[3] When he was 17, he competed at the Youth America Grand Prix "just hoping to get feedback", and received a scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City.

[6] In 2019, Royal and Misty Copeland became the first black duo in ABT to dance the lead roles in a ballet, by performing Ratmansky's restaging of Harlequinade.

[7] Later that year, on his debut as the title role in Balanchine's Apollo, the New York Times wrote that he "is suddenly the most elegant male dancer in the company".

[8] In 2020, though his debuts as the lead roles in Giselle and MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic,[9] he was promoted to principal dancer, making him the third black person to reach this rank, after Desmond Richardson and Copeland.

"[12] The following year, after Mitchell's death, Royal and Phelan reprised the Agon pas de deux at his memorial.