We are a grandmother )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal we」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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