History Main / OfferedTheCrown

* The Emperor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Yao Yao-Di]] in ancient China, who instead of letting one of his nine sons to succeed him, offered the crown to a virtuous farmer called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shun_%28Chinese_leader%29 Shun]]. Likewise, Shun eventually let another commoner, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_the_Great Yu the Great,]] to the throne, because Yu had done the populace a great service by quelling an intractable flood. -- This was the golden age in Chinese mythology, when everyone was selfless, lives humbly, and makes rational decisions.

* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'', King Jigo would rather have Hikari take over as King of Ku than Mugen. Mugen is [[PracticallyDifferentGenerations significantly older]] and [[MightMakesRight stronger]] than Hikari, making him the "proper" heir to the throne. However, Jigo realizes that his second son is much better as an actual ''ruler'' due to being more popular with the actual people of Ku, and asks Hikari to consider ruling instead. Unfortunately, Mugen does ''not'' take this well, torching half the castle town, [[SelfMadeOrphan killing Jigo]], and [[CainAndAble exiling Hikari]] in retaliation. Hikari does end up taking over at the end of his storyline after defeating Mugen.

** More literally, Beldyn seeks to claim the ''Miceram'', or Crown of Power, from its hidden resting place. After entering the lower sanctum and encountering ghouls that render Beldyn unconscious, Cathan [=MacSeverin=] encounters the spirit of the last Kingpriest to hold the crown, who offers to give the crown to him rather than Beldyn. He refuses, insisting that the ''Miceram'' doesn't belong to him, but to the Lightbringer. However, due to some creative prophecy interpretation, it is later revealed that [[spoiler: Cathan really was the true Lightbringer, and thus the true heir to the Kingpriest's throne]]. However, this comes long after Beldyn (now named Beldinas) has tipped all the way into KnightTemplar status and stretched the Balance to the breaking point. Cathan learns of this after crossing the continent with the Discs of Mishakel, far too late to stop Beldinas from demanding supreme power from the gods and causing the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Cataclysm]]. He angsts over WhatMightHaveBeen, but [[spoiler: the god Paladine]] consoles him by telling him that it really couldn't have gone any other way for him. Now, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Lord Soth, on the other hand...]]

** In ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', the latest conspiracy against Vetinari offers the crown to ''Nobby Nobbs'' of all people, who runs in horror from the idea, partly because it's ''volunteering'', and mostly because Mister Vimes would go spare.

* In order to fill a power vacuum in the early 1830's (after the murder of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of the newly independent Greece), the crown was offered to a Bavarian prince named Otto. He ruled as King of Greece until his exile 30 years later...at which point the Greeks offered the crown to a 17-year-old Danish prince, Prince [[OverlyLongName Christian Wilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]], who took the throne as King George I of the Hellenes ("George" being much more Greek[[note]]much, ''much'' more, considering that Georgios ''is'' Greek for "farmer"[[/labelnote]] than Christian, Wilhelm, and Adolf[[note]] at least more Greek than Wilhelm and Adolf, since Christianos is also Greek[[/labelnote]]). He reigned long and well (being assassinated less than two weeks short of his 50th anniversary as King) and his dynasty lasted (with an interruption from 1924 to 1935) until 1967 (technically until 1974, but a coup exiled King Constantine in 1967). One of its junior princes, Philip, eventually married [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor Elizabeth II]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series; At the end of the first game, Kiryu resigns as Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan and gives the title to Yukio Terada, an ally of his father figure Kazama from the rival Omi Alliance. This ends up causing tension between Kansai and Tokyo that spills into ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 2}}'', and Terada is assassinated in the first thirty minutes of the game. Kiryu then offers the Chairmanship to Daigo Dojima, the dissilusioned son of his former boss, and Daigo leads the Tojo Clan for the rest of the series until ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' [[spoiler: when he chooses to dissolve it to avoid coming under the thumb of corrupt Governor Ryo Aoki]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' [[GrandFinale finale]] has a discussion about who should be Fire Lord after [[BigBad Ozai's]] defeat. [[SupportingLeader Zuko]], Ozai's son, wants his uncle [[TheMentor Iroh]] to take it, but Iroh convinces Zuko that he really is a worthy heir himself. For added fun, Ozai himself had passed the title onto [[TheDragon Azula]], his remaining loyal heir and Zuko's younger sister. And Azula and Zuko had just fought a formal duel for throne, with an... ambiguous outcome. And Ozai only got the title through a KlingonPromotion just as the eldest son and heir-apparent was half a world away, suffering from severe depression after the death of his son and in no shape to oppose him. It's been a while since the Fire Nation has had a plain old normal succession.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', a Zorro movie has -- among other historical inaccuracies -- King Arthur abdicating and declaring Zorro the new King of England.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'', after he defeats Xavier, the kids of the Other Side acknowledge Craig as the new king, but he immediately turns the position down, as he feels the Creek is better off without one.

* The Literature/{{Discworld}} example is probably based on the real-life example of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's marshals who was offered the Swedish crown (strictly speaking he was offered to become ''crown prince'', but the actual king was old and given the throne pretty much ''because'' he was old, heirless and not all that interested in doing any ruling stuff), took a few moments to review the situation, accepted it, and then promptly declared war against Napoleon. His family still reigns today.
** Bernadotte had been a staunch Republican and anti-monarchist in his youth. According to some sources, he actually had the Republican slogan "Death to Kings and Tyrants" tattooed on either his arm or his chest, which would be rather embarrassing once he got a throne of his own.

* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington. In 1782, Col. Lewis Nicola suggested the formation of a country on the west coast of North America, and that Washington be its king, but Washington harshly refused, claiming "No incident in the course of the war in me triggers painful feelings as your message, that such ideas are circulating in the army, as you expressed it."

* In order to fill a power vacuum in the early 1830's (after the murder of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of the newly independent Greece), the crown was offered to a Bavarian prince named Otto. He ruled as King of Greece until his exile 30 years later...at which point the Greeks offered the crown to a 17-year-old Danish prince, Prince [[OverlyLongName Christian Wilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]], who took the throne as King George I of the Hellenes ("George" being much more Greek[[labelnote:*]]much, ''much'' more, considering that Georgios ''is'' Greek for "farmer"[[/labelnote]] than Christian, Wilhelm, and Adolf[[labelnote:**]] at least more Greek than Wilhelm and Adolf, since Christianos is also Greek[[/labelnote]]). He reigned long and well (being assassinated less than two weeks short of his 50th anniversary as King) and his dynasty lasted (with an interruption from 1924 to 1935) until 1967 (technically until 1974, but a coup exiled King Constantine in 1967). One of its junior princes, Philip, eventually married [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor Elizabeth II]].

** Also the Habsburg Emperor [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctation_of_Olmutz made very the "kind" suggestion]] (read: overtly threatened) that the Prussian King refuse the Crown and allow the German Confederation to be re-established. [[SarcasmMode The fact the Habsburgs were the default President of the German Confederation was just a happy coincidence.]]

** This (although it has never really been repeated) asserted Parliament's right to choose the monarch over the so-called "legal line of succession" if it so desired. It's for this reason that documentaries or news stories claiming that so-and-so in such-and-such a country is the "real" heir to the British throne are nonsense: since 1688 the British monarch is whomever Parliament says it is. Though this has become more complicated since the end of the British Empire; the former colonies and dominions have become independent nations but most of them still retain same monarch. Since all 15 of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth Realms]] rather like this arrangement and don't want to end up with different monarchs on account of inconsistent succession laws. As such, they all agreed in 2011 that any future changes would have to be agreed to by the parliaments of all 15 kingdoms rather than just by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[[note]]The agreement was prompted because up until that point no attempt had been made to alter the line of succession. But with a beloved queen having reigned for nearly 60 years already they realized male-preference primogeniture was pretty silly in the 21st century, and banning succession by anybody who was married to a Catholic was both outdated and (at least in Canada) constitutionally unsound. So both of those rules were discarded. Though any royal who themselves converts to Catholicism is still automatically removed from succession, on the premise that would be rather awkward for the head of the (Protestant) Church of England to not be a member of the Church of England or another Protestant church.[[/note]][[note]]More specifically, any major change (such as an abdication) has to be approved by the parliaments of eight of the 15 Commonwealth realms, all the state legislatures of Australia, and all the provincial legislatures of Canada. For minor changes (such as giving female heirs equal standing) the Canadian provinces don't have to vote but must be consulted. This has had the effect of making it nearly impossible for a monarch to abdicate, and certainly not as quickly as Edward VIII did.[[/note]]

* In the semi-mythical Roman Kingdom that preceded UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, most kings of Rome were not of Roman ancestry (of the seven+1, two were Romans, two and Romulus' co-king were Sabines, were Etruscans, and the remaining one was the son of a Latin outsider who had died fighting ''against Rome'' and had his pregnant wife enslaved and brought there). This was an EnforcedTrope: while Romulus and his co-king Titus Tatius were of royal blood (Romulus as a grandson of the kings of Alba Longa and Titus as the king of the Sabines who joined Rome), the Romans did ''not'' trust hereditary kingship and would try and elect someone, who had the right to refuse.

* The picture depicts the moments after King Recceswinth of the Visigothic Kingdom (in Spain) died in 672. Gothic Law said that a new king should be elected immediately in the same place where the last king had died, and so the military chose Wamba, an old palace servant, as he was [[ExactWords right next to Recceswinth's deathbed]]. The only problem was, well, that Wamba really [[IJustWantToBeNormal didn't want to be king]], and kept refusing to wear the crown until a [[DragonInChief captain of the army]] drew his sword and told him that he would either put on the crown or lose his head. So Wamba took the crown, and reigned for 8 years... until he was deposed when he tried to pass a law that [[ObviousRulePatch limited the powers of the army]]. Considering that a third of the Gothic kings were [[KlingonPromotion murdered by their successors]], Wamba should probably count himself as lucky. (The people who deposed him eventually got a deliciously ironic reward: About 30 years later, the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Spain).

* After the end of Jagiellonian dynasty of UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} in the 16th century nobody could agree as to who should be the next king, so they settled on choosing them each time in by the noblemen of Poland-Lithuania. This led to, on one hand, awesome kings like Stephen Báthory (who never learned Polish, but invented [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_hussars hussary]]) and John III Sobieski (who raised the siege of Vienna), but on the other hand, Poles had kings like Henry II of Valois (he absconded to France not a year after his election to become King Henry III of France following the death of his elder brother, Charles IX[[note]] Although the Poles officially deposed Henry after this, he continued to use the title of king of Poland until his death by assassination[[/note]]) and Stanisław II August Poniatowski (who was a lover of [[TheBaroness Empress Catherine II of Russia]], whose support gained him his crown, but also made him unable to resist the partition of Poland). It did not help that elections not infrequently were decided who could pay more to bribe the noble voters and the result could get Poland involved in costly wars, e. g. the Saxon August II the Strong instigated UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar and the election of Stanisław I Leszczyński (supported by France and Sweden) in 1733 led to the War of the Polish Succession, which resulted in August II's son August III being put on the Polish throne by Russian and Saxon troops. So it is no surprise that Poles, on the whole, don't look back too fondly at the Election Period.

* Played with in ''Garfield's Pet Force'': King Jon was literally offered the ''crown'' by the old king on his deathbed -- the king's brother, the rightful heir, had a much larger head, so the crown was just offered as a keepsake. Jon thought it meant he was supposed to rule, so he took over (and everyone decided to humor him until the king's brother reached the palace). When the palace staff learned that the king's brother had died en route (his ship had crashed), they figured Jon was doing a decent-enough job, and he was officially crowned.
* At the climax of ''Literature/TheDarkangelTrilogy'', ''six'' different countries ask [[spoiler:Aeriel]] to accept rulership of their nations; she refuses all of them (because [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Ravenna has already chosen her]] to rebuild the world, which is a [[WhoWantsToLiveForever very long-term]], very [[LonelyAtTheTop solitary job]]).
* Creator/JohnMoore's ''Bad Prince Charlie'' has a very unusual example. If the king doesn't designate an heir, it's up to the surviving members of the royal family to choose one. Charlie has no desire to be king, and he expects his uncles to choose one of themselves, but they have other plans. The kingdom is in big economic trouble, and they'd prefer to simply merge it with a neighboring kingdom. But the people are fierce and independent, and won't stand for it. So they want Charlie to accept the job of king, ''temporarily'', and then do such a bad job that the people will want to depose him and will accept the merger in return for the neighbor's help getting rid of Charlie.
* In the second ''Literature/ElementalBlessings'' novel, it is revealed that the young heir to the throne is mentally stunted to the point where she will never be able to rule. Eventually, the heads of the five most important nobles families get together and decide to crown the regent as king, as he'd been doing the job for years anyway.
* In Katherine Blake's ''Literature/TheInteriorLife'', when Amalia has returned with the artifact that can kill the EvilOverlord and is demanding that everyone bring all their military forces to support her, they gather -- and crown her queen because they need a leader. She is doubly reluctant because she knows the last prince is still alive, but she's caught so she can't refuse, and she ''does'' need them to obey her.
* ''Literature/TalionRevenant'': [[spoiler: King Tirrell]] offers to abdicate in [[spoiler: Nolan's]] favor near the end of the book. [[spoiler: Nolan]] originally dreamed of this, but by then turns it down, having grown beyond the desire.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Aragorn is of RoyalBlood and has shown the traditional "signs" of kingship, but the Kingship has been in abeyance for hundreds of years (and the line of descent he claims has been rejected by Gondor before), so Faramir asks the people of Gondor if Aragorn should be king. They say yes.
** ''Literature/TheFallOfNumenor'':
*** The first kings of Númenor had the custom of willingly passing the Sceptre to their eldest child when they became too old to rule. Over time, the kings would drop this old custom and cling to power until their deaths, one of the first signs of their civilization's decline.
*** Meneldur, fifth King of Númenor, passes the Sceptre to his son Aldarion due to feeling under-qualified to deal with the war-like situation in Middle-Earth.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Maedhros would have become High King of the Noldor after Fëanor's death, but he abdicated in favor of his uncle Fingolfin in an attempt to end the feud between him and the House of Fëanor.
* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'': Guerrilla leader John Rumford is eventually offered the post as chief of the general staff in the [[TheRepublic Confederation]].
* In the ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' books, Babar is offered to become the King of the Elephants after the Old King dies, because his [[RaisedByHumans human upbringing]] and experience with civilization makes him well-suited for the position.
* At the end of ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'', Toranaga notes that his goal is not to claim the title of Shogun by force, but to manipulate events so that the Emperor will offer him the position, which he will then humbly accept.
* ''Literature/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom'': The plot is set in motion when the King of Elfrieden abdicates the throne and leaves it to Souma. Despite the initial struggles and opposition he faces, he quickly proves himself to be TheGoodKing by solving the country's inner troubles, and gains the support of both his people and the neighboring countries.
* ''Literature/TheCrimsonShadow'': Eriador has no native monarchy left apparently so after it gains its freedom, their king becomes Brind'Amour, the BigGood ancient wizard who aided them in their liberation.
* ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'': The future ''UsefulNotes/RichardIII'' is dealing with the politically fraught nature of being Lord Protector to a boy king who is also a bit of a RoyalBrat. When Richard is privately given information that indicates his brother's marriage was invalid and his nephews illegitimate, he has to decide whether to press his own claim. He does, and Parliament offers him the crown. TruthInTelevision, if you believe Richard believed the evidence brought to him.

** Londo however, is offered the Imperial Throne and takes it. He does so long after he lost all ambition for it, and then he only accepts because he fears what will happen to his people if someone else takes it. So does Vir. Delenn refuses leadership of the Grey Council several times, only taking it to break the old council. Then there is Sheridan...

** In Season 8, [[spoiler:Jon Snow refuses the Iron Throne multiple times. As the hidden son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark instead of Ned Stark's illegitimate son, as Jon believed for all his life, he is the heir to the Iron Throne. Sam, and later Varys, implore Jon to take the throne but Jon refuses, abdicating his claim in favour of [[LoveInterest Daenerys Targaryen's]]. Daenerys fears the truth of Jon's parentage, afraid people will force Jon on the throne over her if they know the truth. Jon tells Daenerys that he doesn't want the throne and he'll refuse because she is his queen but he must be honest with his family, certain they will keep it secret and that he, Daenerys, Sansa, and Arya can all live together as one. However, when Jon confides the secret of his true parentage to his sisters and swears them to secrecy, Sansa breaks her promise to Jon. She tells Tyrion, who tells Varys, who betrays Daenerys and tries to put Jon on the throne despite Jon's refusal.]]
** At the end of the show, [[spoiler:Bran Stark is elected as the new king of the Six Kingdoms when Westeros is left without a ruler.]][[note]]The former Queen [[spoiler:Cersei Lannister is killed during the massacre on King's Landing when Daenerys Targaryen snaps after experiencing a terrible series of losses and grief and she burns the population of King's Landing after the city surrenders to her. When [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the new Queen Daenerys resolves to continued killing to build her better world]] and refuses mercy, Jon tries but fails to dissuade her from this path and [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates her]]]] to stop her destruction.[[/note]] [[spoiler:Bran himself is not interested in politics but Tyrion insists it because he was able to survive the odds and became the Three-Eyed Raven]].

* Several ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' adventure paths, including ''Curse of the Crimson Throne'' and ''Reign of Winter'', can end with [=PCs=] becoming rulers (though there's always at least one good NPC candidate, too, in case noone is interested). In ''Kingmaker'' the players become rulers at the start of the second adventure and growing their kingdom is a significant part of the gameplay.

* Creator/WilliamShakespeare: ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''
-->'''Casca''': ''I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown;--yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets;--and, as I told you, he put it by once: but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it.''
* Also Shakespeare, Theatre/RichardIII is offered the crown after the "unfortunate deaths" of his nephews. Though he ''is'' actually the successor to the throne at this point, having killed everyone else off, he refuses it twice to win over the people. The third time, he "caves" and allows himself to be made king.
* And for yet another Shakespeare example, ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus''. Titus is offered the crown at the start of the play, but he turns it down. This act does not end well for him.

* The hero at the end of ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' is adopted as a son by the Sultan in return for saving the city, earning him the title Prince of Shapeir, although he doesn't stay.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'', [[spoiler: you are offered the crown of Silmaria and can choose whether or not to accept it,]] among other possible choices.
* This tends to happen to the heroes at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' games, though without an actual crown since they're usually setting up some sort of republic having just overthrown a monarchy or empire. Though some games let you accept, canonically the heroes always refuse.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', this occurs very early on: after retrieving a stolen crown, the king immediately offers you his throne. Accepting leads to a temporary NonstandardGameOver, ButThouMust eventually convince him to take his crown back and let you get on with the whole "saving the world" thing.
** At the end of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' game, the Hero is offered the crown of Alefgard. [[spoiler: The protagonist declines, and decides to [[StartMyOwn found his own kingdom]] in another country...[[StandardHeroReward with the help of the Princess]].]]

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** At the end of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn,'' Micaiah becomes the Queen of Daein despite having no blood relation to any of its former rulers [[spoiler: and having more of a birthright to the Empire of Begnion instad]]. This can happen one of two ways: If former King Pelleas is alive, he appoints Micaiah as the new Queen before revealing his own lack of royal blood and deciding to stay by her side as her advisor. If he's dead, then Micaiah is crowned at her subject's entreaty.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler: after the GoldenPath is completed, Azura should be the Queen of Valla since she's the daughter of king and queen. The Avatar, however, becomes the King or Queen instead (despite being the child of [[KlingonPromotion the king's murderer]]), as Azura willingly relinquishes her own birthright on him/her (that is, unless Azura is married to the male Avatar herself, in which case she rules as his consort). However, it helps that Azura and the Avatar are canonically cousins (their mothers being sister). But the issue is still a bit muddied as the game never really makes it clear which of Azura’s parents had the original claim to the throne.]]
* The canonical ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' games have this for Graham (''VideoGame/KingsQuestI'') and Alexander (''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI''). The FanRemake version of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' has this as an option during the Air Gem test where Connor (the protagonist of the [[ContestedSequel controversial eighth game]]) can be declared First Knight of Daventry.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', Cecil is the new King of Baron. The After Years later revealed that Yang became King of Fabul. In both cases, it actually makes sense. The previous King of Baron had died with no blood relatives alive, and Cecil was his adopted son. The King of Fabul was an old man who also had no heirs, so he abdicated in favor of Yang, who was the commander of Fabul's army.
* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' you are offered the throne of the Undead Nations after you discover the Silent King is long (and permanently) dead. Accepting it leads to a NonstandardGameOver.
* In ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'', [[spoiler:at the end of the Sandsea saga, the people of the Sandsea, who are without a ruler for the first time in centuries, offer the Hero the crown of the Sands in thanks for defeating Zahart and Tibicenas. The Hero proceeds to relinquish the crown to Zhoom instead, since there's still a lot of enemies that the Hero needs to take on]].
* In the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' module ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'', the protagonist becomes a Countess during the extended ending. Of course, the player character was already a princess, albeit of a country that has been conquered by [[TheEmpire The Dhorn Empire]].

* In the ending of ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' ''Origins'', the prequel to ''Baten Kaitos'', the Senate practically begs Geldoblame to become Emperor since he's the only suitable candidate left after the deaths of [[spoiler:Baelheit and Verus]]. Geldoblame, having gone off the deep end thanks to [[spoiler:Verus' betrayal]], [[LaughingMad laughs]] and accepts. His first orders set up the plot of ''Baten Kaitos''.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', when [[spoiler:the detective L]] was killed by Kira, Mello and Near (his two candidates for succession) are called to their caretaker's office, to inform them of this fact...and that [[spoiler:having not anticipated his death, L]] [[SuccessionCrisis hadn't actually picked out a successor yet]]... but that ''perhaps, maybe, possibly'' they could work together to catch Kira, the way he would have wanted. Near is ambivalent, but Mello ''freaks out'' and refuses to work with Near. He ''technically'' gives the role of Successor to Near before storming off in a fit of sour grapes and leaving for Los Angeles, California (just like [[spoiler: B from ''Literature/AnotherNote'']] before him).

* In ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'', the alien hero Omni-man leaves Earth and encounters a peaceful race of short-lived insectoid aliens. These aliens live for only a few months or years and when they find out that Omni-man is thousands of years old, they quickly make him their king. Later in the series, fellow Viltrumite Thragg becomes monarch of that species because of his age.
* In the epilogue of the Creator/CrossGen comic ''The Path'', the honorable general who served under the evil emperor out of loyalty [[spoiler:not knowing he was already dead and possessed by an evil god]] offers his head to the hero Obo-san in penance. Obo-san instead has a harsher punishment in store for him. He makes the general the new emperor and leaves him with the task of rebuilding the empire after the brutal civil war. The new emperor has served his people well ever since.
* At the end of ''ComicBook/TheOthers1995'' #3, Guardd is formally named as the new King of the Enclave after the death of King Skyglider. He turns it down, instead declaring that the Elders will rule in his place until Skyglider's original heir, the bunny-girl Alarm, comes of age.

* ''Fanfic/KnightOfTheDreadfortTheBalladOfTheRedKing'': House Ryswell has a very unorthodox succession in that the lord nominates his successor from his own family. The current sitting lord Lord Rodrik would have picked his nephew Ser Mark, who was described as TheAce; unfortunatly he was killed late in Robert's Rebellion 15 years earlier. So at the onset of the War of the Five Kings the current candidate is a nine-year-old boy named Little Rick.

-->''while her father, thinking her at the bottom of the sea, was making up his mind to choose another heir. When the king spoke of this matter to the queen she told him to do what seemed right, for her dear Amy was dead, and she could hope for no more children. He had waited long enough, she said, and after the fifteen years that had passed since she had lost her, it would be out of the question to expect ever to see her again. The king, therefore, determined to ask his brother to choose from among his sons the one most worthy of reigning, and to send him the prince at once.''

* In ''Literature/TheGratefulBeasts'', Ferko is made king after the wolf has his fellow wolves eat up the wicked king, Ferko's wicked brothers, and the court who supported the king. (Though he does marry the princess as well.)

* Norville Barnes inherits Hudsucker Industries in ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'' due to the fact that he happened to stumble into the top floor at exactly the right time, with the right amount of dim-witted, to be perfect for Sidney Mussburger's plan, following Waring Hudsucker's [[StartsWithASuicide 44-story drop]].
* ''Film/JudgeDredd''. In one of the rare moments in the movie that is entirely in-character for Dredd, after he saves the day the remaining Judges ask him if he would like to be [[spoiler: the new Chief Judge, after Rico had already murdered Judge Griffin and the rest of the Council of Five]]. Just like in the comics, [[SubvertedTrope he insists that he prefers patrolling the city streets]].

* In ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'', Balian is offered a chance to rule by way of marrying Sibylla, the sister to the dying King of Jerusalem, which would place him in a position of great power [[note]]exactly what position varies between the theatrical cut, where he would be the next King, and the director's cut, which would make him the husband of the Queen-Regent and stepfather of the King[[/note]]. Though he wants the same outcomes the King does and would love to marry Sibylla (with whom he has been having an affair), Balian ultimately refuses because the plan would require the death of Sibylla's current husband and he doesn't want that on his conscience.
* Towards the end of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:Thor [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicates his role as Asgard's king]] and calls on Valkyrie to succeed him, citing that she's a much more capable leader than he is.]]

* Evil Magician Trent at the end of ''[[Literature/{{Xanth}} A Spell for Chameleon]]'' is told that his exile will be rescinded on two conditions. First, he must marry; second, he must accept the crown.
* Valentine remembers this in his BackStory in ''Literature/LordValentinesCastle'' by Creator/RobertSilverberg.
* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' is offered several thrones. He suggests friends of his for everyone, except for his father-in-law's, where he says the father-in-law is not proven dead, so his son will act as regent.
* In Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/SylvieAndBruno'', how their father becomes King of Elfland.

** In ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', the latest conspiracy againist Vetinari offers the crown to Nobby Nobbs of all people, who runs in horror from the idea, partly because it's ''volunteering'', and mostly because Mister Vimes would go spare.

* In Poul Anderson's ''Literature/AMidsummerTempest'', Prince Rupert recounts how his father was offered the crown of Bohemia -- and held it briefly, until military defeat drove him off. Although this is an alternate history, that was taken from RealLife.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** Rand was already the de-facto ruler of Tear, Cairhien, and Caemlyn when he invaded Illian and [[spoiler:killed the Forsaken Sammael]]. After that, the Illianers offer the Laurel Crown to Rand, who renames it the Crown of Swords.
** Rand later offers the crown of Tear to High Lord Darlin in order to end a rebellion of Tairen nobles.
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', the kingdom of Sendaria chose their first king by election. (Their previous ruler had been the Duchess of Erat aka Polgara the Sorceress, who had spent several centuries conditioning the population towards sensibility and levelheadedness, so it makes sense.) Due to the lengthy and muddled voting process, the winning regent (a rutabaga farmer) had completely forgotten he was in the running and was a bit worried when all these nobles showed up and fell to their knees before him. Mostly because he was busy fertilising the field they knelt in.
* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', protagonist Taran is stunned when his old friend, the childless King Smoit of Cadiffor, offers to adopt him and make him his heir. He declines, however, out of a genuine desire to find the identities of his birth parents, and later [[spoiler: is declared High King of the entire country anyway]].

* Merry in the Literature/MerryGentry series is an official heir, but is probably not going to get it due to her bloodline. Then she is first-and-a-half in line due to some interesting politics. Then she gives up her chance at the crown to [[spoiler:save Frost from being inhuman for no-one-knows-how-long]]. Then, as a now non-heir, she is offered the crown again, in a straight example of this trope.
* In The [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Kingpriest Trilogy]], Brother Beldyn, a monk with some of the most powerful clerical magic ever seen, is revealed as the mythical [[MeaningfulName Lightbringer]]. But even though the Lightbringer prophecies say nothing about the throne, Kurnos, the reigning Kingpriest, nonetheless sees him as a threat to his power and so uses dark magic borrowed from Fistandandilus to try and eliminate him. Between Kurnos' violence overreaction to Beldyn and a rebellion in a faraway province, along with Beldyn's incredible healing powers which cures an otherwise uncurable plague in that region, Istar's public favor swings rapidly in Beldyn's direction, leading him to eventually overthrow the Kingpriest and claim his throne.
** More literally, Beldyn seeks to claim the ''Miceram'', or Crown of Power, from its hidden resting place. After entering the lower sanctum and encountering ghouls that render Beldyn unconscious, Cathan MacSeverin encounters the spirit of the last Kingpriest to hold the crown, who offers to give the crown to him rather than Beldyn. He refuses, insisting that the ''Miceram'' doesn't belong to him, but to the Lightbringer. However, due to some creative prophecy interpretation, it is later revealed that [[spoiler: Cathan really was the true Lightbringer, and thus the true heir to the Kingpriest's throne]]. However, this comes long after Beldyn (now named Beldinas) has tipped all the way into KnightTemplar status and stretched the Balance to the breaking point. Cathan learns of this after crossing the continent with the Discs of Mishakel, far too late to stop Beldinas from demanding supreme power from the gods and causing the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Cataclysm]]. He angsts over WhatMightHaveBeen, but [[spoiler: the god Paladine]] consoles him by telling him that it really couldn't have gone any other way for him. Now, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Lord Soth, on the other hand...]]
* Creator/LFrankBaum:
** ''Literature/QueenZixiOfIx'': Bud is offered the crown after the king dies and the laws decree that the forty-seventh person to pass through Nole's eastern gate at sunrise is the new monarch.
** ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'': Dorothy is asked to be the Queen of Winkie Country in the place of the Wicked Witch of the West. After [[spoiler: insisting that the Tin Man and Scarecrow be put back together first, she declines, and returns to Emerald City to get home again. Instead, the Tin Man becomes the ruler.]]
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/ConanTheBarbarian story "Literature/TheScarletCitadel", Arpello offers to control things until they choose a king -- and then says that he is king.

* In ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' Eragon is offered the chance to lead the Empire, but he declines, as being a Dragon Rider is enough for him. And also because he's afraid of [[FullCircleRevolution turning into a tyrant similar to the one he just overthrew.]] The council also toys with the idea of offering the crown to Eragon's cousin Roran, but conclude that given his [[AxeCrazy questionable]] (albeit mostly successful) methods of leading large groups of people in the past, as well as his general inexperience in governance, he's not really cut out for the job.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'':
** In ''Mage Storms'', Duke Tremane (formerly of the [[TheEmpire Eastern Empire]]), is offered the crown of Hardorn on condition that he is [[FisherKing Bound to the land]], as he has separated ties with his former country and Emperor and is proving himself to be a good leader.
** Valdemaran tradition claims that the refugees who originally founded the kingdom tricked Baron Valdemar into being crowned king.

** This (although it has never really been repeated) asserted Parliament's right to choose the monarch over the so-called "legal line of succession" if it so desired. It's for this reason that documentaries or news stories claiming that so-and-so in such-and-such a country is the "real" heir to the British throne are nonsense: since 1688 the British monarch is whomever Parliament says it is. Though this has become more complicated since the end of the British Empire; the former colonies and dominions have become independent nations but most of them still retain same monarch. Since all 16 of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth Realms]] rather like this arrangement and don't want to end up with different monarchs on account of inconsistent succession laws. As such, they all agreed in 2011 that any future changes would have to be agreed to by the parliaments of all 16 kingdoms rather than just by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[[note]]The agreement was prompted because up until that point no attempt had been made to alter the line of succession. But with a beloved queen having reigned for nearly 60 years already, they realized male-preference primogeniture was pretty silly in the 21st century, and banning succession by anybody who was married to a Catholic was equally outdated. So both of those rules were discarded. Though any royal who themselves converts to Catholicism is still automatically removed from succession, on the premise that would be rather awkward for the head of the (Protestant) Church of England to not be a member of the Church of England.[[/note]]

* Speaking of Napoleon, he offered half of Europe to members of his own family. In 1806, he gave to his brothers Joseph and Louis the crowns of Naples and Holland respectively[[note]]The latter didn't actually work out so well for Napoleon; Louis promptly adopted the Dutch name Lodewijk and dedicated himself to Holland's interests, not those of his brother. As a result, Napoleon forced him to abdicate and incorporated the Netherlands directly into the French Empire as 11 ''départements'' of France proper.[[/note]], and that of the grand duchy of Berg to his brother-in-law Joachim Murat. The following year he offered his youngest brother Jerome the crown of Westphalia (a completely artificial North German country that Napoleon had just made up) in part to sweeten Napoleon's decision to annul his brother's marriage to the American socialite Elizabeth Patterson (as that marriage went against Napoleon's program of intermarrying with European royals). In 1808, Joseph was shifted to become King of Spain, and was replaced as King of Naples by Joachim Murat.[[note]]This was also a poor choice on Napoleon's part. Joseph didn't switch sides like their brother Louis had in Holland; rather he had been beloved in Naples and was doing a good job of transforming it into a miniature version of Napoleonic France. But he was almost universally despised in Spain, and his installation as king almost instantly sparked an open rebellion.[[/note]] Napoleon also declared that after his death, his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais would become King of Italy (he already served as Napoleon's viceroy in Italy).

** ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'': Dorothy is asked to be the Queen of Winkie Country in the place of the Wicked Witch of the West. After [[spoiler: insisting that the Tin Man and Scarecrow be put back together first, she declines, and returns to Emerald City to get home again.]]

** In 'Literature/WyrdSisters'', how Verence becomes king of the kingdom of Lancre. Though the witches made everyone else, including Verence, think he ''was'' a legitimate successor.

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', how Verence becomes king of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' kingdom of Lancre. Though the witches made everyone else, including Verence, think he ''was'' a legitimate successor.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Aragorn is of RoyalBlood and has shown the traditional "signs" of kingship, but the Kingship has been in abeyance for hundreds of years (and the line of descent he claims has been rejected by Gondor before), so Faramir asks the people of Gondor if Aragorn should be king. They say yes.

* In Creator/LFrankBaum's ''QueenZixiOfIx'', Bud is offered the crown after the king dies and the laws decree that the forty-seventh person to pass through Nole's eastern gate at sunrise is the new monarch.
** Also in Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz, Dorothy is asked to be the Queen of Winkie Country in the place of the Wicked Witch of the West. After [[spoiler: insisting that the Tin Man and Scarecrow be put back together first, she declines, and returns to Emerald City to get home again.]]

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Jacob inherited the position of Alpha male, but didn't want the responsibility so he gave it to Sam. [[spoiler: This is what allows him to disobey the 'Alpha's' orders in Breaking Dawn by running away and forming his own pack with Leah and Seth.]]
* In ''{{Inheritance}}'' Eragon is offered the chance to lead the Empire, but he declines, as being a Dragon Rider is enough for him. And also because he's afraid of [[FullCircleRevolution turning into a tyrant similar to the one he just overthrew.]]
** The council also toys with the idea of offering the crown to Eragon's cousin Roran, but conclude that given his [[AxeCrazy questionable]] (albeit mostly successful) methods of leading large groups of people in the past, as well as his general inexperience in governance, he’s not really cut out for the job.
* In the ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Mage Storms]]'' trilogy, Duke Tremane (formerly of the [[TheEmpire Eastern Empire]]), is offered the crown of Hardorn on condition that he is [[FisherKing Bound to the land]], as he has separated ties with his former country and Emperor and is proving himself to be a good leader.

* Non-monarchic example in military science fiction ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', where guerrilla leader John Rumford is eventually offered the post as chief of the general staff in the [[TheRepublic Confederation]].

** In ''Literature/GuardsGuards'': When the dragon incinerates the prospective king, the high priest instead offers the crown to the dragon. Although the dragon doesn't take it (it's imitation gold, and the priest gets roasted instead) people aren't exactly lining up to point out this technicality.
* At the end of ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' Vetinari is weighing up the way the future might potentially go; the crown of Ankh-Morpork is - tacitly - offered to Carrot Ironfoundersson, who, as Vetinari expects (but is not absolutely certain of) - then refuses it. For now, anyway.

** When Albania became independent, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Nopcsa_von_Fels%C5%91-Szilv%C3%A1s Baron Franz Nopsca]], [[RenaissanceMan a Hungarian nobleman, palaeontologist, adventurer]], and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick perpetrator of the world's first ever aircraft hijacking]], had a deep affection for Albania, and offered to become its king and marry a rich American heiress to fund its independence.

** When Albania became independent, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Nopcsa_von_Fels%C5%91-Szilv%C3%A1s Baron Franz Nopsca]], [[RenaissanceMan a Hungarian nobleman, palaeontologist, adventurer]], and [[BreadEggsSquick perpetrator of the world's first ever aircraft hijacking]], had a deep affection for Albania, and offered to become its king and marry a rich American heiress to fund its independence.

* When Norway declared its union to Sweden dissolved, it offered the throne to someone in the Swedish royal family. When the King of Sweden refused it, they looked around -- the Great Powers were out, and after some consideration of a Greek or Spanish prince they offered it to a Danish prince. When the King of Sweden ''officially'' refused to let someone in his family take the throne, the prince took it.
** Prince Carl (as he was then known) was wise enough to request a referendum in Norway before he accepted the offer, as he wanted to ensure it truly was the will of the Norwegian people to reinstate a Monarch. The result of the referendum was a landslide in favour of the Monarchy (79% in favour, 21% opposed), which resulted in the peculiar situation of Prince Carl becoming King (and choosing the old Norwegian regal name UsefulNotes/HaakonVII) ahead of his father, the Crown Prince of Denmark (later Frederik VIII of Denmark from 1906-1912) and his older brother (later Christian X of Denmark from 1912-1947). (Incidentally, his paternal uncle, the aforementioned George I of Greece, also did the same, becoming a king a few months before his father Christian IX of Denmark, and several decades before his older brother, the aforementioned Frederick VIII of Denmark.)

* ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'': ''UsefulNotes/RichardIII'' is dealing with the politically fraught nature of being Lord Protector to a boy king who is also a bit of a RoyalBrat. When Richard is privately given information that indicates his brother's marriage was invalid and his nephews illegitimate, he has to decide whether to press his own claim. He does, and Parliament offers him the crown. TruthInTelevision, if you believe Richard believed the evidence brought to him.

* A lot of people tend to think UsefulNotes/RichardIII employed a military coup in order to get the throne, when in actuality the matter of the illegitimacy of UsefulNotes/EdwardIV's children was put to those people who had been elected members of Parliament, resulting in the drawing up of a parchment roll (the text of which became the Parliamentary Act of ''Titulus Regius'') which laid out the reasons why Richard should get the throne and included a petition for him to accept the crown, which of course he did. It should be noted Edward IV himself was not born as heir to the throne, but after his father, who had been pressing a good claim in a time of political instability, died in battle and his corpse desecrated by the Lancastrians, a teenage Edward was offered the crown and took it.

* A lot of people tend to think UsefulNotes/RichardIII employed a military coup in order to get the throne, when in actuality the matter of the illegitimacy of Edward IV's children was put to those people who had been elected members of Parliament, resulting in the drawing up of a parchment roll (the text of which became the Parliamentary Act of ''Titulus Regius'') which laid out the reasons why Richard should get the throne and included a petition for him to accept the crown, which of course he did.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', when [[spoiler: L]] was killed by Kira, Mello and Near (his two candidates for succession) are called to their caretaker's office, to inform them of this fact...and that [[spoiler: L]] [[SuccessionCrisis hadn't actually picked out a successor yet]]...but that ''perhaps, maybe, possibly'' they could work together to catch Kira, the way he would have wanted. Near is OK with that, but Mello ''freaks out'' and refuses to work with Near. He ''technically'' gives the role of Successor to Near before storming off in a fit of sour grapes and leaving for Los Angeles, California (just like [[spoiler: B]] before him).

* In ''WesternAnimation/PrincessNatasha'', King Karl was installed on the throne after the citizens of Zoravia voted his older brother Lubek out of office.

** A really interesting point is that George wasn't the Greeks' first choice; in a plebiscite, ''[[LandslideElection 95 percent]]'' of voters chose UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria's second son Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, to become the next king. However, a treaty forbade the royal house of any of the Great Powers from taking the throne of a smaller country, and in any case, Mama was opposed to the idea. So George got it instead; and just to make this particularly funny, George's male-line descendant, the aforementioned Philip, actually ''took the title "Duke of Edinburgh"'', and his descendants will (in all likelihood) occupy the British throne far into the future.[[note]]The British and Danish royals have a long-standing habit of intermarrying every two or three generations, particularly since the Reformation (as Denmark is Protestant, a kingdom of equal procedural rank to Britain, relatively powerful but not a Great Power, and more importantly ''not [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies yet another dinky little German state]]''); George's older sister Alexandra had actually married Alfred's older brother, Albert Edward (later Edward VII), just twenty days before George took the Greek throne.[[/note]]