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This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty either, even more so when royalty is brought to trial, since that would imply that any and every head-of-state can be brought to trial, which for a variety of reasons is rarely seen even among the most advanced democracies.
to:
This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty either, even more so when royalty is brought to trial, since that would imply that any and every head-of-state and their respective governments can be brought to trial, trial. A precedent which for a variety of reasons is rarely seen even among the most advanced democracies.
democracies are rarely interested in putting into practice or enforcing for a variety of reasons.
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killing a monarch is a big deal in any culture
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The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people through the social contract). In simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions, likewise any revolution against the King was effectively de-legitimizing all the insitutions (Church, Army, Titles) that had formerly depended on royal patronage, or which had legitimized royalty before. Kings who ruled by Divine Right were likewise considered to be ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go, this is especially the case in nations like England and Russia where the Kings were part of the Church hierarchy as a whole.
This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty either. Especially since the RealLife section below shows it to provide far more ambiguous results in history.
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty either. Especially since the RealLife section below shows it to provide far more ambiguous results in history.
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
to:
The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people through the social contract). In simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions, likewise any revolution against the King was effectively de-legitimizing all the insitutions (Church, Army, Titles) that had formerly depended on royal patronage, or which had legitimized royalty before. Kings who ruled by Divine Right were likewise considered to be ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go, this is especially the case in nations like England and Russia where the Kings were part of the Church hierarchy as a whole.
This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royaltyeither. Especially either, even more so when royalty is brought to trial, since that would imply that any and every head-of-state can be brought to trial, which for a variety of reasons is rarely seen even among the RealLife section below shows it to provide far more ambiguous results in history.
most advanced democracies.
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller. This trope also doesn't apply usually to killing a King in battle. In this situation, the character is not the Kingslayer rather he is TheUsurper (if he gets HistoricalVillainUpgrade) and TheConqueror(if he gets HistoricalHeroUpgrade). This is because that there is a sense that defeat in battle and in combat is considered "fair play" as opposed to killing a King by assassination, and even by trial and legal execution.
This is one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller. This trope also doesn't apply usually to killing a King in battle. In this situation, the character is not the Kingslayer rather he is TheUsurper (if he gets HistoricalVillainUpgrade) and TheConqueror(if he gets HistoricalHeroUpgrade). This is because that there is a sense that defeat in battle and in combat is considered "fair play" as opposed to killing a King by assassination, and even by trial and legal execution.
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The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people)--in simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions. The other aspect was that kings are usually anointed by TheChurch, thus ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go.
This is also why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days (except to people who see their presidents as king-like figures).
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
This is also why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days (except to people who see their presidents as king-like figures).
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
to:
The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people)--in people through the social contract). In simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions. The other aspect institutions, likewise any revolution against the King was effectively de-legitimizing all the insitutions (Church, Army, Titles) that kings are usually anointed had formerly depended on royal patronage, or which had legitimized royalty before. Kings who ruled by TheChurch, thus Divine Right were likewise considered to be ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go.
go, this is especially the case in nations like England and Russia where the Kings were part of the Church hierarchy as a whole.
This isalso one reason why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days (except to days, even if some Presidents have become glorified into King-like figures. However, because attacking the person and office of the King is essentially an action against the state, people who see their presidents as king-like figures).
in modern societies are likewise not too keen on stories about attacking royalty either. Especially since the RealLife section below shows it to provide far more ambiguous results in history.
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap withHeroKiller.
HeroKiller.
This is
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with
** For Jaime, this moniker sticks because he was the King's own [[BodyguardBetrayal personal bodyguard]] and also the son of the arriviste Lannister family that the rebels saw as "Johnny come latelys" who parlay their opportunistic actions to grab royal favor. He is seen by many as a disagreeable KarmaHoudini who should at the very least been ReassignedToAntartica rather than continue as bodyguard. The fact that [[spoiler:he saved the city from wildfire annihilation is unknown to everyone in Westeros save Brienne and the reader]].
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* RedOctober. Yakov Yurovsky and his firing squad, who executed Emperor Nicholas II and the rest of the Russian royal family.
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* RedOctober. Yakov Yurovsky and his firing squad, who executed Emperor Nicholas II and the rest of the Russian royal family. There is controversy among historians if this hit was ordered by UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin himself or a spur-on-the-moment decision made by the local Soviet in fear of the arrival of a White Army contingent at Yekaterinaburg since no official orders from Lenin have ever been given. This action was highly controversial even among leftists who felt that at the very least the English and French Revolutionaries convened a trial and put the sentencing to vote. Indeed, the Bolsheviks ''had'' planned to put the Romanovs on trial but the Civil War prevented them from doing so.
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->''"I'm the bloody [[TropeNamer Kingslayer]], remember? When I say you have honour, that's like a whore vouchsafing your maidenhood."''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister''', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister''', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
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-->-- '''Jaime Lannister''', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
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-->-- '''Louis Antoine de Saint Just"
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-->-- '''Louis Antoine de Saint Just"
Just'''
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Not sure if Jaime\'s comments are reflective of the trope, its more a character thing about Jaime and Brienne rather than about the trope as a whole.
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->''"A king should be tried not for the crimes of his administration, but for that of having been king, for nothing in the world can legitimize this usurpation, and whatever illusion, whatever conventions royalty surrounds itself in, it is an eternal crime against which every man has the right to rise up and arm himself."''
-->-- '''Louis Antoine de Saint Just"
-->-- '''Louis Antoine de Saint Just"
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* ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'', naturally. Geralt gains this reputation when he's discovered standing over the body of the king whom he served as bodyguard. He has to track down the real assassin in order to clear his name. Depending on how you play, he can have a hand in killing another king, although he does not deliver the final blow.
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* U.S. Presidents and the man who assassinated them:
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* U.S. Presidents and the man In a bizarre trend running from UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison until UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, every US president elected in a year ending in 0 died in office, four of them by assassination. The men who assassinated killed them:
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%%** UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley: Leon Czolgosz ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
%%** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
** Narrowly averted with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, who was shot three times over the course of his presidency but survived in part due to improvements in trauma surgery since the Kennedy assassination. There's also an anecdotal subversion where Reagan was at a press conference after these attempts on his live and a photographer's flash bulb burst; he visibly flinched.
%%** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
** Narrowly averted with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, who was shot three times over the course of his presidency but survived in part due to improvements in trauma surgery since the Kennedy assassination. There's also an anecdotal subversion where Reagan was at a press conference after these attempts on his live and a photographer's flash bulb burst; he visibly flinched.
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%%**
** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: [[WhoShotJFK Lee Harvey
** Narrowly averted with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, who was shot three times over the course of his presidency but survived in part due to improvements in trauma surgery since the Kennedy assassination. There's also an anecdotal subversion where Reagan was at a press conference after these attempts on his
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3066265_2462543170_a_son.jpg]]
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Any more image changes goes to Discussion. I am removing the Julius Caesar image mainly for the fact that Caesar was in fact not The King, that was the whole point of his Assassination, they were afraid that he would become King like Tarquin, the last one before Rome became a Republic
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/af9837680524ae39c32223b0f2f40238.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar Slain King]].]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar Slain King]].]]
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/af9837680524ae39c32223b0f2f40238.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3066265_2462543170_a_son.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar Slain King]].]] [[caption-width-right:350:"So easy...A king should die harder than this."]]
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->''"I'm the bloody [[TropeNamer Kingslayer]], remember? When I say you have honour, that's like a whore vouchsafing your maidenhood."''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister''', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister''', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
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[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCeasar Slain King]].]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCeasar [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar Slain King]].]]
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/af9837680524ae39c32223b0f2f40238.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCeasar Slain King]].]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[EtTuBrute King Slayer]] and [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCeasar Slain King]].]]
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Oh dear... I just noticed that \'\'exactly\'\' the same image is already in use for The Oathbreaker. Shame.
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a88f594efe34d06249579f6b73202f35.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King]].]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King]].]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King.]]]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King.]]]]
King]].]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a88f594efe34d06249579f6b73202f35.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King.]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured above: [[TropeNamer King Slayer]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Slain King.]]]]
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* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch killed his father, King Charles, by geassing "god" to erase the king from existence.
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* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch killed his father, King Charles, by geassing "god" to erase the king from existence. No-one would ever have found out about it except Lelouch freely ''[[RefugeInAudacity boasted about it]]'' to the Imperial Court, at a televised conference, in front of millions of people watching worldwide!
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* The TropeNamer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, through BackStab. He did a lot of good to the realm. [[TheOathbreaker No-one will let him forget it, though]].
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* The TropeNamer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, [[InTheBack through BackStab.the back]]. He did a lot of good to the realm. [[TheOathbreaker No-one will let him forget it, though]].
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-->'''Sam Vimes:''' ''(testily)'' "It was only one king. It wasn't as though it was a ''habit''."
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* The Trope Namer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, through BackStab. He did a lot of good to the realm. No-one will let him forget it, though.
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* The Trope Namer TropeNamer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, through BackStab. He did a lot of good to the realm. [[TheOathbreaker No-one will let him forget it, though.though]].
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Stephanie from ''Webcomic/TheDementiaOfMagic'' murdered her king for [[AttentionWhore the sheer shock value of it]].
[[/folder]]
* Stephanie from ''Webcomic/TheDementiaOfMagic'' murdered her king for [[AttentionWhore the sheer shock value of it]].
[[/folder]]
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* After the French Revolution the revolutionaries had the French royal family beheaded.
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* After During the French Revolution Revolution, after the revolutionaries had August 10, 1792 insurrection when the French public [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs stormed the Palais de Tuileries]], King UsefulNotes/LouisXVI and Queen UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette sought refuge in the Legislative Assembly, who promptly renamed themselves the National Convention and placed the royal family beheaded.under arrest. In the subsequent trial, the Revolutionaries declared the King guilty of plotting against the French revolution (of which he was guilty) and executed him by guillotine in January 1793, later that same year, the Queen was also executed. The Revolutionaries saw the King as another citizen (they called him Citizen Capet during the trial) and not a sovereign, however during the brief Bourbon Restoration, which restored a Constitutional Monarchy, the delegates who voted for the King's death were retroactively labelled regicides and exiled from France to invoke this trope.
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* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s human campaign ends with Arthas, post-FaceHeelTurn, murdering his father the king of Lordaeron to cement the Undead Scourge's takeover of that part of Azeroth.
* Kingslayer is a title which can be earned in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' for killing the [[BigBad Lich King]]. Wait, is that even ''possible?''
* Kingslayer is a title which can be earned in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' for killing the [[BigBad Lich King]]. Wait, is that even ''possible?''
to:
* ''Franchise/WarCraft'':
** Garona Halforcen killed Stormwind's King Llane between the events of the first two games, right in front of his son, Prince Varian. She had actually formed a bond of trust between them but due to magical controls placed on her mind, when the Shadow Council directed her to kill the king, she had no choice.
** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s human campaign ends with Arthas, post-FaceHeelTurn, murdering his father the king of Lordaeron to cement the Undead Scourge's takeover of that part of Azeroth.
* ** Kingslayer is a title which can be earned in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' for killing the [[BigBad Lich King]]. Wait, is that even ''possible?''
** Garona Halforcen killed Stormwind's King Llane between the events of the first two games, right in front of his son, Prince Varian. She had actually formed a bond of trust between them but due to magical controls placed on her mind, when the Shadow Council directed her to kill the king, she had no choice.
** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s human campaign ends with Arthas, post-FaceHeelTurn, murdering his father the king of Lordaeron to cement the Undead Scourge's takeover of that part of Azeroth.
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* Avatar-killing in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably even ''worse'' morally than kingslaying, more akin to killing KungFuJesus. The Protagonist of the story [[ThouShallNotKill takes great pains to avert this trope]] when it seems inevitable given the [[BadAss nature]] of [[CompleteMonster the King]] in [[OffingTheOffspring question.]]
to:
* Avatar-killing in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably even ''worse'' morally than kingslaying, more akin to killing KungFuJesus. The Protagonist of the story [[ThouShallNotKill takes great pains to avert this trope]] when it seems inevitable given the [[BadAss nature]] of [[CompleteMonster the King]] King in [[OffingTheOffspring question.]]
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A character, for [[TheCaligula one]] [[TheDogBitesBack reason]] or [[TheStarscream another]], kill the King, the Emperor, the President, that one powerful guy whose position has massive mystique and glamor and charisma attached to it, no matter [[EvilOverlord how]] [[TheEvilPrince badly]] they chose to [[KickTheDog use]] [[MoralEventHorizon it]]. Usually the one to kill him is of the PraetorianGuard or someone equally close and trusted. However, it doesn't need to be a betrayal: it could perfectly be an absolutely lawful execution after a fair trial. It won't matter to the people. He or she has ''slain'' a ''King''.
to:
A character, for [[TheCaligula one]] [[TheDogBitesBack reason]] one reason or [[TheStarscream another]], another, kill the King, the Emperor, the President, that one powerful guy whose position has massive mystique and glamor and charisma attached to it, no matter [[EvilOverlord how]] [[TheEvilPrince badly]] how badly they chose to [[KickTheDog use]] [[MoralEventHorizon it]].use it. Usually the one to kill him is of the PraetorianGuard or someone equally close and trusted. However, it doesn't need to be a betrayal: it could perfectly be an absolutely lawful execution after a fair trial. It won't matter to the people. He or she has ''slain'' a ''King''.
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* [[BombThrowingAnarchist The Red Lotus]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' wish to destroy all forms of government, and their leader Zaheer manages to personally murder the current Earth Queen.
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[[folder:Film-Animated]]
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The Lion King is animated.
[[folder:Film-Animated]]
* Scar from ''Disney/TheLionKing'', who murdered his brother Mufasa for the throne.
[[/folder]]
* Scar from ''Disney/TheLionKing'', who murdered his brother Mufasa for the throne.
[[/folder]]
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* Scar from ''Disney/TheLionKing'', who murdered his brother Mufasa for the throne.
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* The French Revolution. Off with their heads! The
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* The After the French Revolution. Off with their heads! TheRevolution the revolutionaries had the French royal family beheaded.
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blanked zero context examples
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* U.S. Presidents and the man who assassinated them
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* U.S. Presidents and the man who assassinated themthem:
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** UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley: Leon Czolgosz
** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald
** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald
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**
%%** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey
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* The French Revolution. Off with their heads!
* The War of the Roses had this twice..
* The War of the Roses had this twice..
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* The French Revolution. Off with their heads!
*heads! The
%%* The War of the Roses had thistwice..twice. ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
*
%%* The War of the Roses had this
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A character, for [[TheCaligula one]] [[TheDogBitesBack reason]] or [[TheStarscream another]], kill the King, the Emperor, the President, that one powerful guy whose position has massive mystique and glamor and charisma attached to it, no matter [[EvilOverlord how]] [[TheEvilPrince badly]] they chose to [[KickTheDog use]] [[MoralEventHorizon it]]. Usually the one to kill him is of the PraetorianGuard or someone equally close and trusted. However, it doesn't need to be a betrayal: it could perfectly be an absolutely lawful execution after a fair trial. It won't matter to the people. He or she has ''slain'' a ''King''.
The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people)--in simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions. The other aspect was that kings are usually anointed by TheChurch, thus ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go.
This is also why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days (except to people who see their presidents as king-like figures).
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
!!As a DeathTrope, spoilers will be unmarked on this page.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch killed his father, King Charles, by geassing "god" to erase the king from existence.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/StarTrekCountdown'', Nero kills the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire and the survivors of the Imperial Senate as they flee Romulus' destruction in the Hobus supernova in revenge for the Senate not listening to his and Spock's warnings earlier, costing the lives of billions.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Averted in ''Fanfic/AScotsmanInEgypt''. There's a guy running around with the name of Niels "Tyrantslayer" Ebbesen, but his title is never explained, and he dies in battle against ordinary soldiers instead of the king.
* The main premise of ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/122240 Twilight Sparkle, Ace Attorney: The Royal Turnabout]]'' is that apparently [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rarity]] tried to kill Prince Blueblood, and is therefore seen as a kingslayer. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} once Princess Twilight reveals that Prince Blueblood was actually assaulted.]][[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/FlashGordon''. Flash kills Emperor Ming by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice driving a rocket ship's prow into his back]].
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Darth Vader throws Emperor Palpatine [[DisneyVillainDeath down the reactor shaft to his doom]] to stop him from killing Luke.
* Scar from ''Disney/TheLionKing'', who murdered his brother Mufasa for the throne.
* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': The assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon threatens to derail the burgeoning peace process between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. While Kirk initially takes the fall for it, Spock launches an investigation aboard the ''Enterprise'' to find the two hitmen, which he does [[AssassinsAreAlwaysBetrayed after they've been killed]] to protect the rest of the conspirators.
* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', during the climax battle in Lod Kira's castle, the leader of the ''ronin'' managed to defeat Lord Kira and take his head, signifying their victory.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* The Trope Namer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, through BackStab. He did a lot of good to the realm. No-one will let him forget it, though.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. "Old Stoneface" Vimes, ancestor of the current Vimes, chopped the King's head after he was sentenced to death by a tribunal for his [[PedophilesAreEvil horrific]] [[ColdBloodedTorture crimes]]. He was the only one with the balls to do it. He was later executed, his body getting the [[AnArmAndALeg Osiris treatment]]. His [[NeverLiveItDown bad reputation]] was so ''powerful'', his descendants ''many generations later'' are still being bugged about it.
* Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium:
** In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', the dwarven jewelsmiths who killed the great elven king Thingol. It started the whole ElvesVersusDwarves shtick in the whole of Middle-Earth (and, after that, in many other fantasy universes that ripped the ElvesVersusDwarves shtick from Professor Tolkien). Now that is a regicide with repercussions!
** It takes a king, Isildur, to slay Sauron, the SorcerousOverlord of the dark forces in the backstory of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. However, Sauron's One Ring of Power acts as a SoulJar, keeping him kind-of-sort-of alive until Frodo Baggins goes on a journey to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. Ultimately, though, it's Gollum who destroys the Ring and Sauron--and he does it completely by accident.
* Kvothe, the protagonist of ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'', alludes in the telling of his story that this happened (but as a trilogy in progress, we won't find out how until the third book comes out.) Some regard him as a hero. some as a miscreant, but whatever public opinion, he had a role in starting a war and is living under a false identity.
* ''Literature/ThePowderMageTrilogy'' kicks off with Field Marshal Tamas organizing a revolution and executing the King and most of the aristocracy. The King's surviving court mage is under a magical obligation to avenge the King's death by killing his killer, but doesn't want to kill Tamas, who is among other things the father of his best friend. So he finds the actual headsman and kills him, fulfilling the technical requirements of the geas.
* Christopher Paolini's ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'':
** [[TheDragon Murtagh]] gains this title after killing Hrothgar, King of the Dwarves, in ''Eldest''. [[TheEmperor Galbatorix]] warns him [[GenreSavvy not to make a habit of it]].
** In the end, it is Eragon who kills Galbatorix, the BigBad and current ruler of Alagaesia.
* In the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelverse'' Federation President Nanietta Bacco survives one attempt on her life by a Breen assassin in ''[[Literature/StarTrekColdEquations Cold Equations: Silent Weapons]]'', which proves to be part of a ruse to divert Starfleet. She's then successfully assassinated in ''[[Literature/StarTrekTheFall The Fall: Revelation and Dust]]'' at the new Deep Space 9's opening ceremony. The Tzenkethi are initially fingered (like the Breen, they're members of the rival alliance the Typhon Pact), but in fact it was done by the [[TheRemnant True Way]] (a Cardassian terrorist group) with the connivance of Councillor Ishan Anjar of Bajor who was trying to bring about a more militaristic Federation regime (ironically to protect Bajor ''from'' the Cardassians).
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** King Roger III of Manticore officially died in a grav-skiing accident, but Manticore's security agencies are privately well aware that it was an assassination by the People's Republic of Haven in hopes that Queen Elizabeth III would be more pliable. This backfired, resulting in Elizabeth openly hating Haven. Haven's next attempt to annex Manticore, during the main series, is a straight-up invasion and a miserable failure.
** At the end of ''The Short Victorious War'' the Citizens' Rights Union led by Robert Pierre executes a [[TheCoup coup d'etat]] against the government of Haven, killing Hereditary President Harris and most of his family with an airstrike at the outset and taking out the rest of the Legislaturalist class in the following [[ThePurge purges]]. They then frame the People's Navy for the whole shebang as having attempted a MilitaryCoup.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames: Mockingjay'' first subverts his then plays it straight, by having Katniss refuse to kill President Snow... and the killing President Coin.
* At the end of ''Literature/DragonBlood'', Garranon kills high king Jakoven, the man who [[YouKilledMyFather killed his father]], was responsible for the soldiers who raped Garranon and his younger brother, and took the teenage Garranon as his "beloved". We never learn whether he lives it down, as all characters present when it happens concur that Jakoven needed killing.
* The renegade officers from the disbanded French Foreign Legion hire an English assassin in Creator/FrederickForsyth's ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'' specifically because he is known to have killed some prominent targets. Although one of these was a tin-pot dictator, he maintained a cadre of bodyguards and took many precautions against assassination. "The Jackal" nevertheless managed to waste the despot. This kingslayer reputation lets The Jackal command a half-million dollars as his fee, which the renegades pay in full.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E09TheComingOfShadows The Coming of Shadows]]": As the Centauri Emperor Turhan was making a state visit to Babylon 5, G'Kar was making plans to kill him at the reception held in his honor in revenge for the prior Centauri occupation of Narn, but Turhan, already near death, collapsed on his way there and died shortly thereafter.
-->'''G'Kar''': I was ready. I had prepared myself, I had made my peace with the Universe, I had the ''dagger in my hand''! And he has the indecency to start dying on his own. Never in my life have I seen a worse case of timing!
** In Season 4 Londo Mollari conspires with G'Kar and several members of the Centauri court to assassinate [[TheCaligula the insane Emperor Cartagia]]. In the end it's his aide Vir Cotto who delivers the killing blow in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E06IntoTheFire Into the Fire]]"; he feels considerable anguish about it afterwards. Later, when it looks like the Vorlons are going to destroy Centauri Prime because the emperor-in-waiting, Londo, was a former associate of the Shadows, Londo tries to convince Vir to kill him, but the Vorlon planet killer is recalled to join the battle with the Alliance at Coriana VI in the nick of time.
** In a BadFuture seen in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E16WarWithoutEndPart1 War Without End]]", Emperor Londo arranges to have G'Kar kill him to free the Centauri Republic of the Drakh keeper controlling his actions. Londo has drunk enough alcohol to put the keeper into as stupor for this, but it wakes up partway through and strangles G'Kar in a MutualKill. This is also implied to have happened in the prime timeline during the TimeSkip between season 5 and the DistantFinale "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS05E22SleepingInLight Sleeping in Light]]", as Vir has succeeded Londo as Emperor by that time.
** President Clark and Mr. Morden both participated in the death of President Santiago, who dies when ''[=EarthForce=] One'' explodes. The proof came from a transmission that Ivanova managed to capture with the Great Machine. Only Clark is seen, commenting how he's wanted Santiago dead for a long time, but Morden's voice is heard assuring him that ''[=EarthForce=] One'' will not return and that the power is now Clark's.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' edition ''[=MegaTraveller=]''. Archduke Dulinor personally murders Emperor Strephon in an attempt to seize the Iridium Throne, which causes the Third Imperium to dissolve into civil war.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theatre]]
* OlderThanFeudalism. In ''Theatre/OedipusRex'' Oedipus the King of Thebes has to find out who killed the previous king in order to stop a famine. Turns out it was Oedipus himself, though he didn't know it.
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare
** ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to become king himself.
** ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. Hamlet's father King Hamlet is murdered by Claudius, and Hamlet later murders King Claudius.
** ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''. Caesar is assassinated by Brutus, Cassius and the other conspirators.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s human campaign ends with Arthas, post-FaceHeelTurn, murdering his father the king of Lordaeron to cement the Undead Scourge's takeover of that part of Azeroth.
* Kingslayer is a title which can be earned in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' for killing the [[BigBad Lich King]]. Wait, is that even ''possible?''
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks: The InGameNovel ''[[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:2920,_The_Last_Year_of_the_First_Era 2920: The Last Year of the First Era]]'' ends with the assassination of Emperor Reman Cyrodiil by the sister of his ex-mistress in revenge for her unjust execution for treason. This happens with the backing of the Dunmer [[MurderInc assassins' guild]] the Morag Tong, with the tacit support of the Akaviri ambassador who then takes over rulership of the Empire.
** In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', the main antagonists are the Mythic Dawn ApocalypseCult, who become notorious in the opening for successfully assassinating Emperor Uriel Septim VII, along with his three [[HiddenBackupPrince publicly known]] sons, as part of their plan to allow a daedric prince to invade Nirn. This notoriety lasts for hundreds of years (as you find out if you do a particular sidequest in ''Skyrim'').
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'':
*** In the game's backstory Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak set off the Civil War by killing Torygg, the High King of Skyrim. Skyrim is fiercely divided on whether this was a lawful duel for the High King's throne in the old way (as the Stormcloaks under his banner see it) or a murder and usurpation of the throne due to Ulfric's use of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]] against Torygg (as the Empire sees it).
*** The climax of the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] questline has the player contracted to assassinate Emperor Titus Mede II during a state visit. Titus chooses to FaceDeathWithDignity, requesting only that the player next turn their blade on the person who requested his death.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': Chancellor J'mpok of the Klingon Empire [[KlingonPromotion attained his current post]] by killing Chancellor Martok under questionable circumstances in 2393. To wit, the two went into a closed-door meeting to try and avert a civil war in the Empire after a long power struggle between the pro-Federation moderates led by the House of Martok and the traditionalist Klingon hardliners under J'mpok. Three hours later J'mpok emerged saying Martok was dead and that he was now chancellor. This did absolutely nothing to end the power struggle: J'mpok's supporters naturally claim that he killed Martok in honorable combat, but Martok's widow Sirella has sworn revenge.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Jedi Knight's story ends with them confronting and killing the Sith Emperor himself. [[spoiler:Come ''The Shadow of Revan'', though, it turns out he's NotQuiteDead, and now his spirit has escaped into the galaxy to get up to who knows what sort of mischief.]]
* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' ascension by assassination is a regular occurrence. Getting caught at it significantly impacts your relations with other rulers and vassals. And if the victim was a relative and you get caught you gain the Kinslayer trait that permanently lowers your Diplomacy rating by 3.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': It's not shown but implied that Ganondorf killed the King of Hyrule when he took over, given how Impa took Zelda and bolted out of Hyrule Castle with Ganondorf hot on their heels and in the future no mention is made of the king at all, only the princess.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': During Zant's takeover he has the ruler of the Zoras, Queen Rutela, executed as an example to her people prior to freezing the Zora's Domain over. She appears as a spirit to Link, asking him to help her son, who is now the last member of the Zora royal family.
* Prior to the events of ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' King Leoric was killed by his own Knights, specifically Lachdanan, when they realized the depth of his madness and that he had become a threat to his own people. It did not end there, however. After he was risen as the Skeleton King he was killed again by his own son, Prince Aidan. He rose ''again'' when the Fallen Star caused the dead to stir and this time was killed by the Nephelem, for good this time. Or so the prophecy says.
* {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''. At [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor various points in the story]], the Kings of both major nations, Gaius and Nachtigal, find themselves aligned against the player, and both show up as bosses (Gaius actually ends up being the FinalBoss). However, the player doesn't actually kill either of them--Nachtigal appears to be undergoing a HeelFaceTurn after his boss battle, but [[HeelFaceDoorSlam is then assassinated]] by a third party. Gaius, on the other hand, ''does'' undergo a Heel-Face Turn after surviving the Final Boss Battle, and he becomes the protagonists' most influential ally in the epilogue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Avatar-killing in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably even ''worse'' morally than kingslaying, more akin to killing KungFuJesus. The Protagonist of the story [[ThouShallNotKill takes great pains to avert this trope]] when it seems inevitable given the [[BadAss nature]] of [[CompleteMonster the King]] in [[OffingTheOffspring question.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "My Three Suns" Fry accidentally kills the emperor of Trisol, whose population are water-people, by drinking him. This makes Fry the new Emperor. But Regicide is fairly common on that planet with most Emperors only lasting a few weeks until they're killed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* U.S. Presidents and the man who assassinated them
** UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln: John Wilkes Booth, over anger at the South losing UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
** UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield: Charles Guiteau, over being passed over for a government position. At that time the president was responsible for appointing ''all'' federal jobs. Garfield's assassination prompted the creation of the modern civil service.
** UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley: Leon Czolgosz
** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald
** Narrowly averted with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, who was shot three times over the course of his presidency but survived in part due to improvements in trauma surgery since the Kennedy assassination. There's also an anecdotal subversion where Reagan was at a press conference after these attempts on his live and a photographer's flash bulb burst; he visibly flinched.
* Special mention to James Earl Ray who shot Martin Luther King Jr. He was a King literally InNameOnly but still a powerful guy with charisma.
* RedOctober. Yakov Yurovsky and his firing squad, who executed Emperor Nicholas II and the rest of the Russian royal family.
* Charles I of England was sentenced to death and executed in 1649. The executioner was masked and disguised, and there is still debate over his identity. After the Restoration in 1660, a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I list]] was made of the 59 judges who signed Charles' death warrant. Some were executed, others were imprisoned, others fled the country and some who were already dead had their bodies desecrated.
* The French Revolution. Off with their heads!
* The War of the Roses had this twice..
[[/folder]]
----
The reason why killing a monarch has always been such a big deal (well, as at least in the Western culture) is twofold: one aspect of it is that before the rise of nationalism, the monarch was the carrier of the state's sovereignty (afterwards, it were the people)--in simpler terms, [[LEtatCestMoi the king was his country]], so anyone attacking him automatically put himself against the entire state institutions. The other aspect was that kings are usually anointed by TheChurch, thus ruling with {{God}}'s approval--and anyone attacking an anointed king automatically infringed upon ''God's'' domain of deciding who is a suitable king and who should go.
This is also why killing a president (while a serious crime and probably high treason--as is the murder of any high-ranking state official) does not pack the same punch in modern days (except to people who see their presidents as king-like figures).
Expect them to NeverLiveItDown, and carry this moniker or a variation thereof for all their lives, if they don't get ''executed'' for it. In some instances this is an attempt to get a KlingonPromotion, possibly involving TheCoup. May overlap with HeroKiller.
!!As a DeathTrope, spoilers will be unmarked on this page.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch killed his father, King Charles, by geassing "god" to erase the king from existence.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/StarTrekCountdown'', Nero kills the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire and the survivors of the Imperial Senate as they flee Romulus' destruction in the Hobus supernova in revenge for the Senate not listening to his and Spock's warnings earlier, costing the lives of billions.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Averted in ''Fanfic/AScotsmanInEgypt''. There's a guy running around with the name of Niels "Tyrantslayer" Ebbesen, but his title is never explained, and he dies in battle against ordinary soldiers instead of the king.
* The main premise of ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/122240 Twilight Sparkle, Ace Attorney: The Royal Turnabout]]'' is that apparently [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rarity]] tried to kill Prince Blueblood, and is therefore seen as a kingslayer. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} once Princess Twilight reveals that Prince Blueblood was actually assaulted.]][[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/FlashGordon''. Flash kills Emperor Ming by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice driving a rocket ship's prow into his back]].
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Darth Vader throws Emperor Palpatine [[DisneyVillainDeath down the reactor shaft to his doom]] to stop him from killing Luke.
* Scar from ''Disney/TheLionKing'', who murdered his brother Mufasa for the throne.
* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': The assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon threatens to derail the burgeoning peace process between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. While Kirk initially takes the fall for it, Spock launches an investigation aboard the ''Enterprise'' to find the two hitmen, which he does [[AssassinsAreAlwaysBetrayed after they've been killed]] to protect the rest of the conspirators.
* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', during the climax battle in Lod Kira's castle, the leader of the ''ronin'' managed to defeat Lord Kira and take his head, signifying their victory.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* The Trope Namer is Jaime Lannister from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. He killed an evil, mad king, through BackStab. He did a lot of good to the realm. No-one will let him forget it, though.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. "Old Stoneface" Vimes, ancestor of the current Vimes, chopped the King's head after he was sentenced to death by a tribunal for his [[PedophilesAreEvil horrific]] [[ColdBloodedTorture crimes]]. He was the only one with the balls to do it. He was later executed, his body getting the [[AnArmAndALeg Osiris treatment]]. His [[NeverLiveItDown bad reputation]] was so ''powerful'', his descendants ''many generations later'' are still being bugged about it.
* Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium:
** In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', the dwarven jewelsmiths who killed the great elven king Thingol. It started the whole ElvesVersusDwarves shtick in the whole of Middle-Earth (and, after that, in many other fantasy universes that ripped the ElvesVersusDwarves shtick from Professor Tolkien). Now that is a regicide with repercussions!
** It takes a king, Isildur, to slay Sauron, the SorcerousOverlord of the dark forces in the backstory of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. However, Sauron's One Ring of Power acts as a SoulJar, keeping him kind-of-sort-of alive until Frodo Baggins goes on a journey to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. Ultimately, though, it's Gollum who destroys the Ring and Sauron--and he does it completely by accident.
* Kvothe, the protagonist of ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'', alludes in the telling of his story that this happened (but as a trilogy in progress, we won't find out how until the third book comes out.) Some regard him as a hero. some as a miscreant, but whatever public opinion, he had a role in starting a war and is living under a false identity.
* ''Literature/ThePowderMageTrilogy'' kicks off with Field Marshal Tamas organizing a revolution and executing the King and most of the aristocracy. The King's surviving court mage is under a magical obligation to avenge the King's death by killing his killer, but doesn't want to kill Tamas, who is among other things the father of his best friend. So he finds the actual headsman and kills him, fulfilling the technical requirements of the geas.
* Christopher Paolini's ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'':
** [[TheDragon Murtagh]] gains this title after killing Hrothgar, King of the Dwarves, in ''Eldest''. [[TheEmperor Galbatorix]] warns him [[GenreSavvy not to make a habit of it]].
** In the end, it is Eragon who kills Galbatorix, the BigBad and current ruler of Alagaesia.
* In the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelverse'' Federation President Nanietta Bacco survives one attempt on her life by a Breen assassin in ''[[Literature/StarTrekColdEquations Cold Equations: Silent Weapons]]'', which proves to be part of a ruse to divert Starfleet. She's then successfully assassinated in ''[[Literature/StarTrekTheFall The Fall: Revelation and Dust]]'' at the new Deep Space 9's opening ceremony. The Tzenkethi are initially fingered (like the Breen, they're members of the rival alliance the Typhon Pact), but in fact it was done by the [[TheRemnant True Way]] (a Cardassian terrorist group) with the connivance of Councillor Ishan Anjar of Bajor who was trying to bring about a more militaristic Federation regime (ironically to protect Bajor ''from'' the Cardassians).
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** King Roger III of Manticore officially died in a grav-skiing accident, but Manticore's security agencies are privately well aware that it was an assassination by the People's Republic of Haven in hopes that Queen Elizabeth III would be more pliable. This backfired, resulting in Elizabeth openly hating Haven. Haven's next attempt to annex Manticore, during the main series, is a straight-up invasion and a miserable failure.
** At the end of ''The Short Victorious War'' the Citizens' Rights Union led by Robert Pierre executes a [[TheCoup coup d'etat]] against the government of Haven, killing Hereditary President Harris and most of his family with an airstrike at the outset and taking out the rest of the Legislaturalist class in the following [[ThePurge purges]]. They then frame the People's Navy for the whole shebang as having attempted a MilitaryCoup.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames: Mockingjay'' first subverts his then plays it straight, by having Katniss refuse to kill President Snow... and the killing President Coin.
* At the end of ''Literature/DragonBlood'', Garranon kills high king Jakoven, the man who [[YouKilledMyFather killed his father]], was responsible for the soldiers who raped Garranon and his younger brother, and took the teenage Garranon as his "beloved". We never learn whether he lives it down, as all characters present when it happens concur that Jakoven needed killing.
* The renegade officers from the disbanded French Foreign Legion hire an English assassin in Creator/FrederickForsyth's ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'' specifically because he is known to have killed some prominent targets. Although one of these was a tin-pot dictator, he maintained a cadre of bodyguards and took many precautions against assassination. "The Jackal" nevertheless managed to waste the despot. This kingslayer reputation lets The Jackal command a half-million dollars as his fee, which the renegades pay in full.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E09TheComingOfShadows The Coming of Shadows]]": As the Centauri Emperor Turhan was making a state visit to Babylon 5, G'Kar was making plans to kill him at the reception held in his honor in revenge for the prior Centauri occupation of Narn, but Turhan, already near death, collapsed on his way there and died shortly thereafter.
-->'''G'Kar''': I was ready. I had prepared myself, I had made my peace with the Universe, I had the ''dagger in my hand''! And he has the indecency to start dying on his own. Never in my life have I seen a worse case of timing!
** In Season 4 Londo Mollari conspires with G'Kar and several members of the Centauri court to assassinate [[TheCaligula the insane Emperor Cartagia]]. In the end it's his aide Vir Cotto who delivers the killing blow in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E06IntoTheFire Into the Fire]]"; he feels considerable anguish about it afterwards. Later, when it looks like the Vorlons are going to destroy Centauri Prime because the emperor-in-waiting, Londo, was a former associate of the Shadows, Londo tries to convince Vir to kill him, but the Vorlon planet killer is recalled to join the battle with the Alliance at Coriana VI in the nick of time.
** In a BadFuture seen in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E16WarWithoutEndPart1 War Without End]]", Emperor Londo arranges to have G'Kar kill him to free the Centauri Republic of the Drakh keeper controlling his actions. Londo has drunk enough alcohol to put the keeper into as stupor for this, but it wakes up partway through and strangles G'Kar in a MutualKill. This is also implied to have happened in the prime timeline during the TimeSkip between season 5 and the DistantFinale "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS05E22SleepingInLight Sleeping in Light]]", as Vir has succeeded Londo as Emperor by that time.
** President Clark and Mr. Morden both participated in the death of President Santiago, who dies when ''[=EarthForce=] One'' explodes. The proof came from a transmission that Ivanova managed to capture with the Great Machine. Only Clark is seen, commenting how he's wanted Santiago dead for a long time, but Morden's voice is heard assuring him that ''[=EarthForce=] One'' will not return and that the power is now Clark's.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' edition ''[=MegaTraveller=]''. Archduke Dulinor personally murders Emperor Strephon in an attempt to seize the Iridium Throne, which causes the Third Imperium to dissolve into civil war.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theatre]]
* OlderThanFeudalism. In ''Theatre/OedipusRex'' Oedipus the King of Thebes has to find out who killed the previous king in order to stop a famine. Turns out it was Oedipus himself, though he didn't know it.
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare
** ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to become king himself.
** ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. Hamlet's father King Hamlet is murdered by Claudius, and Hamlet later murders King Claudius.
** ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''. Caesar is assassinated by Brutus, Cassius and the other conspirators.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s human campaign ends with Arthas, post-FaceHeelTurn, murdering his father the king of Lordaeron to cement the Undead Scourge's takeover of that part of Azeroth.
* Kingslayer is a title which can be earned in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' for killing the [[BigBad Lich King]]. Wait, is that even ''possible?''
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks: The InGameNovel ''[[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:2920,_The_Last_Year_of_the_First_Era 2920: The Last Year of the First Era]]'' ends with the assassination of Emperor Reman Cyrodiil by the sister of his ex-mistress in revenge for her unjust execution for treason. This happens with the backing of the Dunmer [[MurderInc assassins' guild]] the Morag Tong, with the tacit support of the Akaviri ambassador who then takes over rulership of the Empire.
** In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', the main antagonists are the Mythic Dawn ApocalypseCult, who become notorious in the opening for successfully assassinating Emperor Uriel Septim VII, along with his three [[HiddenBackupPrince publicly known]] sons, as part of their plan to allow a daedric prince to invade Nirn. This notoriety lasts for hundreds of years (as you find out if you do a particular sidequest in ''Skyrim'').
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'':
*** In the game's backstory Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak set off the Civil War by killing Torygg, the High King of Skyrim. Skyrim is fiercely divided on whether this was a lawful duel for the High King's throne in the old way (as the Stormcloaks under his banner see it) or a murder and usurpation of the throne due to Ulfric's use of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]] against Torygg (as the Empire sees it).
*** The climax of the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] questline has the player contracted to assassinate Emperor Titus Mede II during a state visit. Titus chooses to FaceDeathWithDignity, requesting only that the player next turn their blade on the person who requested his death.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': Chancellor J'mpok of the Klingon Empire [[KlingonPromotion attained his current post]] by killing Chancellor Martok under questionable circumstances in 2393. To wit, the two went into a closed-door meeting to try and avert a civil war in the Empire after a long power struggle between the pro-Federation moderates led by the House of Martok and the traditionalist Klingon hardliners under J'mpok. Three hours later J'mpok emerged saying Martok was dead and that he was now chancellor. This did absolutely nothing to end the power struggle: J'mpok's supporters naturally claim that he killed Martok in honorable combat, but Martok's widow Sirella has sworn revenge.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Jedi Knight's story ends with them confronting and killing the Sith Emperor himself. [[spoiler:Come ''The Shadow of Revan'', though, it turns out he's NotQuiteDead, and now his spirit has escaped into the galaxy to get up to who knows what sort of mischief.]]
* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' ascension by assassination is a regular occurrence. Getting caught at it significantly impacts your relations with other rulers and vassals. And if the victim was a relative and you get caught you gain the Kinslayer trait that permanently lowers your Diplomacy rating by 3.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': It's not shown but implied that Ganondorf killed the King of Hyrule when he took over, given how Impa took Zelda and bolted out of Hyrule Castle with Ganondorf hot on their heels and in the future no mention is made of the king at all, only the princess.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': During Zant's takeover he has the ruler of the Zoras, Queen Rutela, executed as an example to her people prior to freezing the Zora's Domain over. She appears as a spirit to Link, asking him to help her son, who is now the last member of the Zora royal family.
* Prior to the events of ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' King Leoric was killed by his own Knights, specifically Lachdanan, when they realized the depth of his madness and that he had become a threat to his own people. It did not end there, however. After he was risen as the Skeleton King he was killed again by his own son, Prince Aidan. He rose ''again'' when the Fallen Star caused the dead to stir and this time was killed by the Nephelem, for good this time. Or so the prophecy says.
* {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''. At [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor various points in the story]], the Kings of both major nations, Gaius and Nachtigal, find themselves aligned against the player, and both show up as bosses (Gaius actually ends up being the FinalBoss). However, the player doesn't actually kill either of them--Nachtigal appears to be undergoing a HeelFaceTurn after his boss battle, but [[HeelFaceDoorSlam is then assassinated]] by a third party. Gaius, on the other hand, ''does'' undergo a Heel-Face Turn after surviving the Final Boss Battle, and he becomes the protagonists' most influential ally in the epilogue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Avatar-killing in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably even ''worse'' morally than kingslaying, more akin to killing KungFuJesus. The Protagonist of the story [[ThouShallNotKill takes great pains to avert this trope]] when it seems inevitable given the [[BadAss nature]] of [[CompleteMonster the King]] in [[OffingTheOffspring question.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "My Three Suns" Fry accidentally kills the emperor of Trisol, whose population are water-people, by drinking him. This makes Fry the new Emperor. But Regicide is fairly common on that planet with most Emperors only lasting a few weeks until they're killed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* U.S. Presidents and the man who assassinated them
** UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln: John Wilkes Booth, over anger at the South losing UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
** UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield: Charles Guiteau, over being passed over for a government position. At that time the president was responsible for appointing ''all'' federal jobs. Garfield's assassination prompted the creation of the modern civil service.
** UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley: Leon Czolgosz
** UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald
** Narrowly averted with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, who was shot three times over the course of his presidency but survived in part due to improvements in trauma surgery since the Kennedy assassination. There's also an anecdotal subversion where Reagan was at a press conference after these attempts on his live and a photographer's flash bulb burst; he visibly flinched.
* Special mention to James Earl Ray who shot Martin Luther King Jr. He was a King literally InNameOnly but still a powerful guy with charisma.
* RedOctober. Yakov Yurovsky and his firing squad, who executed Emperor Nicholas II and the rest of the Russian royal family.
* Charles I of England was sentenced to death and executed in 1649. The executioner was masked and disguised, and there is still debate over his identity. After the Restoration in 1660, a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I list]] was made of the 59 judges who signed Charles' death warrant. Some were executed, others were imprisoned, others fled the country and some who were already dead had their bodies desecrated.
* The French Revolution. Off with their heads!
* The War of the Roses had this twice..
[[/folder]]
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