I have lots of Royals and if you are used to lizards I wouldn't recomend them really, as they (if happy) spend most of their time hidden away. Also, they can be intermittent feeders, which is normal for this speices, but can upset newbies to snakes. On top of that, a lot never do well in vivs, but are better kept in 'storage box' type set ups.

I would say go for a corn. They feed easily, are fairly 'outgoing' for a snake, and come in lots of pretty colours. They are usually good tempered too, and even if they're not, it's not that intimidating and a corn bite wouldn't hurt you.

I've got corns as well as royals, and although I prefer the Royals, I'd suggest corns to anyone asa beginner snake any day. I take in enough 'problem feeder' royals to know that whata novice views as a feeding problem, and can get very upset about, usually isn't.