History Main / InItsHourOfNeed

The [[CapitalOffensive capital is about to be overwhelmed]] and the leader is fighting in the battle. His duty to land, life, or people dictates that he must [[LaResistance organize the resistance]] or [[GovernmentInExile go abroad to find allies]], but he won't budge until this battle has been won. The [[WarComesHome war has not only come to the homefront]] it's come all the way to the very heart of the nation and for these leaders to abandon it now would mean to sacrifice everything they had been fighting for.

*** Leopold III's father, King Albert I, also stayed in Belgium the last time the country was overrun by German forces, in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. He's remembered a bit more fondly than his son,[[note]]When the invading Germans demanded that he stand aside and not resist them, he responded [[ShutUpHannibal "I command a nation, not a road." May also be a case of ExactWords: uniquely, the title of the Belgian king has always been "King of the ''Belgians''", not of ''Belgium''.]][[/note]] as he took command of the army during what amounted to a fighting retreat, until the Belgian Army was driven back to a small strip of land between the Yser River and the North Sea. After leading the army in the Battle of the Yser in the fall of 1914 and halting the Germans, Albert spent the next four years at the Yser Front, where his wife, Queen Elisabeth, also worked as a nurse.

*** Leopold III's father, King Albert I, also stayed in Belgium the last time the country was overrun by German forces, in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. He's remembered a bit more fondly than his son,[[note]]When the invading Germans demanded that he stand aside and not resist them, he responded [[ShutUpHannibal "I command a nation, not a road." May also be a case of ExactWords: the title of the Belgian king has always been "King of ''Belgians''", not of ''Belgium''.]][[/note]] as he took command of the army during what amounted to a fighting retreat, until the Belgian Army was driven back to a small strip of land between the Yser River and the North Sea. After leading the army in the Battle of the Yser in the fall of 1914 and halting the Germans, Albert spent the next four years at the Yser Front, where his wife, Queen Elisabeth, also worked as a nurse.

*** Leopold III's father, King Albert I, also stayed in Belgium the last time the country was overrun by German forces, in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. He's remembered a bit more fondly than his son,[[note]]When the invading Germans demanded that he stand aside and not resist them, he responded [[ShutUpHannibal "I command a nation, not a road."]][[/note]] as he took command of the army during what amounted to a fighting retreat, until the Belgian Army was driven back to a small strip of land between the Yser River and the North Sea. After leading the army in the Battle of the Yser in the fall of 1914 and halting the Germans, Albert spent the next four years at the Yser Front, where his wife, Queen Elisabeth, also worked as a nurse.

** Danish king Christian X, being stuck in his Copenhagen palace for the entire war and under Nazi occupation, was actually the ''brother'' of Norwegian (Danish-born) king Haakon VII, who decided to leave Norway with his government in 1940, to become a lasting symbol of Norwegian resistance. It is said that Haakon was present at his brother´s funeral, and the eulogy stated that "the king remained with his people InItsHourOfNeed". King Haakon took this pretty hard, and never set foot in Denmark again.

* During the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky turned down a US offer to help evacuate him from Kyiv, stating "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride."
--> [[RousingSpeech "I am here. We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this...That is it. That's all I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine."]]
** For that matter his predecessor Petro Poroshenko, who despite being one of the ten richest men in Ukraine, having been defeated by Zelensky in a landslide after just one term in office, and ''having previously left the country to avoid prosecution'', returned and handed over his passport to the authorities to take up a Kalashnikov as part of civil defense forces on the streets of Kyiv. Even political opponents who were [[GlorySeeker cynical about his motivations]] had to acknowledge his courage.

* When the United States Capitol was besieged and then invaded by UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump supporters on January 6 2021, interrupting the ceremonial counting of Electoral Votes and certification of UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's electoral victory, Vice President UsefulNotes/MikePence was ushered away by the Secret Service, first to his office, then to an underground parking garage where his armored limousine was waiting. Contrasting to [[YesMan earlier]] [[ExtremeDoormat perceptions]] of his behavior, Pence refused to get in the car, despite the crowd upstairs chanting "Hang Mike Pence", claiming he would not give the rioters the satisfaction of seeing him running away.

** Many monarchs of the countries overrun by the Nazis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII did leave their countries and were still remembered fondly for being symbols of resistance. Those who did stay behind have mixed reputations. King Leopold III of Belgium is not remembered too fondly, especially since he did get too friendly with the Germans (and was suspected of downright collaboration), and had to abdicate with the Belgian public bitterly divided over his return. King Christian X of Denmark is fondly remembered, on the other hand, for helping to keep the country together under Nazi occupation.

-->-- '''[[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]]''', at the height of the [[UsefulNotes/TheHomeFront London Blitz]]

* {{Subverted}} in ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'' at the end of series four, when Morgana attacks and overwhelms Camelot. Knowing that Myth/KingArthur won't leave his kingdom under any circumstances, Merlin casts a spell on him to remove his free will and reduce him to a "simpleton" that complacently lets himself be carried away. One can't help but think that the writers didn't really think through the implications of this one...

* When the United States Capitol was besieged and then invaded by UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump supporters on January 6 2021, interrupting the ceremonial counting of Electoral Votes and certification of UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's electoral victory, Vice President Mike Pence was ushered away by the Secret Service, first to his office, then to an underground parking garage where his armored limousine was waiting. Contrasting to [[YesMan earlier]] [[ExtremeDoormat perceptions]] of his behavior, Pence refused to get in the car, despite the crowd upstairs chanting "Hang Mike Pence", claiming he would not give the rioters the satisfaction of seeing him running away.

*** Leopold III's father, King Albert I, also stayed in Belgium the last time the country was overrun by German forces, in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. He's remembered a bit more fondly than his son,[[note]]When the invading Germans demanded that he stand aside and not resist them, he responded [[BadassBoast "I command a nation, not a road."]][[/note]] as he took command of the army during what amounted to a fighting retreat, until the Belgian Army was driven back to a small strip of land between the Yser River and the North Sea. After leading the army in the Battle of the Yser in the fall of 1914 and halting the Germans, Albert spent the next four years at the Yser Front, where his wife, Queen Elisabeth, also worked as a nurse.

*** Leopold III's father, King Albert I, also stayed in Belgium the last time the country was overrun by German forces, in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. He's remembered a bit more fondly than his son, as he took command of the army during what amounted to a fighting retreat, until the Belgian Army was driven back to a small strip of land between the Yser River and the North Sea. After leading the army in the Battle of the Yser in the fall of 1914 and halting the Germans, Albert spent the next four years at the Yser Front, where his wife, Queen Elisabeth, also worked as a nurse.

The capital is about to be overwhelmed and the leader is fighting in the battle. His duty to land, life, or people dictates that he must [[LaResistance organize the resistance]] or [[GovernmentInExile go abroad to find allies]], but he won't budge until this battle has been won.

* ''Film/MarieAntoinette'': Towards the end of the movie, as the Revolution starts to cause real trouble, King Louis refuses to leave Versailles and be a "runaway king". When an advisor begs him to at least send the queen and children away, she declares that their place is with her husband. They regret it when an angry mob comes to adbuct them.

* {{Subverted}} in ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'' at the end of series four, when Morgana attacks and overwhelms Camelot. Knowing that KingArthur won't leave his kingdom under any circumstances, Merlin casts a spell on him to remove his free will and reduce him to a "simpleton" that complacently lets himself be carried away. One can't help but think that the writers didn't really think through the implications of this one...

** Danish king Christian X, being stuck in his Copenhagen palace for the entire war and under nazi occupation, was actually the ''brother'' of Norwegian (Danish-born) king Haakon VII, who decided to leave Norway with his government in 1940, to become a lasting symbol of Norwegian resistance. It is said that Haakon was present at his brother´s funeral, and the eulogy stated that "the king remained with his people InItsHourOfNeed". King Haakon took this pretty hard, and never set foot in Denmark again.