Wear down recent royal elegy? (5)
I believe the answer is:
erode
'wear down' is the definition.
(to erode is to wear down or decay)
'recent royal elegy?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'royal' could be 'er' (abbreviation for Elizabeth Regina) and 'er' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ode' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for erode that I've seen before include "Gradually destroy" , "go to pieces!" , "'Deteriorate, wear away (5)'" , "Grind down" , "Eat away" .)