Royal is a village in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States.

[1] The community was renamed after Royal Thayer, who helped establish the post office.

[6] An unusual point in the town's history is the defunct "Zoo Nebraska", which was near Royal.

After some chimpanzees escaped, and were killed, the zoo gained some national attention[7] and then ultimately collapsed.

[9][10][11] According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2), all land.

There were 7.7% of families and 6.6% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 19.0% of those over 64.

[16] The Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park is located six miles from Royal.