A royal competitor's appearance (7)

I believe the answer is:

arrival

'appearance' is the definition.
(to appear can mean to arrive at a particular place)

'a royal competitor's' is the wordplay.
'royal' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation e.g. RM - Royal Marine).
'competitor' becomes 'rival' (synonyms).
'a'+'r'+'rival'='ARRIVAL'

(Other definitions for arrival that I've seen before include "coming on the scene" , "Coming - comer" , "Achievement of destination" , "The A in ETA" , "Advent" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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