History Main / LostOrphanedRoyalty

* ''WesternAnimation/VytorTheStarfireChampion'': The [[HumbleHero humble]] young man from Terron, Vytor finds out that he is the son of a king when he meets Princess Skyla of a neighboring kingdom of Aerion.
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Bloom is introduced as an ordinary Earth girl that ended up becoming a magical fairy after saving one from a monster attack. But throughout the series, she soon discovers that she is actually a princess from her homeworld of Domino and was sent to Earth many years ago by her sister Daphne to protect her from the Ancestral Witches, who were [[MacGuffinSuperPerson after Bloom for the all-powerful Dragon Flame]].

* In ''Literature/TheLastDaughterOfYork'': The modern day protagonist investigates her twin sister's disappearance, which is wrapped up with the identity of their elderly grandfather, Dick, who was adopted as a little boy. [[spoiler: It turns out that Dick is the younger of the two [[TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower Princes in the Tower]] who in a TimeTravel rescue was sent forward in time to protect him from Henry Tudor.]]

* In ''Literature/TheTimeBender'', [[spoiler:Lafayette O'Leary]] turns out to be the missing heir to the throne of Artesia. However, in the event, he doesn't want the crown, and abdicates in favor of Princess Adoreanne.

* In ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing'', Oedipus was of the 'sent away by the king and queen' variety. A prophecy foretold that the baby prince would one day kill his father and marry his mother, so they sent him away to prevent it. As a young man, he learns of the prophecy - and believes it means his ''adoptive'' parents, since he has no idea he was adopted. Horrified, he runs away to try to prevent it. [[SelfFulfillingProphecy No prizes for guessing what happens next]].
* Similarly, [[UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar Paris]] was packed off and raised as a shepherd due to a prophecy that he would cause Troy's destruction. In some versions, he was taken back by his parents because the prophecy had been verified by his sister [[TheCassandra Cassandra]], [[CassandraTruth who no one believed]].

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* OlderThanFeudalism: Literature/TheHistories of Herodotus report a story like this about UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat. In this story, Astyages, King of the Medes, has a PropheticDream that his advisors interpreted as meaning that the son of his daughter Mandane, whom he had married off to King Cambyses of neighboring Persia, would supplant him. Astyages therefore recalled Mandane to his capital at Ecbatana and waited for her to give birth. When she gave birth to a son named Cyrus, Astyages ordered his general Harpagus to kill the newborn. Harpagus couldn't manage this, so he delegated it to one of the royal shepherds, Mithradanes, who couldn't bring himself to do it, either. Instead, Mithradanes, whose wife had conveniently given birth to a stillborn son about the same time as Mandane was giving birth to Cyrus, presented the stillborn child to Astyages as Cyrus, and took Cyrus as his own son. For ten years, Cyrus was raised as a shepherd's son, but eventually Cyrus does something unshepherdlike (he orders the son of a noble to be beaten for failing to follow his orders), and the shepherd tells Astyages everything. At this juncture, Astyages realizes YouCantFightFate and sends the boy to live with his parents in Persia. (Meanwhile, he [[FamilialCannibalismSurprise tricks Harpagus into eating his own son]] as punishment for his failure to carry out orders.)
* Shasta, from Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' is one. He was [[spoiler:abducted by an EvilChancellor, lost in the middle of a naval battle between the Chancellor's forces and the royal navy]], and then was taken in by a fisherman. [[spoiler:Later he finds his true family and grows into Cor, King of Archenland.]]
* Jenna from ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' is effectively this; her father is alive, but virtually nonexistent.

* [[spoiler:Aegon Targaryen, a.k.a. the Young Griff, a.k.a.]] the WalkingSpoiler in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', is supposedly an orphan and the adopted son of an exiled knight. The orphan part is completely true, though. He is well aware of who he really is, and his adoptive father is preparing to put him on the throne.
** However, [[{{WMG}} some fans think]] he may be a [[spoiler:Blackfyre descendant, Illyrio's son, a combination of the previous two, or just a random kid with Valyrian features]] raised to believe that he is [[spoiler:Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar]], in an elaborate plot cooked up by [[spoiler:Varys and Illyrio]].
** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:it ''does'' prove to be true in its TV adaptation, ''Series/GameOfThrones'']], [[spoiler:Jon Snow]] is the hidden son of [[spoiler:Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark]], potentially making him the heir to the Iron Throne after [[spoiler:the death of Viserys]]. [[spoiler:Jon’s biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish made her older brother]] Ned Stark [[ThePromise promise]] that he would protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage.]]
* The [[Literature/{{Deryni}} First Festil]] isn't as careful as he should have been to get every single one of the Haldane King's several sons. This comes back to bite his descendants big time.

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', Eilonwy turns out to be this. Her royal status isn't revealed until the absolute last page of the first book, but eventually Taran (and the reader) learns that she is the last Princess of Llyr, whose parents have been dead for years and who was stolen as an infant by the evil Queen Achren. There isn't much of a kingdom of Llyr left for her to claim, but she still has the RoyalBlood and all the inborn magical powers of its true princess.
** [[spoiler:Taran himself]] is a subversion of the trope. He's definitely an orphan, and he was definitely lost as a baby--but [[spoiler:when Dallben finally reveals what he knows of Taran's origins, he confesses that he has absolutely no idea who the boy is. He may or may not be of RoyalBlood. Regardless, he ends the series by being named High King of Prydain.]]

* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Subverted. Lindon practices the Path of Black Flame, the overpowered and [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique dangerous]] Path of the previous royal family of the Blackflame Empire. The Blackflames faded into obscurity over the years until they were quietly usurped by their servants. Several people therefore assume that Lindon is some secret HiddenBackupPrince kept safe by the royal family. Though since their power is something that can be learned, no one is ''that'' surprised when he explains he has no connection to the family. The Empire does let the rumor persist, though, because it looks good for them if the former imperial family is now serving them rather than the other way around.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' confirms the fan theory that [[spoiler:Ned Stark's illegitimate son Jon Snow is actually his nephew -- [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold Jon is the secret trueborn child of Ned's sister Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen]] and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, kept hidden to save his life from being killed by the new ruling regime after the Targaryen dynasty is deposed. Rhaegar was killed in battle before Jon's birth and Jon's mother Lyanna dies shortly after giving birth. Before her death, Lyanna passes her newborn son into her brother Ned's care, who [[ThePromise promises]] to protect his sister's child (Jon) from the new king Robert Baratheon as Robert wants to kill anybody with Targaryen blood. Ned claims his nephew Jon as his own illegitimate child to protect him and raises him as his own son alongside his children, concealing the truth to keep Jon safe. At this point in the show, the only living persons who know the truth of Jon's origins are Jon's "half brother"/cousin Bran (who knows because he can supernaturally see into the past), his best friend Sam (who knows because he found the paper trail proving that Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled and then married Lyanna, and put two and two together after Bran regaled his own clairvoyant revelation to Sam), Sam's girlfriend Gilly (who helped Sam find the paper trail), and Howland Reed (who knows because he was with Ned when Lyanna was found after giving birth to her son).]]

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series' backstory, Barenziah, the future Queen of Morrowind, was [[RulingFamilyMassacre the last surviving member of her noble Dunmeri family]] after [[TheConqueror Tiber Septim]]'s Imperial Legions sacked Mournhold. Septim's Dunmeri General, Symmachus, convinced Septim to spare Barenziah and had her secretly placed into the foster care of the Count and Countess of Darkmoor (Imperial loyalists) until she would old enough to take the throne in Morrowind as a [[PuppetKing legitimate vassal ruler]] for the Empire. She would, of course, escape her foster family and went on various adventures in her teenage years. Notably, she spent some time as TheArtfulDodger as a member of the ThievesGuild and engaged in TheOldestProfession. She would be found and brought back by Symmachus to serve her purpose. She would outlive both Symmachus and Septim, going on to achieve more than either could have imagined.
** In the ''Elsweyr'' expansion of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', Euraxia Tharn massacred the King and Queen of Elsweyr and their children, usurping the throne. [[spoiler:Khamira reveals herself to be the daughter of King Hemakar and the Queen; she was visiting a monastary during the massacre, and was brought to Lord Gharesh-ri, the Speaker of the Mane, as his page until the time was right to reveal herself.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AtelierIris2TheAzothOfDestiny'', [[spoiler:Fee]] is revealed to be the long-lost princess of Slaith, who disappeared when the kingdom was conquered back when she was a baby. This is proved by her ability to perform the Ein Zecksclaw, as sword technique that every member of the royal family is somehow born knowing how to do, which can otherwise only be used by her elder brother.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Witch}}'': [[spoiler:Elyon]] is revealed to be the long-lost princess of and rightful heir to the kingdom of Meridian.

For real-world another case of mysteriously missing royalty, see TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower.

* In ''Literature/TheLastDaughterOfYork'': The modern day protagonist investigates her twin sister's disappearance, which is wrapped up with the identity of their elderly grandfather, Dick, who was adopted as a little boy. [[spoiler: It turns out that Dick is the younger of the two [[TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower Princes in the Tower]] who in a TimeTravelRescue was sent forward in time to protect him from Henry Tudor.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'': Fits squarely in the "DidAnastasiaSurvive" subtrope and in the films universe answers it with a resounding ''yes'', she hit her head falling from a train fleeing the Bolsheviks (and some [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade demons sent by Rasputin]]) and [[EasyAmnesia got amnesia]] and was raised between the ages of 8 and 18 in an orphanage. She ends up reuniting with her grandmother Grand Duchess Marie but chooses not to take the throne as she's in love with Dimitri, a commoner, and couldn't marry him.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'': Fits squarely in the "DidAnstiasiaSurvive" subtrope and in the films universe answers it with a resounding ''yes'', she hit her head falling from a train fleeing the Bolsheviks (and some [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade demons sent by Rasputin]]) and [[EasyAmnesia got amnesia]] and was raised between the ages of 8 and 18 in an orphanage. She ends up reuniting with her grandmother Grand Duchess Marie but chooses not to take the throne as she's in love with Dimitri, a commoner, and couldn't marry him.

* ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'': [[spoiler: Chacha is the princess of the magic kingdom. Daimao turned her parents into stone when she was just a baby, and she was taken care of by Seravy ever since.]]

* Shasta, from Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' is one. He was [[spoiler: abducted by an EvilChancellor, lost in the middle of a naval battle between the Chancellor's forces and the royal navy]], and then was taken in by a fisherman. [[spoiler: Later he finds his true family and grows into Cor, King of Archenland.]]

** ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' has Tomjon, the King's heir, who was taken out of the palace so the usurper Felmet couldn't kill him. He was given to a troupe of actors by the witches, so that he would move around the Discworld and not be noticed until it was time for him to retake the throne. Except he ''didn't'': he preferred to stay as an actor, but luckily there was a half-brother revealed as an alternative heir: Verence, the Fool. ([[spoiler: Subverted in that ''neither'' half-brother is the son of the king; rather, Tomjon is the son of the queen by Verence's father, the previous Fool]].)
* [[spoiler: Aegon Targaryen, a.k.a. the Young Griff, a.k.a.]] the WalkingSpoiler in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', is supposedly an orphan and the adopted son of an exiled knight. The orphan part is completely true, though. He is well aware of who he really is, and his adoptive father is preparing to put him on the throne.
** However, [[{{WMG}} some fans think]] he may be a [[spoiler: Blackfyre descendant, Illyrio's son, a combination of the previous two, or just a random kid with Valyrian features]] raised to believe that he is [[spoiler: Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar]], in an elaborate plot cooked up by [[spoiler: Varys and Illyrio]].
** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:it ''does'' prove to be true in its TV adaptation, ''Series/GameOfThrones'']], [[spoiler: Jon Snow]] is the hidden son of [[spoiler:Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark]], potentially making him the heir to the Iron Throne after [[spoiler: the death of Viserys]]. [[spoiler: Jon’s biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish made her older brother]] Ned Stark [[ThePromise promise]] that he would protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage.]]

* In ''Literature/TheTimeBender'', [[spoiler: Lafayette O'Leary]] turns out to be the missing heir to the throne of Artesia. However, in the event, he doesn't want the crown, and abdicates in favor of Princess Adoreanne.

** In Season 3, when Brady decides to leave the island of Kinkow [[spoiler: in order to move back to Chicago and temporarily abdicate his throne as one of the Kings of Kinkow]], coincidentally King Boomer finds out that they're not just twin siblings, but they're actually triplets, and that a third triplet brother of their's named Boz, is also supposed to be one of Kinkow's co-kings along with Brady and Boomer, making the nation of Kinkow a triarchy/triumvirate. [[spoiler: Boz then moves to the island of Kinkow upon Boomer's invitation and essentially replaces Brady as the Co-King of the nation alongside Boomer. In real life, the reason for this change was because Mitchel Musso who portrayed King Brady was asked by Disney Channel to leave the show when he was arrested for driving under the influence after the end of the second season and [[ReplacementScrappy his character was replaced by Adam Hicks]].]]

** In the ''Elsweyr'' expansion of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', Euraxia Tharn massacred the King and Queen of Elsweyr and their children, usurping the throne. [[spoiler: Khamira reveals herself to be the daughter of King Hemakar and the Queen; she was visiting a monastary during the massacre, and was brought to Lord Gharesh-ri, the Speaker of the Mane, as his page until the time was right to reveal herself.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Witch}}'': [[spoiler: Elyon]] is revealed to be the long-lost princess of and rightful heir to the kingdom of Meridian.

* OlderThanFeudalism: Literature/TheHistories of Herodotus report a story like this about UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat. In this story, Astyages, King of the Medes, has a PropheticDream that his advisors interpreted as meaning that the son of his daughter Mandane, whom he had married off to King Cambyses of neighboring Persia, would supplant him. Astyages therefore recalled Mandane to his capital at Ecbatana and waited for her to give birth. When she gave birth to a son named Cyrus, Astyages ordered his general Harpagus to kill the newborn. Harpagus couldn't manage this, so he delegated it to one of the royal shepherds, Mithradanes, who couldn't bring himself to do it, either. Instead, Mithradanes, whose wife had conveniently given birth to a stilborn son about the same time as Mandane was giving birth to Cyrus, presented the stillborn child to Astyages as Cyrus, and took Cyrus as his own son. For ten years, Cyrus was raised as a shepherd's son, but eventually Cyrus does something unshephardlike (he orders the son of a noble to be beaten for failing to follow his orders), and the shepherd tells Astyages everything. At this juncture, Astyages realizes YouCantFightFate and sends the boy to live with his parents in Persia. (Meanwhile, he [[FamilialCannibalismSurprise tricks Harpagus into eating his own son]] as punishment for his failure to carry out orders.)

* The [[Literature/{{Deryni}} First Festil]] isn't as careful as he should have been to get every single on of the Haldane King's several sons. This comes back to bite his descendants big time.

* According to ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'', Princess Ozma is this - she was the daughter of the last king of Oz, whose father sold her as a baby in exchange for an immortality potion; ''or'', depending on the edition of the ''same book'', the Oz Dorothy knew took Ozma to the witch and told her to hide the kid. The witch turned the girl to a boy named Tip and raised him. She gets her rightful name, title, and body back at the end of the story. [[note]]However, L. Frank Baum wasn't exactly known for his continuity in the Oz books, and later titles change Ozma's backstory more than once.[[/note]]

** [[spoiler:Taran himself]] is a subversion of the trope. He's definitely an orphan, and he was definitely lost as a baby - but [[spoiler:when Dallben finally reveals what he knows of Taran's origins, he confesses that he has absolutely no idea who the boy is. He may or may not be of RoyalBlood. Regardless, he ends the series by being named High King of Prydain.]]

** In Season 3, when Brady decides to leave the island of Kinkow [[spoiler: in order to move back to Chicago and temporarily abdicate his throne as one of the Kings of Kinkow]], coincidentally King Boomer finds out that they're not just twin siblings, but they're actually triplets, and that a third triplet brother of their's named Boz, is also supposed to be one of Kinkow's co-kings along with Brady and Boomer, making the nation of Kinkow a triarchy/triumvirate. [[spoiler: Boz then moves to the island of Kinkow upon Boomer's invitation and essentially replaces Brady as the Co-King of the nation alongside Boomer. In real life, the reason for this change was because Mitchel Musso who portrayed King Brady was asked by Disney Channel to leave the show when he was arrested for driving under the influence after the end of the second season and [[ScrappyReplacement his character was replaced by Adam Hicks]].]]

** In Season 3, when Brady decides to leave the island of Kinkow [[spoiler: in order to move back to Chicago and temporarily abdicate his throne as one of the Kings of Kinkow]], coincidentally King Boomer finds out that they're not just twin siblings, but they're actually triplets, and that a third triplet brother of their's named Boz, is also supposed to be one of Kinkow's co-kings along with Brady and Boomer. [[spoiler: Boz then moves to the island of Kinkow upon Boomer's invitation and essentially replaces Brady as the Co-King of the nation alongside Boomer. In real life, the reason for this change was because Mitchel Musso who portrayed King Brady was asked by Disney Channel to leave the show when he was arrested for driving under the influence after the end of the second season and [[ScrappyReplacement his character was replaced by Adam Hicks]].]]

* [[Creator/DisneyXD Disney XD's]] ''Series/PairOfKings'': The entire plotline of the TV series is about teenaged adopted twins, Brady and Boomer, who live in Chicago, Illinois, finding out that they are actually the long lost sons of the former deceased king and queen of an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, named Kinkow, and then moving to Kinkow to take over as the new co-kings of the island. Overlaps with LostOrphanedRoyalty since their parents, the former king and queen died before the events of the show when they were just young infants and not even old enough to remember their parents or the island.

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