History Main / LostOrphanedRoyalty

** ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'' also has Tomjon, the King's son, who was taken out of the palace so Felmet couldn't kill him, and then found by the witches and given to a troupe of actors so that he would move around the Discworld and not be noticed until it was time for him to retake the throne. He ''didn't''; he preferred to stay as an actor, but there was another lost royal orphan: Verence, the Fool. (He's not actually the son of the ''king'', though; he's [[spoiler: the son of the queen by the previous Fool]].)

* 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 tricks Harpagus into eating his own son as punishment for his failure to carry out orders.)

Often overlaps with or leads to ReallyRoyaltyReveal, HiddenBackupPrince, ManInTheIronMask and RightfulKingReturns. SuddenlySuitableSuitor is a common plot twist.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Emma Swan is the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White, who was the reigning Queen before the curse takes effect. As a baby, Emma is sent away through a portal to our world by her parents in their efforts to save her from the curse. In the real world, she is raised in foster care without any idea of who her parents are [[spoiler:until the curse is lifted from Storybrooke and she is reunited with them.]] Emma is the heir to her kingdom's throne but this has yet to be a plot point in the series.
* ''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), 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).]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Legend and Mythology]]
* KingArthur, at least in most versions of his story, is this. He grows up knowing that the nobleman raising him isn't his real father, but neither he nor anyone else has any idea that he's actually the missing son of the late Uther Pendragon until he pulls a certain sword out of a certain stone.
* In Greek mythology, {{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. No prizes for guessing what happens next.

* ''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), 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).]]

* ''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) and his girlfriend Gilly (who helped him find that paper trail), and Howland Reed (who knows because he was with Ned when Lyanna was found after giving birth to her son).]]

* ''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 adoptive brother/cousin Bran, his best friend Sam, and Howland Reed who was with Ned when Lyanna was found after giving birth to her son.]]

* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Emma Swan is the daughter of Princing Charming and Snow White, who was the reigning Queen before the curse takes effect. As a baby, Emma is sent away through a portal to our world by her parents in their efforts to save her from the curse. In the real world, she is raised in foster care without any idea of who her parents are [[spoiler:until the curse is lifted from Storybrooke and she is reunited with them.]] Emma is the heir to her kingdom's throne but this has yet to be a plot point in the series.

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:it ''does'' prove to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew Jon home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from the fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, while Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing in a loving family, virtually nobody has ''any'' idea he is royalty, just the illegitimate son of a lord, and he also has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

* ''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 overturned. 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 adoptive brother/cousin Bran, his best friend Sam, and Howland Reed who was with Ned when Lyanna was found after giving birth to her son.]]

* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Emma Swan is the child of Snow White, who was Queen for some time before the curse took effect. Emma was sent away as a baby, so she qualifies as Lost, and she was raised in foster care, so she fits the Orphan part. Technically, she's the heir to the throne, but no one seems to have noticed and it's never brought up.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' confirms the fan theory that [[spoiler: Ned Stark's bastard son Jon Snow is actually the secret trueborn child of his sister Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen. This would then mean that Jon is technically the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, although at this point in the show, the only living persons who know are Bran and Sam.]]

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:it ''does'' prove to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As is shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew Jon home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from the fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, while Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing in a loving family, virtually nobody has ''any'' idea he is royalty, just the illegitimate son of a lord, and he also has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' confirms the fan theory that [[spoiler: Ned Stark's bastard son Jon Snow is actually the secret child of his sister Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen. This would then mean that Jon is technically the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, although at this point in the show, the only living person who knows is Bran.]]

Villains often try to kill off the whole royal line in their attempts to take the throne. This hardly ever works and they [[EvilOverlordList really ought to know better]], as a Lost Orphaned Royal will surely turn up sooner or later to take it back. That is this trope. If the orphan in question was lost as a baby or SwitchedAtBirth, that is also this trope. If the orphan was sent away by the King and Queen to be raised by simple peasant folk for what doubtless seemed like a very good reason at the time, that is also this trope. If the orphan was accidentally dropped down the laundry chute by an absent-minded cleaning woman and adopted by a pack of [[SewerGator Sewer Gators]], that is still this trope.

* Lone Starr of ''{{Spaceballs}}''

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'': "Princess Problem" revolves around the King and Queen of the Isle of Pony coming to Ponyland as part of their long search for their lost daughter. Naturally, [[WeirdnessMagnet Patch matches all the descriptions]]. She's not happy about it at all, as she's HappilyAdopted and scared of the prospect of losing her adopted parents. Subverted when it turns out she wasn't the lost princess; her old friend from the same orphanage Rosy is, and is reunited with her long lost parents.

* WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales: "Princess Problem" revolves around the King and Queen of the Isle of Pony coming to Ponyland as part of their long search for their lost daughter. Naturally, [[WeirdnessMagnet Patch matches all the descriptions]]. She's not happy about it at all, as she's HappilyAdopted and scared of the prospect of losing her adopted parents. Subverted when it turns out she wasn't the lost princess; her old friend from the same orphanage Rosy is, and is reunited with her long lost parents.

[[folder: Legend and Mythology ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Shasta, from Creator/CSLewis's ''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.]]

* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Emma Swan is the child of Snow White, who was Queen for some time before the curse took effect. Emma was sent away as a baby, so she qualifies as Lost, and she was raised in foster care, so she fits the Orphan part. Technically she's the heir to the throne, but no one seems to have noticed, and it's never brought up.

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:proves to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As is shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew, Jon, home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, while Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing in a loving family, virtually nobody has ''any'' idea he is royalty at all, just the illegitimate son of a lord, and he also has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:proves to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As is shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew, Jon, home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, while Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing in a loving family, virtually nobody has ''any'' idea he is royalty and he, himself, also has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:proves to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As is shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew, Jon, home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing but has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

** If [[EpilepticTrees fan theory is true]] and [[spoiler:proves to be true in its TV adaption, ''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]], but nobody -- save for very few people -- know this. [[spoiler:Jon’s]] biological father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, but not before she [[DyingWish asks her older brother]] [[spoiler:Ned Stark]] to make her [[ThePromise a promise]]. As is shown in the TV adaption and speculated in the book series, [[spoiler:Ned promises his dying sister that he will protect her son from the new king, Robert Baratheon, as Robert would kill Jon if he found out his true parentage. Ned brings his nephew, Jon, home with him to Winterfell, raises and loves Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn offspring, and claims him as his own illegitimate son in order to keep him safe from fatal wrath of their family's enemies, namely the Baratheon regime. As a result, Jon is raised as the highborn bastard son of Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and receives a highborn upbringing but has [[ObliviousAdoption no idea of his biological parentage]] as Ned has devoted the rest his life to protecting Jon by hiding this dangerous truth that would threaten Jon’s life.]]

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has Emma, the child of Snow White - who was Queen for some time before the curse took effect. Emma was sent away as a baby, so she qualifies as Lost, and she was raised as a foster child, so she fits the Orphan part. Technically she's the heir to the throne, but no one seems to have noticed, and it's never brought up.

** Also, according to a popular theory, this is technically true for [[spoiler: Jon Snow, with his parents being Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark]]. His father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, making him an orphan. After [[spoiler: the death of Viserys]], he is the last surviving male of the Targaryen royal line. He was certainly not raised as royalty (though still raised in better circumstances than many others in this scenario), growing up in [[spoiler: the Stark's castle Winterfell, held by Lyanna's older brother Ned Stark]]. [[spoiler: Ned]] claimed [[spoiler: Jon]] to be his bastard son (noble bastards are only a step up from peasants in Westeros anyways), and this led to him being treated poorly by his "stepmother."

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Live Action Television]]

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Legend and Mythology]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

* Slackjaw from ''Dishonored''. He was raised by a whore and the heart reveals that he is actually a prince, but that he'll never know.

** Also, according to a popular theory, this is technically true for [[spoiler: Jon Snow, with his parents being Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark]]. His father died in battle before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, making him an orphan. After [[spoiler: the death of Viserys]], he is the last surviving male of the Targaryen royal line. He was certainly not raised as royalty (though still raised in better circumstances than many others in this scenario), growing up in [[spoiler: his uncle Ned Stark's]] castle, who claimed him to be his bastard son (noble bastards are only a step up from peasants in Westeros anyways), and consequently getting treated poorly by his "stepmother."

** Also, according to a popular theory, this is technically true for [[spoiler: Jon Snow, his parents being Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark]], making him the last surviving male Targaryen after [[spoiler: the death of Viserys]]. He was certainly not raised as royalty (though still raised in better circumstances than many others in this scenario), growing up in [[spoiler: his uncle Ned Stark's]] castle, who claimed him to be his bastard son (noble bastards are only a step up from peasants in Westeros anyways), and consequently getting treated poorly by his "stepmother."

** 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]].