History RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething / Literature

** The King of Lancre is an example of this trope, getting involved in everything from crop rotation to the invention of the Lancrastrian Army Knife. Although his subjects would rather prefer he didn't, and stick to kinging, since he's not very good at most other things.

* The Empress of Taysar in the ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' novels genuinely governs an extensive galactic empire, ruling as absolute monarch. At least one of her sons, Prince Ragoth, regularly engages in diplomatic missions with other galactic powers.

** Rhys is especially devoted to the well-being of his land.

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Rhys is especially devoted to the well-being of his land.

* Eddings' ''Literature/TheElenium'' and ''Literature/TheTamuli'' trilogies:
** Queen Ehlana of Elenia, though she spends the first two-thirds of the ''Elenium'' trilogy in a magical coma, comes out of it hell-bent on running her kingdom efficiently; she's an exceptional ruler, and later her prince-consort Sparhawk takes on as many of her burdens as he can to help.
** The Emperor of Tamul pretends to be [[TheDitz a dimwitted, inbred fop]] (mostly to prevent his [[DecadentCourt scheming courtiers]] from assassinating him), but it's all ObfuscatingStupidity to hide his genius at being the [[TheChessmaster real power "behind" his throne]].

* ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'': noble Abh in general are required to serve in the military, and members of the royal families are expected to be extra awesome. Succession to the Emperor's throne is dictated not only by heredity, but by merit and accomplishment: the royal who rises to the rank of Commander-in-Chief and most distinguishes themself by their actions is the one who is named the successor. This includes not only military accomplishments but also how well they rule their respective Kingdoms. Moreover, the current sitting Emperor has no say in their successor: the line of succession is determined by the Parliament. A lazy or incompetent royal would never get within a light-year of the Abh throne.

* Royalty in Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' seem to be actual leaders of the country, as well as, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking for the most part, badasses]].

** In fact, ''every'' [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking high-ranking member of Aleran society is pretty damn powerful]], and can generally be found on the front lines of any fight. [[spoiler:And in the Vord War, Tavi proclaimed any citizen who didn't step up to fight or bowed to the Vord, would be guilty of treason to the crown and country]].

* Perry Rhodan, main character in the series ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' is only able to make the solar imperium, with the Earth at its core, because he is a total Badass, also AuthorityEqualsAsskicking. (Atlan might be an even better example, since he is an actual noble.)

*** Only nobles have [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] and [[InfinityPlusOneSword Shardblades]] (partially because anyone who has them automatically becomes a noble) which means that [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Alethi]] [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Highprinces]] are some of the most personally dangerous people on the battlefield, as exemplified by Adolin and Dalinar Kholin. That said, at least one Highprince leads from the rear and has a Champion to wield his Shards, although they're often considered basically useless as a result.

* ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'':

* Mirellia Q Melromarc from ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' is this, '''much''' moreso than her currently-selfish/absolutely horrid husband who is crowned King "Aultcray Melromarc XXXII" since, while he was busy taking whatever measures to make Naofumi's life a living hell, she was busy dousing '''massive''' political fires/outrage over the King summoning all four of the Cardinal Heroes, whereas it was formally agreed to summon one hero for each of the four separate countries, thereby having the country of Melromarc have all four Cardinal Heroes all for their own protection from the Waves of Catastrophe for themselves [[spoiler:while the other countries were left completely unprotected by them and would have fallen if Fitoria hadn't remembered/kept her promise to a former Hero from ages long past and protected them in their stead whilst they remained blissfully unaware that the other countries were also affected by the Waves as well]]. As such, the other countries would've consumed Melromarc long before the Waves arrived due to the sheer amount of political anger over Melromarc summoning all four Cardinal Heroes for their own support. This alone speaks untold volumes between their reliability/duty to their Royal statuses. And after [[spoiler:the [[CorruptChurch Three Heroes Church]] faction is abolished, ]] she herself commands the Melromarc fleets that arrive to defend the Cal Mira Archipelago after Naofumi uses his recently-discovered Teleport ability to inform her about the impending Wave attack there.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

* In ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'', Emperor Shi Ryuuki turns out to be this kind of ruler; aside from taking a keen personal interest in making sure his kingdom is not only prosperous but progressive, he's also left the palace in secret on more than one occasion to help Shuurei and other characters. He's also a skilled swordsman and has personally fought off assassins and fought alongside Seiran, Shuuei, and Ensei.
%%* In ''LightNovel/SwordPrincessAltina'', there's the [[CharacterTitle Title Character]], Altina who is the fourth born princess of Belgaria, but there's also her older brother Basitin, and the princess of High Britannia, Elizabeth, in volume 4. ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE

** The Saillune royal family. Princess Amelia is a White Mage/Shamanistic Mage who is [[ModestRoyalty very willing to take on the]] WalkingTheEarth lifestyle in order to help others, which she does several times, namely sending out for medical aid for the impoverished kingdom of Taforashia in the anime. It's also been shown that she is a decent diplomat (or at least tries to be). [[BigFun Prince Phillionel]] also believes in going out in order to [[TheyFightCrime fight crime]], and is a prime example of the CharlesAtlasSuperpower trope. It's implied that Amelia's MissingMom was also a sorceress.

* The royal family in ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom'' never sits around doing nothing:

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'' may not have monarchy but it does have Clan leaders and all of them are competent with their duties even if some of the leaders are evil.

* Due to Manticoran royalty in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' being [[FantasyCounterpartCulture very much based on the British one]], it's not all that surprising that they Actually Do Something, and they do it a lot. Especially since a Manticoran monarch has significantly more weight in the daily running of the shop, being a kind of a hereditary President in a semi-presidential republic. This also goes down the line, with Michael Winton, the younger brother of the current Queen Elizabeth III, and Michelle Henke, her first cousin, being serving officers in the Navy and all that. Elizabeth's own son and heir apparent is also going to the navy soon -- it's a family tradition actually, much like their originals.

* Subversion: Emperor Varnazd in Yulia Latynina's ''Wei Empire'' cycle desperately wants to be this, but [[spoiler: almost]] everything he ever does to that end (and he tries a lot of things) backfires badly, to the point of [[spoiler: directly causing an all-out civil war]].

** From ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' there's Elendil, Gil-Galad, Aragorn, Legolas, and the whole royal house of Rohan.

* In Tamar Anolic's AlternateHistory novel ''Literature/TriumphOfATsar'', Tsar Alexei II sends his wife Tsarina Ileana and their three youngest children east to safety in Siberia in the final stages of World War II, but [[InItsHourOfNeed stays in St Petersburg with his eldest son Konstantin]] for the sake of his people (though he of course isn't allowed to fight himself), and is also a very hands-on ruler of his empire. Many of his male relatives take up arms to defend Russia, and Tsarina Ileana and Alexei's sister Grand Duchess Maria -- along with many women of the extended royal family -- train and work as Red Cross nurses in hospitals for the wounded.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* The emperor's kids in Weber's ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'' trilogy go into the Navy, complete with a speech about [[ComesGreatResponsibility power being a responsibility]]. And then, when [[spoiler:they narrowly survive an assassination attempt that leaves them lost in space, when they make it to the nearest habitable planet and find it holds a LostColony, they lead a war to overthrow the despotic CorruptChurch controlling it so they can call home.]]

** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', there's Thranduil (the Elvenking), Thorin Oakenshield (King Under the Mountain), Fíli and Kíli (Princes of Erebor), Dain Ironfoot (their next-closest cousin and heir) and (future human King) Bard I. During ''The Return of the King,'' Bard's grandson Brand and Dain died fighting in the attack on Erebor and Dale. Their sons, Bard II and Thorin III run off the enemy army after the fall of Sauron.

*** Elrond had proven his badassery in the Second Age: he was Gil-Galad's officer on the spot to deal with Sauron once Ost-in-Edhil fell (Rivendell was founded as a refugee colony, and promptly beseiged). He was later involved in the War of the Last Alliance, and ended up commanding the Noldorin contingent after Gil-Galad's death.

** Thorin's cousin, Dáin II Ironfoot, who leads the dwarves of the Iron Hills into the Battle of Five Armies when [[GondorCallsForAid Erebor Calls For Aid]]. Dáin dies many years later defending the gates of Erebor when Sauron sends armies through the north.

** The Calormen royalty as well; whatever other faults you can lay at their door, are also directly involved in politics and battles. When the JerkAss prince (unable to leave his city because of a curse) becomes Tisroc (king), he makes peace with his neighbors, because he knows better than to let his lords win glory in battle while he's stuck in the palace - "for that is the way Tisrocs get overthrown".

** In general, most nobles - including the Harkonnens - are shown to have a hands-on approach to government, spending as much time with statecraft as they do with leisure. One of the first scenes of ''[[Literature/PreludeToDune Dune: House Atreides]]'' has the Baron Harkonnen himself doing the same sort of inspection of a spice mining operation that Duke Leto did in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', both to ensure that everything is being done smoothly, and to better understand how he's making his money.

* Due to Manticoran royalty in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' being [[FantasyCounterpartCulture very much based on the British one]], it's not all that surprising that they Actually Do Something, and they do it a lot. Especially since a Manticoran monarch has significantly more weight in the daily running of the shop, being a kind of a hereditary President in a semi-presidential republic. This also goes down the line, with Michael Winton, the younger brother of the current Queen Elizabeth III, and Michelle Henke, her first cousin, being serving officers in the Navy and all that. Elizabeth's own son and heir apparent is also going to the navy soon — it's a family tradition actually, much like their originals.

* Prince Garric and his sister Princess Sharina from Creator/DavidDrake's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheIsles'' series are an absolute ''nightmare'' for their bodyguard regiment because of their insistence on being in the thick of things - which is often pitched battle. The guards have the dubious compensation of knowing they're now shielding royalty who're ''worth'' protecting.

* In ''Literature/{{Masques}}'', the young king is very eager to be a royal who does something. He aids the refugees who have fled from the EvilSorcerer who seeks to take his throne, and is always seen walking through the rebel camp, dispensing advice and doing work. Ironically, the fact that he is so invested in helping his people might be the main reason why the EvilSorcerer seeks to dispose of him - he gets in the way.

** Prince Arutha is an exceptional example--he is depicted as far more interested in being hands-on than delegating the dirty work to his subordinates. At one point, he even [[spoiler: fakes his own death]] so he can get away from his princely duties so he can sally forth and kick a whole lot of ass.

* Pretty much everyone, both male and female, no matter their age, in ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm''. The rare exception is a sovereign who prefers to [[KingIncognito go into common taverns and drink]], but everyone else does something, usually but not always killing things - his five-year-old heir presides over heresy trials.

** Jonathan and Thayet, in particular, have been responsible for such an insane amount of social progress in a few decades that at times it tests the bounds of WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief. It also seems that Thayet has expanded the role of the queen in government — she's officially Jonathan's co-ruler, and it's implied that this was not the case with previous queens. Among other things, she's started up the Queen's Riders, an unglamorous, coed branch of the military that goes around cleaning up Tortall in cases where the (all-male) King's Own would make a hash of it by being so big and bright and shiny. She's its official commander and is actively involved in what it does.[[note]]To the point where she once left a state banquet, wearing a ''very'' expensive PimpedOutDress, to go to the rescue of a Rider group in trouble. Jonathan asked her to [[ClothingDamage please change next time]].[[/note]]

** The series as a whole varies greatly with respect to this trope. Before the main characters come into their own the nobility of some nations are shown as effete, vain parasites devoted to jockeying for position in court - Cairhein especially, where a [[TooDumbToLive previous king]] caused a disastrous war with a {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}} just because he wanted to use some really, really rare wood for his new throne - but for many others, royalty is hard work. For all the northern rulers, keeping the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Blight]] back is a full-time job. The Seanchan take very seriously their obligation to provide peace and justice in their territory - they'd be the good guys, if not for treating channelers like animals, and it helps them that their invasion happened to start with nations with very weak rule of law until they showed up.

* {{Deconstructed}} with ''Literature/LucifersStar'' by Creator/CTPhipps. Cassius Mass wants to serve in his country's military and contribute but the DecadentCourt means that he's a constant target for assasination as well as a security risk. His father also demeans his attempts to involve himself in military matters as the goverment exists solely to enrich its BlueBlood aristocracy. Cassius just doubles down on being a "hero" and ends up only having a HeelRealization much later.
* In both ''Literature/TheBrokenEmpireTrilogy'' and the concurrent ''Literature/TheRedQueensWar'' Trilogy, the one hundred royal members of the Broken Empire have to actually ''do things'' in order to keep their thrones-- though that mostly entails going to battle other members of The Hundred as opposed to actually managing the kingdom.
** In the Broken Empire Trilogy, the VillainProtagonist is Prince Jorg, who is a PsychopathicManChild determined to murder his way to the imperial throne.
** In The Red Queen's War Trilogy, the titular Red Queen is a LadyOfWar who earned her nickname for the blood that soaked her during one of her early battles.

** In RedQueensWar, the titular Red Queen is a LadyOfWar who earned her nickname for the blood that soaked her during one of her early battles.

* TaylorAnderson's ''Literature/{{Destroyermen}}'' series has several positive and negative examples among the [[CatFolk Lemurians]]. For actual royalty, we have Safir Maraan, the Orphan Queen of B'mbaado, who is a fierce warrior (in a culture where women don't fight) and personally leads her 600 (her elite guard) in a charge against the [[LizardFolk Grik]] at the Battle of Aryaal. Muln-Rolak, the Lord Protector of Aryaal, is not technically royalty (his position is more like a general) definitely fits, despite his advanced age. He accompanies Queen Maraan on her charge despite his king's objections and the fact that he has to stop several times to catch his breath. Keje-Fris-Ar, the High Chief of ''Salissa'', also participates in battles (especially since he's not only the ruler but also the captain of his home-ship). Averted with Fet-Alcas, King of Aryaal, and his son Rasik-Alcas. Fet-Alcas is too old and fat to fight, despite the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warrior tradition]] of the Aryaalans, while Rasik-Alcas, while not bad with a sword (although Lord Rolak disarms him with ease), prefers to let the others do all the fighting.