What is the meaning behind the song royals?

Answer 1

Lorde has said she wrote this song as a sort of protest against celebrity culture. In the song, she tells her boyfriend that they don't have to be members of the royal family (the slang term for this is "Royals"), they don't have to have a lot of money or status or prestige in order to be happy, as long as they are in love and they have each other. She says she doesn't mind that she comes from a poor part of town and she does not envy those from better "post codes" (what Americans call "zip codes"-- fancier neighborhoods). And she jokes about being Queen-- she'll be his "Queen Bee," and as long as she has his love, she will rule, and that is better than having lots of material things.