History Main / TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone

->''"Heaven doesn't always make the right men kings!"''

Usually, the RegentForLife is the bad guy. We say usually, because in these stories the rightful heir to the throne is usually a [[TheWisePrince heroic figure,]] [[NaiveNewcomer a nice if inexperienced youngster,]] [[TheEveryman or at least a decent guy who can actually claim legitimacy.]] While TheUsurper is portrayed as greedy, power-hungry and brutal, willing to exploit the regency to earn the prestige and influence to take power, at any cost.

Problem is, sometimes the positions are reversed.

The heir has the automatic advantage of legitimacy, but what if he's a monster? What if he's [[InadequateInheritor incompetent]]? Even if he is competent, what happens if the kingdom is facing a terrible crisis only an experienced and wily leader can face down, and allowing the rightful heir to take the throne would plunge everything into chaos?

This is the rare SuccessionCrisis in fiction where the rightful heir to the throne is ''absolutely not'' the person for the job. It can be the end of a regency (which now has, for the genuine sake of the realm, to be extended) or it can be the king dying and the heir turning out to be [[RoyalBrat a childish charlatan]] or, even worse, [[TheCaligula actively malicious.]] In this situation, the other claimant has all the qualifications but none of the claim, making for a far more complex (and potentially [[BlackAndGreyMorality grey]]) story.

This trope can also extend into the overthrow of an evil or incompetent monarch, but only cautiously, it has to be another monarch replacing it rather than a non-monarchial LaResistance movement.

!!Examples

[[AC: Film]]
* ''{{Caligula}}'': Nerva (John Gielgud) commits suicide because he thinks Caligula will be such a bad Emperor.

* The movie ''{{Dave}}'', where the lookalike is better at the job than the real deal.
* ''TheManInTheIronMask'' has King Louis XIV of France who is bankrupting the country with unpopular wars and keeping many mistresses. His brother Philippe is kept prisoner to prevent him from claiming the throne.

[[AC: Literature]]

* More or less the case in ''ThePrisonerOfZenda''. The usurper, Black Michael isn't the most charming guy, but he's competent and loved by the people. The legitimate ruler, Rudolf, is a drunken boor who is unpopular with the people.

[[AC: Live Action TV]]
* ''{{Game of Thrones}}'': [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Renly]] invokes this trope when trying to convince [[spoiler: [[HonorBeforeReason Ned Stark]] to support his coup for the throne]], pointing out that he's the most qualified heir for the job.

* Korean HistoricalDrama ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taejo_Wang_Geon_(TV_series) Emperor Wang Guhn]]'' is about how WG became emperor of Korea. Long story short(er): The previous Empire of Silla fell apart. Wang's predecessor Gung Ye seizes power in northern Korea and proclaims himself Emperor, while in southern Korea General Kyunhwan proclaims ''him''self Emperor, so there's a power struggle between them. Gung then proclaims that he's not only Emperor but also the reincarnation of Buddha and starts going crazy, even having his wife and sons killed because he thinks they're plotting against him. At this point the other nobles in Gung's camp decide that he's no longer worthy of being followed as Emperor, so they ask General Wang Guhn (portrayed as Gung Ye's most loyal-yet-non-crazy subject - it was his childhood sweetheart who Gung had married and then later killed) to become the emperor. Wang refuses, but the nobles depose Gung anyway, at which point Wang reluctantly takes the throne.

[[AC: Theatre]]

* In both the Shakespeare play and {{Real Life}}, this was one of the excuses ''{{Richard III}}'' used for usurping the throne from his nephew Edward V - the latter was a child and so unfit to rule. The real Richard also cast doubt on Edward's legitimacy.

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC: Real Life]]
* A {{Real Life}} example from English history would be King Stephen, who usurped the throne from his cousin Matilda, the rightful heir, because as a woman she was regarded as incompetent to rule by the standards of the time (the 1100s). {{Values Dissonance}}, anyone?

* While Crown Prince Odysseus of [[TheEmpire Britannia]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is not as egotistical or racist like his father or some of his siblings, he is somewhat of a milquetoast InadequateInheritor compared the more competent usurper [[spoiler:Lelouch vi Britannia, who is actually a VillainProtagonist (by this point)]].

* ''LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' takes this BeyondTheImpossible when [[TheChessmaster Reinhard]] [[YoungConqueror von Lohengramm]] deposes the last Kaiser of the Goldenbaum dynasty, an 8-month old baby.

* The Haldane Restoration in Katherine Kurtz's {{Deryni}} novel ''Camber of Culdi''. A younger son of the House of Furstan gets a small force from his father the King of Torenth, gathers other landless younger sons who don't fancy celibacy, and they overthow the House of Haldane in neighbouring Gwynedd. After 80 years, the Festil-Furstan dynasty has degenerated, such that the latest ruler practices murderous tyranny and brother-sister incest. Camber and his family discover the last Haldane in a monastery, remove him from the cloister, get his vows dispensed, marry him to a ward of Camber's, activate psionic/magical powers in him, and help him overthrow the tyrant.

* ''LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' takes this BeyondTheImpossible when [[TheChessmaster Reinhard]] [[YoungConqueror von Lohengramm]] depsoses the last Kaiser of the Goldenbaum dynasty, an 8-month old baby.

This trope allows for an easily set up villain; we live in democratic times where, unlike in previous eras where divinity was linked with kingship, being "in line to the throne" is not considered an automatic mark of the right and capability to lead. Setting up a character as someone who is born for the throne but has none of the skills or personality for the job makes for an easy EvilOverlord or other evil dictatorial figure for the hero to fight. Used as more than a cheap set up for a villain, this tool sets up an obvious {{Aesop}}; its not the circumstances you are born into which should decide your position in life, but who you are as a person and how you react to those circumstances, and a system which bases its system of leadership selection around lineage is bound for failure.

* ''TheManInTheIronMask''

* ''LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' takes this BeyondTheImpossible when [[TheChessmaster Reinhard]] [[YoungConqueror von Lohengramm]] depsoses the last Kaiser of the Goldenbaum dynasty, an 8-MONTH OLD BABY.

Usually, the RegentForLife is the bad guy. We say usually, because in these stories the rightful heir to the throne is usually a [[TheWisePrince heroic figure,]] [[NaiveNewcomer a nice if inexperienced youngster,]] [[TheEveryman or at least a decent guy who can actually claim legitimacy.]] While TheUsurper is portrayed as greedy, powerhungry and brutal, willing to exploit the regency to earn the prestige and influence to take power, at any cost.

Usually, the RegentForLife is the bad guy. We say usually, because in these stories the rightful heir to the throne is usually a [[TheWhitePrince heroic figure,]] [[NaiveNewcomer a nice if inexperienced youngster,]] [[TheEveryman or at least a decent guy who can actually claim legitimacy.]] While TheUsurper is portrayed as greedy, powerhungry and brutal, willing to exploit the regency to earn the prestige and influence to take power, at any cost.

* As mentioned above, [[RichardOfGloucester King Richard III]] cast aspersions as to the qualifications of a young king to rule. Richard's motivation for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he simply a powerhungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard also cast aspersions on his brother's legitimacy as well as the nephew's, though the Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville wasn't popular, so the line of attack against her marriage with Edward IV was carried through more thoroughly. Also, Richard of York (father of Edward IV and Richard III) had earlier made a similar claim because of the incompetence and insanity/catatonic episode of Henry VI.

* {{Exploited|Trope}} in ''LastScenario'', when EvilChancellor and {{Chessmaster}} Augustus arranged the inheritance of the throne by the capriciously cruel and terribly incompetent [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Princess Helga]]. He quickly usurped the throne by killing her and was quite popular with the people for a short while - until he was [[TheDogBitesBack killed]] by an own friend, whose life he ruined by [[UnwittingPawn manipulating him into]] killing the former emperor, Helga's father.

* In RuneScape, a [[RightfulKingReturns returning rightful king]] has done some unpleasant things in his attempts to claim his birthright. The nature of these things suggests that he is perhaps not the most benevolent potential ruler.

* In RuneScape, a [[RightfulHeirReturns returning rightful heir]] has done some unpleasant things in his attempts to claim his birthright. The nature of these things suggests that he is perhaps not the most benevolent potential ruler.

* [[spoiler:Subverted]] in the 10th ''FireEmblem''. After spending the first chapter getting the "legitimate" heir on the throne, he turns out (which should have been obvious from the start with his HorribleJudgeOfCharacter stats) to be horribly incompetent, and easily manipulated for the purpose of creating a world war [[spoiler:but he isn't really the real heir in the end, and the "legitimate" heir never finds out. After Pelleas reveals that he's not the legitimate heir or is killed, depending on the path the player takes through the story, the country winds up being run by the person who was actually the legitimate heir of the ''neighboring'' country of Begnion; she did find out the truth, but her sister had been running the place pretty well, and she considered Daein her home more than Begnion]].

* Gung Ye himself was also this, given that he was a general for yet another would-be Emperor before he was proclaimed Emperor by the other man's former followers.
** (Note to any Korean tropers: I'm not trying to paint this as 100% accurate to Korean history; it's just what I remember from a show I followed 10 years ago.)
** Note to viewers: This could do with clarification for historical accuracy.

* While Crown Prince Odysseus of [[TheEmpire Britannia]] in ''CodeGeass'' is not as egotistical or racist like his father or some of his siblings, he is somewhat of a milquetoast InadequateInheritor compared the more competent usurper [[spoiler:Lelouch vi Britannia, who is actually a VillainProtagonist (by this point)]].

* Played with in ''TheEmperorsNewGroove''. Kuzco isn't a very good ruler, and no one seems to miss him while he's gone, but Yzma isn't exactly any better.

* {{Deconstructed}} in ''LastScenario'', where EvilChancellor and {{Chessmaster}} Augustus usurped the throne by killing the capriciously cruel and terribly incompetent [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Empress Helga]] (whose coronation itself was part of Augustus' scheme) and was quite popular with the people for a short while - until he was [[TheDogBitesBack killed]] by an own friend, whose life he ruined by [[UnwittingPawn manipulating him into]] killing the former emperor.

** In ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'', Tomjon, the true heir to the throne of Lancre, has no interest in becoming king and wants to become an actor instead. The witches put Verence up as an alternative, claiming that he is Tomjon's half-brother, which is true. They see no need to point out that he's the ''queen's'' illegitimate son rather than the King's and as such has no claim to the throne.
** Not even that! ''Tomjon'' is the Queen's illegitimate son by the palace Fool, Verence's father. Verence is the son of the palace Fool and his wife, and therefore has even less of a claim.