something belonging to a king: thus we say, royal family, royal assent, royal exchange, &c.

ROYAL-oak, a fair spreading tree at Boscobel, in the parish of Donnington in Staffordshire, the boughs whereof were once covered with ivy; in the thick of which king Charles II. sat in the day time with colonel Carelets, and in the night lodged in Boscobel house: so that they are mistaken who speak of it as an old hollow oak, it being then a gay flourishing tree, surrounded with many more. The poor remains thereof are now fenced in with a handsome wall, with this inscription over the gate in gold-letters: Felicissimam arborum quam in alysium potentissimi regis Caroli II. Deus op. max. per quem reges regnant, hic crescere voluit, &c.

ROYAL society. See Society.