Standard Royal Court - Television Tropes & Idioms

The Standard Royal Court is a staple setting of historical and Speculative Fiction, the natural home of good kings, Evil Chancellors, and every breed of aristocrat. Usually, it is loosely based on an idealised version of medieval European model, with minor variations to fit the setting, which is more plausible than it may seem. Feudalism, in the narrow technical sense, only occurred in western Europe, but recognisably similar systems have developed throughout history, whenever central government was weak. The courts of Ancient Egypt and medieval Japan are recognisably variants of the same theme.

How elaborate the court is will depend on the technology level, and the wealth of the nation it rules. A barbarian warlord will have the most basic version; one right-hand man, a dozen minor chiefs, and a few hundred warriors. A galactic empire will have a court bigger than most cities, and a population to match - ten million courtiers living in conditions of unparalleled magnificence, their lives all revolving around the centre of power, the emperor at the court's heart. If, that is, the writer wants to keep in touch with reality; total mismatches between the size of the court and the size of the country occur.

Any court beyond the most basic will typically be fractal in structure. Most of the courtiers will themselves be the heads of lesser courts, mirroring the structure of the main court, and many of their courtiers will in turn head minor courts. Thus, the crown prince's best friend and chief advisor might be a duke, ruling over several earldoms, advised by the ducal chancellor. Historically, most courts stopped at four or five tiers, but in fiction there is no limit.

How much of this structure the reader sees depends on the focus of the narrative. If the protagonists are just visiting the court, they'll usually only deal with an handful of people in it leaving the rest of the Standard Royal Court as a background blur. If the protagonists are themselves courtiers, the whole panoply will be deployed.

In general, the overall tone of a court is set by its ruler. A good king will have good courtiers; an evil king, evil courtiers. However, there will usually be one or two courtiers who run counter to the trend, which gives them a greater prominence in the plot, and a new king may inherit a court that runs opposite to his preferences.

Morality is only one dimension along which the Standard Royal Court varies. Others include:

Sneakiness - some courts are a web of conspiracies; in others, everyone is open about their intentions.
Aristocrats vs civil servants - the nobles may actually run the kingdom, or they may leave all the administration to the clerks.
Decadence - are the courtiers interested only in pleasure?
Level of ritual - some courts are pretty plain, others can't do anything without a three hour ritual.
Appearance - Can range from spartan to the Ermine Cape Effect.

The Deadly Decadent Court falls in one corner of this space. All these dimensions are loosely correlated with the age of a court. A newly established kingdom will generally have a simple court. A millennia old imperial court will usually be decadent, and encrusted with many layers of meaningless ritual.

Positions in a royal court usually start out as purely functional, become either hereditary or reserved or nobles, and end up as purely ceremonial, with the actual work being done by the holder of a more junior post, which may then go through the same cycle. This is how old courts, where this has happened several times, end up with their bewildering array of titles. Young courts, with no long standing traditions, are much simpler, and the nobles in them more likely to do actual work.

Typical plot lines for works set in a Standard Royal Court include internal power struggles, and external threats.

The members of a Standard Royal Court can be classified by their closeness to the centre of power. The monarch, of course, is right at the centre. The inner circle of courtiers one or two people from each power bloc within the court, and directly advises the monarch. The outer circles of courtiers spend their time trying to get into the inner cicle. The part-time courtiers have a recognised place in the court, but spend most of their time away from it. At the bottom of the pile, the servants keep the whole place running.

The important members of the court, and associated tropes, are:

The ruler. Normally this is the monarch, but sometimes the role is filled by a regent. Either way, this person bears ultimately responsibility for the conduct of the nation. Many factions, both within the court, and outside, will be attempting to control or depose them. An evil regent may attempt to become Regent For Life. Good regents, and kings, act as mentors to their successors.
The heir. Normally the next in line to the throne, but during a regency this role is filled by the actual monarch. The heir spends most of their time waiting for the ruler to die, and may decide to hurry up the process with a little direct action, especially if the ruler isn't their parent. In turn, the heir is the frequent target of assassination attempts by people wanting to move up the line of succession.The heir is also an alternative centre of power for the court, since their inner circle is the government-in-waiting.
Other royals.
- The previous generation. Royal uncles, and the Queen Mother. These tend to spend a lot of time telling the king what their father would have done.
- The Queen Consort. Her official role is to produce the next generation of royals, but her family will expect her to find them influential positions, which can make her unpopular, and people will seek to use her to influence the King. If there isn't a queen, the process of filling the vacancy is itself a popular plot. She often comes in the varieties dignified and noble and cruel and petty. The Woman Wearing The Queenly Mask is usually the supreme ruler herself.
- The Harem. Most often found in Middle Eastern or Far Eastern settings. Guarded by eunuchs. There is intense competition within the harem for the king's favour, and a tense relationship with the Queen (if there is a Queen).
- Royal siblings. These are either the King's most loyal supporter, or scheming to get the throne for themselves.This is especially true for the younger brother of the present ruler.
- Royal children. The daughters get married off, perhaps after an Engagement Challenge. Finding something for the spare sons to do tends to be a problem for Kings. If they're not kept busy, sibling rivalry often turns lethal. Illegitimate royal children get high status, but are outside the line of succession. The White Prince is sadly spoiled and naive, The Evil Prince can decimate a regent's offspring. The Wise Prince, in contrast, would be any good king's pride.
The chief advisor. May be titled Chancellor, Vizier or First Minister. They are often the Evil Chancellor, but can also be a mentor, sidekick to the king, or even a figurehead. They can come from any of the power blocs.
The court jester. Can be any form of entertainer. These people have no official power, but do have the king's ear, and can often speak freely. Usually either the comic relief or a power behind the throne.
Head of the church. Might be called high priest or archbishop. This person holds allegiance to an higher authority than earthly kings, making their relationship with the king fraught. On the other hand, many religions either place the king at the head of the Church of consider him outright to be a living god, in which case all is well.
Court mage or pet mad scientist. Not all courts have these. When they exist, they usually get on badly with the church representatives, and supply phlebotinum to the court. They are also popular choices for chief advisor.
The head of the civil service. More common in Chinese-style and Space Opera courts. Since this person has risen through the ranks, they usually have an inferior social background, creating tension with the nobles.
The head of the military. In medieval courts this role is filled by the ruler, but more advanced monarchies have a professional army, with all the associated tropes. If General Ripper is the chief advisor, it's time for the neighbouring countries to get worried.
The head of intelligence. It might be official or unofficial, this person handles the more delicate affairs of court and country. They gather information that was not meant for their regent's ears, they find that Blackmail Is Such An Ugly Word and they can make great nuisances disappear. Their loyalty is always an interesting question.
The great magnates. These are the chief nobles, each with near-sovereign power in their own domains. Their support is essential for any rebellion, and priceless to foreign invaders. If the ruler loses majority support among the great magnates, the nation will be in crisis. In future settings, this role can be filled by the heads of megacorporations or planetary/sector governors.
Any number of special favourites, courtiers who are important not because of their inheritance and offices but because the regent has an affection for them. They usually have a certain something about them which can be charm, boldness, honeyed tongue, cleverness, honesty, strength, beauty and other quirks and abilities. The important part is that their influence on the leader is not easily measured. The writers might add as much spicy Sub Text as they like.
- A common ploy is for a patron to introduce suitable candidates to the ruler. If any of them find favour, the patron can then influence the ruler by passing suggestions through the favourite.
Any mistresses the king has. Essentially the same role as favourites, but less respectable. This doesn't stop ambitious courtiers parading their sisters in front of the king.

Most of these people will have their own circle of courtiers filling the same roles, but their titles will be lesser. Though the stakes are lower, the politics is no less vicious.

Examples:

Anime and Manga

The Five Star Stories, being a Feudal Future, has quite a few. Most notable is Amaterasu's royal court, wherin nearly everyone is also the pilot of a Humongous Mecha.
Seirei No Moribito features the ruler, the royal children, the queen, the head of the military, and the Holy Sage who is pet scientist, advisor and head of the intelligence at the same time. Court proceedings are not decadent but ritualized and cold.

Literature

The Deryni series is centred on a royal court.
In The Riftwar Cycle, many of the protagonists belong to royal courts, none of them decadent.
The Wheel Of Time shows several courts in detail.
The Tudors is set in the court of Henry VIII.
A Song Of Ice And Fire shows several courts.
The Honor Harrington novels have the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Which axis of morality and composition you see depends on why you're there in the first place.
Gormenghast is sneaky, aristocratic, decadent, and ritual-choke. It is so grossly mismatched to the size of the country that to all intents and purposes the court is the nation-state!
King Boniface's court in John Barnes's One For The Morning Glory: a Fairy Tale court with a liberal admixture of a royal court as needed by the Rule Of Whimsy.
Most, if not all, of the books written by Mercedes Lackey have at least one.
The Court of Amber seems surprisingly simple and informal considering it is literally the center of the universe, but this could be due to the POV characters ignoring the flunkies and trappings they've been accustomed to all of their extremely long lives.