kingly

kingly, regal, royal, queenly, imperial, princely are comparable when meaning of, relating to, or befitting one who occupies a throne. Kingly, regal, and royal are often interchanged, especially when used in reference to a monarch who is called king; thus, kingly, regal, or royal power are equally appropriate and idiomatic.

However, usage shows a degree of preference for kingly when the reference is to the personal or ideal character of a king or to his feelings, disposition, aims, or actions

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kingly courtesy

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kingly condescension

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leave kingly backs to cope with kingly cares— Cowper

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or for regal when the reference is to the king's office or the state or pomp which accompanies the exercise of his powers

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regal ceremonies

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regal splendor

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ascend your throne majestically ... sit regal and erect— Auden

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and for royal when the reference is to persons or things associated with the king either as a person or as a monarch, but not necessarily involving magnificence or display

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the royal family

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the royal residences

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a royal society is one under the patronage of a king or members of his family

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In extended use kingly carries the strongest implication of dignity and nobility

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kingly pride

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I am far better born than is the king, more like a king, more kingly in my thoughts— Shak.

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while regal suggests magnificence or majestic character

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a regal feast

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her rather regal conception of the behavior to be expected of a whorehouse madam may have a comic value— Gibbs

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"Just tell me what you would like to eat; you can have anything you want." ... It had a regal ring— Henry Miller

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and royal, fitness or suitability for a king especially in superlative excellence

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a royal welcome

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had a royal time

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was treated with the royal acclaim of a visiting statesman— White

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Queenly is used in place of kingly when the reference is directly to a person who is a female sovereign in her own right or is the consort of a king

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queenly courtesy

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queenly prerogatives

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But when the reference is to the office, the family of the queen, or anything to which regal and royal are normally applied, the latter adjectives are used without reference to the sex of the sovereign.

Imperial suggests reference to a monarch who is called emperor or empress

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His Imperial Majesty

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an imperial court

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the imperial power

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In extended use imperial implies fitness or suitability for an emperor or empress and typically suggests a more awe-inspiring quality than kingly and more pomp and grandeur than regal or royal

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I have seen New York grow from the little old town of the nineties to the imperial city that stands there now— White

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she was imperial rather than rude— Wylie

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Princely implies reference to one who is called a prince and especially to one who is so called as the monarch of a principality, as the heir to a royal throne, or as a male member of the immediate royal family

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the representative of the princely power— Sarah Austin

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among the princely houses of Western Europe— Freeman

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In its extended use princely often carries a strong implication of sumptuousness

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two princely temples, rich with painting and many-colored marble— Macaulay

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or of opulence or munificence

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he had been told to spend his princely allowance in a princely manner, and to return home with a gallery of masterpieces— Wharton

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