History Main / LostOrphanedRoyalty

* Myth/KingArthur, at least in most versions of his story, 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.

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%%* Lone Starr of ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''
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* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'': "Princess Problems" 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/{{Witch}}'': [[spoiler: Elyon]] is revealed to be the long lost princess of and rightful heir to the kingdom of Meridian.

* 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. No prizes for guessing what happens next.

* 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.

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* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Years before the main story began Castle Heterodyne was attacked and badly damaged and the two lords of the family disappeared, apparently without a living heir. However it is eventually revealed that Agatha, the main character of the series, is in fact a daughter of the Heterodyne family and thus the legitimate Lady of House Heterodyne.

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* 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.]]

* ''W.I.T.C.H.'':[[spoiler: Elyon]] is revealed to be the long lost princess of and rightful heir to the kingdom of Meridian.
* ''Mysticons'': Proxima is mistaken for Princess Arkayna’s long-lost twin sister, who is later revealed to be [[spoiler:Zarya Moonwolf]].

* 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.

* 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 made by his sister [[TheCassandra Cassandra]], [[CassandraTruth who no one believed anymore]].

* 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. The witch to whom he sold her disguised and raised her as a boy named Pip. 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]]

* In the ''Literature/PrydainChronicles'', 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.

** 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]], 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 adaptation 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.]]

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

* Literature/{{Discworld}}: Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson was orphaned as an infant, then raised by dwarves, before eventually travelling to Ankh-Morpork to become a city guard. He turned out in fact to be the rightful 'eir to the throne, and from all appearances he'd be damned good at it, what with his essential king-ness meaning the entire city, horrible selfish jerks to a human, actually like him. But he really doesn't want to be king, and the man in charge doesn't want a king, and Sam Vimes, his ''boss,'' really doesn't want kings. So he isn't the king, and everyone is happy. Well, everyone within reason.
** ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'' also 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]].)

* ''Webcomics/GirlGenius'': Years before the main story began Castle Heterodyne was attacked and badly damaged and the two lords of the family disappeared, apparently without a living heir. However it is eventually revealed that Agatha, the main character of the series, is in fact a daughter of the Heterodyne family and thus the legitimate Lady of House Heterodyne.

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* Lone Starr of ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''
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* ''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).]]