what is a royal colony?

Answer 1

Hope, I have already answered your question.

Answer 2

It was a British overseas possession. "Royal colony" is an archaic term, which you will find in pre-independence history of the USA (the thirteen colonies becoming the original states). Later the term "crown colony" was adopted for all the continuing British imperial territories. There are still some in existence, being called "British dependent territory" from 1981, and then "British Overseas Territory" from 2002.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_overseas_territories