History Main / TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone

** Rhaenyra's second son, Prince Lucerys "Luke" Velaryon, feels he's this as heir to Driftmark, the Velaryon's main stronghold. Aside from the fact that he's not biologically a Velaryon (as his official/adoptive father Laenor Velaryon is homosexual and his biological father is Ser Harwin Strong), he's also understandably daunted that he's expected to succeed Corlys Velaryon, the most famed sailor in Westerosi history, as the commander of the greatest naval power in the world when he gets seasick at the mere sight of a boat.

* Speaking of Spain, UsefulNotes/FerdinandVII was at first welcomed back to the throne with open arms when the Bonapartes were toppled, but rapidly proved to be egotistical, incompetent tyrant. By the time his reign finished, Spain was rapidly losing its colonies and its prestige, and was facing political upheavals and civil wars that some argue it ''still'' hasn't recovered from.

* In ''Manga/OokuTheInnerChambers'' a {{Gender Flip}}ped Shogun Tsunayoshi and one of her attendants Emonnosuke discuss the 'mandate of Heaven' theory mentioned below under RealLife. [[spoiler: By the end of her reign Tsunayoshi believes herself to be this trope, and would welcome someone to kill her. It's unclear if she got her wish or if [[WomanScorned another trope]] motivated her murder.]]
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Wapol is the king of Drum Island but is such a JerkAss and TheCaligula that he forced any doctor that didn't work for him personally off the island so the people would have to beg to him for treatment. When he fled the island when it was attacked by pirates, the people were happy to see him go. So happy that the idea of him returning puts the island into a panic.

* In ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'' crown prince Jun'er is intelligent, capable, and not really a bad guy, but also irresponsible, lazy, and moody due to being spoiled. With Xiaxi's influence he becomes more stable and hard-working, but [[spoiler:when the king dies and Ping Yang Hou takes the throne in a coup]] people don't really want to see him become king, reasoning that [[spoiler:Ping Yang Hou]] seems capable and even-tempered. [[spoiler:It's subverted when Jun'er begins behaving much more seriously and his uncle turns out to be TheCaligula, causing most important officials to realize they need the proper heir on the throne after all.]]

* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'' presents Elyon as this. She is the rightful heir to the Meridian throne both due to succession laws and due to possessing the Heart of Meridian. However, her selfish views on what makes a princess and her self-delusions about Phobos (whom she continues to trust and support) mean that as of this writing, she's currently ill-equipped to actually rule (even if she is still a vastly superior choice to [[TheCaligula Phobos]]).
* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': King Orin of Atlantis ''thinks'' that this is the situation in the city-state of Venturia, after the death of Queen Clea; her daughter Ptra was abducted from her in controversial circumstances at a young age, and has been raised in the city of Aurania, never even seeing Venturia since that time. To his consternation, however, it turns out that the Venturian crown is only ''usually'' hereditary, and the monarch actually has the right to appoint a successor -- which Clea did, choosing one of her senior administrators who is both selfless and competent. (King Orin is upset because he's trying to increase Atlantis' centralisation, which Clea and her successor oppose; Ptra, raised in a different environment, likely would have supported his agenda.) It nearly sparks a civil war, before a referendum reveals that [[LandslideElection the populace overwhelmingly supports Clea's choice]].

* ''Fanfic/QueenAnnesLegacy'': To Catholics and many Protestants, Edward (Henry VIII's son by Jane Seymour) has a more legitimate claim to England's throne than his older half-brother Ambrose (Henry's son by Anne Boelyn), and is Henry VIII's true heir. Unfortunately for those people, a combination of his mother's smothering, Henry's favoritism of his older brother, and a overall sheltered upbringing means Edward grows up to be something of a self-centered RoyalBrat who is completely unprepared to deal with the realities and sacrifices of rulership, on top of being a fervent Protestant that is obsessed with destroying all Catholicism in England. All in all, someone who no one with a lick of sense would ever want to be king, regardless of religion. [[spoiler:When Edward finally decides to rebel against Ambrose, he struggles to find support in part because of this]].

* Commodus from ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''. While his father Marcus Aurelius is preparing to ''revoke'' Commodus' right of succession (partially because he sees that Commodus is an InadequateInheritor), his death prevents him from going through with it, thus Commodus is technically his legitimate successor. Although admittedly said death happens because [[spoiler:Commodus murders him]].

* In ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', Prince Einon is a spoiled brat of a prince that thinks making war is fun. The first time he tries to participate in such an endeavor, during a peasant uprising, he almost dies; the result of this is that he's gifted with half the heart of a dragon. During the same peasant uprising, his father (a similarly nasty piece of work, especially to judge by the novelization of the film) is killed, making Einon a spoiled juvenile brat of a king with half a dragon's heart. He's functionally immortal so long as the dragon with whom he shares a heart remains alive, he's got the political power of the kingship allowing him to do pretty much anything he wants, and he grows up to become a full-blown sadist who happily cracks down even harder on the peasantry and personally abuses almost everyone around him. The alternative ruler would have been his mother, the kindhearted and sympathetic queen, but she just ''had'' to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero save her child]]. [[spoiler:She quickly realizes what a mistake this was, and spends a large part of the next several years trying to [[SpannerInTheWorks undermine his worst plans]], up to and including hiring dragon slayers to hunt down his benefactor.]]

* Damodara in the Literature/BelisariusSeries.

* In the [[Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings Farseer trilogy]], Prince Regal declares the MIA Prince Verity dead in order to have legitimacy for his reign.

** In the sequel series ''Literature/TheNikolaiDuology'' [[spoiler:Nikolai proves to be a pretty good king, improving the lives of the small folk, modernising the military and keeping the country together despite the instability caused by the previous king. In a case of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome, however, people immediately start using the rumors that he's a bastard to try and replace him with a Lantsov cousin, and when they find good enough proof (his mother decides to testify) he realizes he can't overcome the issue. Instead he abdicates and convinces the Ravkan nobles to ''elect'' a new monarch, just as they elected the first Lantsov--essentially legitimizing the wrongful heir process, but taking himself off the board.]]
* Creator/MercedesLackey likes this one:
** In the ''Literature/BardicVoices'' series, Kestrel was the rightful king of Birnam after his uncle deposed his father, and the uncle has been sending assassins after the poor kid ever since despite the fact that he was suffering from IdentityAmnesia thanks to a severe fever he caught while fleeing. It turned out that the father was taxing the people heavily and wasting it on personal luxuries while the uncle was ruling the kingdom wisely, and had been a neglectful father at best on top of that, and once Kestrel found out what was actually going on he couldn't AbdicateTheThrone fast enough. [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot And likely would have at the very beginning of the palace coup if his uncle had bothered to ask]], for that matter.
** Played with in ''Literature/TheBlackSwan''. While Queen Clothilde is evil, she's also a pretty good ruler. Her son Siegfried, the rightful king, is an incompetent moron with zero skills in politics or diplomacy (though admittedly, that's mostly because his mother raised him to ensure he wouldn't become a threat to her power).
** Played with again in ''Oathbreakers'' from the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series. The throne of Rethwellen is empty. The King's eldest son and designated heir is poised to take it, and he's a right bastard; the younger SpareToTheThrone was an irresponsible philanderer but matured after running away to avoid being murdered by his brother and is now leading a rebellion to take the crown. The twist comes in with the fact that the Crown Prince is not ''necessarily'' the legitimate heir; ever since [[spoiler:the enchanted Sword that Sings that's ''supposed'' [[TheChooserOfTheOne to choose the king]] was stolen]], the other members of the royal family vote on who gets the throne. If the protagonists can [[spoiler:find the sword in time, and if it does indeed choose the younger brother]], then the rebellion will have morality ''and'' legality on its side.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Played with. Silk, or rather, Prince Kheldar, is the nephew of the childless king Rhodar of Drasnia and heir apparent to the throne. However, Silk likes and is good at trade and espionage, and is well aware that he would be a catastrophically bad ruler, to the point that one of the few things that genuinely frighten him is the thought of having to succeed his uncle. That his uncle is one of the handful of people he genuinely likes and respects is only icing on the cake. [[spoiler: When Queen Porenn finally gives birth to a healthy baby boy, Silk and the rest of Drasnia sigh with relief.]]

* 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.

* On ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Theo Tonin is TheDon of the Detroit Mob and everyone is too scared of him to challenge his rule. However, Theo's son, Sammy Tonin, is widely considered to be weak and incompetent and many of Theo's lieutenants would love to replace him as heir apparent. Quarles thinks of himself as Theo's adopted son and sees himself as the proper inheritor. However, his habit of abusing and torturing male prostitutes is too much for Theo to handle and he banishes Quarles from Detroit. Quarles tries to regain his position but is foiled when he runs afoul of Boyd and Raylan. Theo's right-hand man, Nicky Augustine, is the next potential usurper but he also makes the mistake of going after Raylan and [[spoiler: Sammy uses this to discredit Nicky and then have him killed]]. When Theo [[spoiler: is forced to flee the country ]], Sammy is finally put in charge and [[spoiler: is so incompetent that the once ultra-powerful Detroit Mob falls apart and is destroyed by its rivals.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', the Realm is on the edge of civil war with the Scarlet Empress vanished. The Empress' eldest and most powerful child, Mnemon, ''would'' be a shoo-in for the throne (despite the fact that the Realm has no rules for succession; the Empress is supposed to be immortal), except for one thing: she's an absolute bitch at best, and AxCrazy at worst (DependingOnTheWriter). About the only thing the other factions can agree on is that Mnemon is ''not'' the one they want to take the Scarlet Throne, leading to it being occupied by an ''absolutely'' ineffectual Regent until someone decides to claim it for themselves.

* {{Exploited|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/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.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Agustria has recently gone from the wise King Imuka to his son Chagall thanks to a little royal patricide. Although Imuka was able to keep the four fractious lords in line, Chagall's very first order is disobeyed by almost all of them (with Eldigan riding to the capital in an attempt to talk sense, Macbeth taking advantage of war to raid the citizens, and Clement refusing to get involved at all). Only Boldor obeys, and then only because it suits his own agenda. It isn't until his kingdom is on the point of being conquered that Chagall realizes the BigBad he's following only saw him as a useful idiot. Additionally, Chagall lives in paranoia and resentment of Eldigan, the one lord who is ''genuinely loyal'' to him, and may eventually have him executed[[note]]depending on player actions[[/note]] just for trying to point out that Agustria is not going to win a second war with Grannvale. However, the game also deconstructs typical answers to this trope, in that Sigurd's immediate response is to send his troops through Agustria and depose Chagall, which only succeeds in sending the kingdom ''even further'' into chaos and making everything ''worse.''
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', after spending the first chapter getting the "legitimate" heir on the throne of Daein ([[spoiler:Pelleas]]), he turns out to be a kindhearted person... but very, ''very'' unfit for reigning, plus easily manipulated for the purpose of creating a world war. [[spoiler:But in a subversion, Pelleas ''isn't'' really the real heir in the end, and the "legitimate" heir (Soren) never finds out. After Pelleas either reveals that he's not the legitimate heir or is tragically killed, depending on the path the player takes through the story, Daein winds up being run by the person who was actually the legitimate heir of the ''neighboring'' country of Begnion, Micaiah; she did find out the truth, but her ChildProdigy little sister Sanaki had been running the place pretty well, and she considered Daein her home more than Begnion. And if Pelleas is alive, he's said to [[AbdicateTheThrone have willingly left the throne to Micaiah]] to become one of her advisors, [[EarnyourHappyEnding a "work" that fits him much better than actually being the King]].]]
** It's implied that this trope is the reason [[spoiler:Princess Camilla]] [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicated her claim to the throne]] in the ''Birthright'' route of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': she believed herself to be this compared to [[spoiler: her TeenGenius younger brother, Prince (now King) Leo, since their older brother Xander is now dead.]][[note]]Which makes it interesting that one of Camilla's alts in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' is a Camilla that ''did'' become queen, implying that in one timeline she decided she was fit enough to rule...or that she didn't have a choice but to rule.[[/note]]
* In ''VideoGame/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.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Your crew has to sort out a crisis on Kashyyyk (the Wookiee homeworld). Turns out [[TheBigGuy Zaalbar]] is the younger son of the local chieftain Freyyr, exiled because he attacked his older brother Chuundar (and used his claws, a ''major'' taboo among Wookiees) after learning that Chuundar conspired with [[MegaCorp Czerka]] to have his own people harvested as slaves. Chuundar justifies this by saying Czerka has the resources to burn their forest to the ground, Czerka supplies weaponry and technology, and if a few villagers (including political enemies) get shipped off-world in chains, then it's a fair deal. He also sent his father into exile to keep the arrangement intact. Your actions determine how the mess pans out.
* Lord Wynton from ''VideoGame/DiabloIII: Reaper of Souls'' is the rightful heir to the throne of Westmarch due to being of the bloodline of Rakkis, the founder of Westmarch. The main problem is that he's also an opportunistic bastard who seeks to murder King Justinian IV in order to claim his throne, plans on being even worse toward anyone who seeks to challenge his rule, and is doing this while Malthael's Reapers are going about on a genocidal rampage against humans in Westmarch, essentially making an already horrific situation even worse. It is little wonder that the Nephalem decides that he needs to be put down when they meet.

* WebAnimation/ADayWithBowserJr: Bowser Jr is the heir to the Koopa throne, even he's the youngest among his brothers. The actual heir should be Ludwig. [[spoiler:Or so we think; in Two Koopas for a throne (part 3), it's revealed that Ludwig and the other Koopalings are Bowser's biological nephews, not his kids, making Junior Bowser's only true son.]]

** In season 3 it's [[TheReveal revealed]] that [[spoiler: [[BlackSheep Queen Eclipsa's]] daughter [[NonhumanHumanoidHybrid Meteora]] was rejected by Eclipsa's ex-husband [[FantasticRacism for being half-monster]] and was switched with a peasant girl named Festivia by the Magical High Commission. This means the ([[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld still-living]]) Meteora is [[ReallyRoyaltyReveal the legitimate heir to Mewni's crown]]. And while Meteora would've probably grown to be a good queen if raised as one, as-is she's become a cruel villain who wishes to "[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge reclaim]]" her throne by [[YourSoulIsMine stealing the souls]] [[MayorOfAGhostTown of all her subjects]].]]

* In ''[[http://www.ksarchive.com/viewstory.php?sid=3103&warning=1 Hesitation]]'', Sybok is an arrogant, xenophobic {{Jerkass}} who's filled his household with yes-men and left them to do his job for him (and use all his funds) whilst he spends his time placating his equally-vile consort, but as the eldest son he's King of Vulcan and heir apparent to the Imperial throne. [[spoiler:He's also a subversion - whilst he was always kind of awful, much of his unsuitability actually comes from Ty'Lena's machinations.]]

Sub-trope to SketchySuccessor.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Edward V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV their father's]] previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply come to believe that England couldn't survive another boy PuppetKing? We will never know what was in the man's heart, but Richard had been raised in a time of brutal war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne. Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown, were violently overthrown and Richard's father and older brother Edmund died in the conflict known as the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses, along with tens of thousands of common soldiers. Richard, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Edward V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV their father's]] previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply come to believe that England couldn't survive another boy PuppetKing? We will never know what was in the man's heart, but Richard had been raised in a time of brutal war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne. Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown were violently overthrown and Richard's father and older brother Edmund died in the conflict known as the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses, along with tens of thousands of common soldiers. Richard, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Edward V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV their father's]] previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply come to believe that England couldn't survive another boy PuppetKing? We may never know. Richard had been raised in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Henry V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV their father's]] previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply come to believe that England couldn't survive another boy PuppetKing? We may never know. Richard had been raised in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Henry V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV their father's]] previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard had grown up in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the right of the young King Henry V to rule, claiming the boy and his brother were not legitimate due to their father's previous marriage to another woman. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard had grown up in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, other young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see decades of bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. That fact that Richard's nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under his watch hasn't helped history's view of him, with many historians believing Richard had to have killed them. Richard's defenders, on the other hand, point out that it would make no sense for Richard to murder the boys without proof of their deaths. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the qualifications of a young king to rule. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard 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. Richard had, in fact, grown up in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see that bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It is, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both. A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy. For instance, other accounts say that Edward V and his brother were excluded from the throne on the grounds of them issuing from a marriage that by the law of the time was bigamous (Edward IV having married Elizabeth Woodville while still being engaged to another woman according to the testimony of a bishop) without Richard's doing. Let's also not forget Henry IV's accession to the throne by the deposition and murder of Richard II, where Edmund Mortimer, who had a better claim to the throne than Henry but was still a child, was prevented from becoming king.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the qualifications of a young king to rule. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard 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. Richard had, in fact, grown up in a time of war that had resulted from not one, but two, young boys ascending the throne, Richard II and Henry VI, both of whom grew up to be temperamentally unsuited to wear the crown and both were overthrown. Richard III, whether he truly believed the evidence that his nephews were illegitimate or not, may have embraced it out of a desire not to see that bloody history repeat itself, as well as out of ambition. It's, in fact, a reasonable assumption that it was a combination of both.
** A lot depends on how much you trust the well-known accounts of Richard III's reign, most of which (like Shakespeare's version) was written by people casting aspersions on Richard's own legitimacy in order to invest the otherwise ineligible Henry VII with some kind of legitimacy. For instance, other accounts say that Edward V and his brother were excluded from the throne on the grounds of them issuing from a marriage that by the law of the time was bigamous (Edward IV having married Elizabeth Woodville while still being engaged to another woman according to the testimony of a bishop) without Richard's doing. Let's also not forget Henry IV's accession to the throne by the deposition and murder of Richard II, where Edmund Mortimer, who had a better claim to the throne than Henry but was still a child, was prevented from becoming king.

* Phillipa Gregory's ''Literature/TheCousinsWarSeries'' plays with this, portraying the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses from multiple points of view. Edward IV rightfully sees Henry VI as unsuited for the throne and a weak puppet king, so like his father before him, he has pressed his own claim to the throne. Henry's wife, however, sees Edward as an impulsive, immature Pretender who has usurped her son's rightful place, and on top of that Edward agrees with Margaret except he thinks he's the right one to replace Edward. And then of course, there's Margaret Buford, who thinks her son Henry Tudor has been chosen by God to replace all of these people. Then, when Edward dies, his brother Richard finds evidence that Edward's marriage was invalid, giving Richard an excuse to take the throne from his RoyalBrat of a nephew...and so forth.

* Phillipa Gregory's ''Literature/TheCousinsWarSeries'' plays with this, portraying the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses from multiple points of view. Edward IV believes his claim to the throne is more legitimate, while Margaret of Anjou sees him as the usurper. Meanwhile, Edward's brother George thinks Edward is illegitimate and he is the rightful heir, which doesn't go well for him. Then, when Edward dies, his brother Richard finds evidence that Edward's marriage was invalid, making Richard the heir over his nephews...and so forth.

* As mentioned above, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII King Richard III]] cast aspersions on the qualifications of a young king to rule. Richard's motivations for claiming the throne remain in the dark to this day; was he a power-hungry tyrant, or had he simply grown to believe that only he could do the job? We may never know. Richard 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.

** In the backstory, the supporters of Daemon Blackfyre in the Blackfyre Rebellion saw King Daeron II ("Daeron the Good") as this. They were believers in AsskickingEqualsAuthority and preferred a warrior-king to the bookish but good-hearted Daeron.

* This is exactly what happened to King Edward VIII of England. He was always meant to be the king, as the oldest son, and his brother Albert was very much in favour of that particular line of succession.[[note]]On the other hand, their ''father'' George V was ''not'' in favour of it, and explicitly wrote that he hoped that his elder son would ''never marry or have children'' to ensure both Albert and Albert's [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen elder daughter Elizabeth]] would have a clear line to the throne.[[/note]] As things turned out, though, Edward VIII was absolutely, positively determined to marry outside of the acceptable social circle, and to a widely-rumored-to-be Nazi sympathizer during the prelude to World War II, no less. Edward's determination to flout the accepted rules and standards of the throne meant that he could not be king, not in the eyes of the Parliament, and not in the eyes of the people. Faced with this pressure, he abdicated his throne to his brother Albert, who reigned as George VI, which caused [[Film/TheKingsSpeech a whole host of problems for Britain's new leader.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Agustria has recently gone from the wise King Imuka to his son Chagall thanks to a little royal patricide. Although Imuka was able to keep the four fractious lords in line, Chagall's very first order is disobeyed by almost all of them (with Eldigan riding to the capital in an attempt to talk sense, Macbeth taking advantage of war to raid the citizens, and Clement refusing to get involved at all). Only Boldor obeys, and then only because it suits his own agenda. It isn't until his kingdom is on the point of being conquered that Chagall realizes the BigBad he's following only saw him as a useful idiot. Additionally, Chagall lives in paranoia and resentment of Eldigan, the one lord who is ''genuinely loyal'' to him, and may eventually have him executed[[note]]depending on player actions[[/note]] just for trying to point out that Agustria is not going to win a second war with Grannvale.