History Main / DivineRightOfKings

** Before the Divine Right, when the Church was a powerful government and military authority unto itself, it held the authority to invest and validate any ruler of any state across Europe, and wars were fought between King and Church to erode this privilege and authority. Protestantism developed in the final stage of this conflict. Rivals and rebels could court the support of the Church to legitimize their usurpation/conquest. This led to the Guelphs and Guibellines and the Avignon Papacy.

** The concept of the Divine Right suffered a serious blow during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution with the execution of King UsefulNotes/LouisXVI, while the Revolution was succeeded by an Empire and a French restoration that followed, the returning Bourbons ruled by constitutional monarchy with more limitations than the one Louis XVI faced in the first years of the Revolution.

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

** The Roman Empire's would be successors, the Holy Roman and Byzantine Empires claimed Divine Right through their respective Christian denominations, which held the other to be illegitimate. As one might expect, the empires had a tendency not to get along.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': The Carja worship the sun as divine, and the Sun-King as its holy voice. This caused quite a few problems when the Sun-King went insane and instituted massive wars to fuel HumanSacrifice in a desperate attempt to appease the sun and stop various natural disasters. His son Avad killed him, took the throne, and immediately instituted reforms, but a number of traditionalists hate him for the crime of defiling the Sun-King.

** It's mentioned that the Fire Nation was formerly more of a constitutional monarchy, with a group of sages retaining a large amount of political authority and acting as a check against the Fire Lord. Sozin eventually removed all of their power and made the Fire Lord position one of absolute authority. In keeping with the Fire Nation's SocialDarwinist viewpoints, Divine Right is often [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership backed by combat ability]]; members of the aristocracy are encouraged to duel one another, with the Royal Family being expected to be, by their nature, the best at it. We never actually find out whether this is true; while they are undeniably formidable, we never see them fight a non-royal master like Jeong Jeong to confirm whether they truly are the best. Of course, royals are also the only people allowed to learn the extremely powerful lightningbending, giving them an almost unbeatable advantage over normal firebenders. The comics later reveal that the core of the Fire Lord's legitimacy is derived from history—there was a time when the Fire Islands (the geographical archipelago that the present-day Fire Nation governs over) were in an aeon of strife until the first Fire Lord united all tribes and factions, and from this act earned the respect of all.

[[folder:Web Original]]

** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' (the original show): [[MagnificentBitch Azula]] references this, claiming that the reason [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] lost to her in the bid for control of Ba Sing Se is because he lacked "the divine right to rule". An unusual example in that it's not clear whether either of them really believe this, or indeed whether it matters if they do; Azula's extremely high level of competence makes any "divine right" a moot point as she can win through her own skill, and she had thoroughly beaten Long Feng by this point so his apparent acceptance of what she says could just be an acknowledgement of her victory. However, there are subtle hints that, for all [[TheManBehindTheMan the string-pulling manipulations]] Long Feng and the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]] engage in under the naive and oblivious Earth King, they are not able to completely free themselves from the cultural baggage of living under a theoretically divine ruler, giving them a predisposition to submit to a royal figure, especially one as formidable as Azula.

** The finale {{implie|dTrope}}s this is the reason why [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]] had to be defeated by the Avatar. As the settings PhysicalGod and BigGood they were the only who's defeating Ozai would be seen as carrying the moral weight to make it a decisive end to their ancestors century-long war and allow his replacement to be accepted.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Amon claims that the divine right granted to the Avatar by the spirits has been rescinded, and that he has the new right to bring balance to the world by destroying all benders. He then proves it by [[DePower removing the bending powers of a number of criminal captives]]. [[spoiler:He's actually an incredibly powerful waterbender combining bloodbending with chi-blocking to essentially surgically block a bender's chi permanently. Though he does believe his own claims about bending being evil, the spirits have nothing to do with it.]]\\\
Since ''Legend of Korra'' takes place in what's [[SchizoTech (more or less)]] this universe's version of the twentieth century, there's a noticeable backlash against the concept of Divine Right in the world and its practice is beginning to die out, but remains relevant for the Avatar, who is the reincarnation of a divine figure herself. After Amon's defeat, Republic City institutes a democratically elected president. The Northern Water Tribe operates under a hereditary monarchy system, but the Southern Water Tribe (which is noticeably more modernized and less traditional) elects its leaders. The Earth Kingdom is still ruled by a (selfish and cruel) monarch, but many of its citizens are unhappy with this system and increasingly discuss how it's become an outdated concept. This gets PlayedForDrama in the final season when the BigBad (a charismatic military leader) uses this argument to de-legitimize the claim of the Earth Kingdom's next heir (a friendly, harmless, egocentric and incompetent guy), and appoints herself autocratic leader of the country. [[spoiler:After the BigBad is defeated, the heir decides to step aside and let the Earth Kingdom reorganize into a democracy.]] As stated above, the Fire Nation still doesn’t use this concept as much, even if under hereditary rule.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Emperor Belos claims that his right to rule comes from being able to hear the voice of [[GiantCorpseWorld the Titan whose corpse makes up the Boiling Isles]]. How legitimate this claim is is yet to be seen, but he's willing to put words in the Titan's mouth at the very least. [[spoiler:Unsurprisingly, it’s revealed in “Hollow Mind” that he’s just a genocidal, puritanical fraud and that his claims are nothing more than calculated lies, as he was able to manipulate the Boiling Isles population with {{False Flag Operation}}s and brainwashing propaganda. Of course it's also implied some of the advice he claimed he was taking from the Titan actually came from the Collector, who is a cosmic, god-like figure]].

** It's mentioned that the Fire Nation was formerly more of a constitutional monarchy, with a group of sages retaining a large amount of political authority and acting as a check against the Fire Lord. Sozin eventually removed all of their power and made the Fire Lord position one of absolute authority. In keeping with the Fire Nation's SocialDarwinist viewpoints, Divine Right is often [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership backed by combat ability]]; members of the aristocracy are encouraged to duel one another, with the Royal Family being expected to be, by their nature, the best at it. We never actually find out whether this is true; while they are undeniably formidable, we never see them fight a non-royal master like Jeong Jeong to confirm whether they truly are the best. The comics later reveal that the core of the Fire Lord’s legitimacy is derived from history—there was a time when the Fire Islands (the geographical archipelago that the present-day Fire Nation governs over) were in an aeon of strife until the first Fire Lord united all tribes and factions, and from this act earned the respect of all.
** The finale {{implie|dTrope}} this is the reason why [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]] had to be defeated by the Avatar. As the settings PhysicalGod and BigGood they were the only who's defeating Ozai would be seen as carrying the moral weight to make it a decisive end to their ancestors century-long war and allow his replacement to be accepted.

For most of history, in most of the world, people were subjects of the kingdom, governed by a king and his royal family. The details varied—sometimes the ruler was called something else (duke, prince, sultan, khan, emperor, etc.), sometimes they let a woman sit in the big chair, sometimes the monarch had to consult with some other power—but monarchy in some form has been the rule of the day in most settled societies for most of history. Across history, wars were fought between Kings, the people remained governed and lived in the kingdom, excepting of course the oases of self-governments in small city-states scattered here and there. It wasn't long before people asked questions why some were born Kings, and why people needed Kings, and how do Kings rule.

* ''Music/{{Sabaton}}'': "Carolus Rex" is about Carolus declaring that he has this trope and believing it so fanatically that it comes close to AGodAmI, thinking that being king makes him an agent of God's will who is destined for greatness.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'': Played with in a very meta sense. [[BigBad Dream]] believes that he should be the ultimate authority of the server because it was ''his'' server to begin with and sees the infinite lands of the SMP as his property, and considers L'Manburg's secession from the "Greater SMP" as [[{{Hypocrite}} an act of tyranny]], even though secession was never against the server rules to begin with. However, the lands of the SMP have existed in-universe long before Dream came into the picture (as seen in many ''Tales From the SMP'' episodes that [[FieldTripToThePast took place in the past]]) and the SMP is only Dream's in the sense that Dream the ''content creator'' is the one owning it, so the closest approximation for Dream the ''character's'' opinion on the "ownership" of the server would be this trope mixed with his own ControlFreak tendencies, perhaps with a slight dash of his pride and eventual [[AGodAmI god complex]] thrown into the mix.
[[/folder]]

* Music/{{Sabaton}}: "Carolus Rex" is about Carolus declaring that he has this trope and believing it so fanatically that it comes close to AGodAmI, thinking that being king makes him an agent of God's will who is destined for greatness.

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was [[GodEmperor regarded as a god]], while in yet others like UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire and Ancient Egypt, rulers, their family and other favorites were [[DeityOfHumanOrigin deified after their deaths]]. The Divine Right of Kings has a parallel concept called "Mandate of Heaven" in Chinese culture, where the kingdom was born because the king mastered his circumstances and convinced his peers of his skills and abilities. The word "mandate" imposes on the ruler an obligation of duty and responsibility, and unlike the European Divine Right of Kings, a ruler can lose this mandate and the mandate of his dynasty if he failed in his obligation. In the Chinese view, a ruler being overthrown and usurped is in and of itself proof that the Mandate of Heaven had been revoked and transferred to the usurper, because otherwise the usurper couldn't possibly have succeeded. Some speculate the Mandate only becomes non-explicit even after the 1912 abolishment of monarchy: the Nationalists once claimed "China's destiny lies fully with Kuomintang" and the Communists view "Chinese Socialism is the only way to achieve the Great Reconnaissance of the Chinese Nation" but "the Party must stay in touch with the people if it want to rule long-term" (implying it can lose the Mandate otherwise).

* The Chinese Mandate of Heaven is first recorded as being used by the Zhou dynasty to justify their overthrow of the previous Shang dynasty in the 11th century BC, in turn Qin Shihuang claimed to seize the Mandate from the Zhou and the Han dynasty took it after his death. The idea was that the Emperor was the CelestialBureaucracy's governor of Earth and like China's provincial governors he could be removed if he demonstrated incompetence.

One of the most popular and common idea is The Divine Right of Kings, the idea being that God appointed Kings, Queens and Emperors as His earthly representatives, therefore defying them is defying God's will. TheGoodKingdom and TheEmpire exists because God willed it as the ideal earthly form of government. (Or the gods, Heaven, etc.) Most royal bloodlines used some variant of this rule to justify their power. This concept was especially prevalent in European nations where rulers in France, England, Russia and other nations were deeply invested with their respective religious organizations, and obeisance for royalty was invoked as part of the religious ceremonies. In history, the divine right evolved over a period of contentious exchanges between Church and State. The Church formerly exercised all rights to legitimize the authority of kingdoms in Western Europe, driving many to seek favor and leverage over the Pope. The Kings gradually eroded the power of the Church to enforce their decrees. The Divine Right was the final contract between crown and church, designed to eternally validate the other in the eyes of the people and for all its ancient sounding name, it was specifically a product of the Early Modern Era: between UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance and UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment. It was first promulgated by [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart King James I of England]] and later UsefulNotes/LouisXIV of France.

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god, while in UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire and Ancient Egypt, rulers, their family and other favorites were deified after their deaths. The Divine Right of Kings has a parallel concept called "Mandate of Heaven" in Chinese culture, where the kingdom was born because the king mastered his circumstances and convinced his peers of his skills and abilities. The word "mandate" imposes on the ruler an obligation of duty and responsibility, and unlike the European Divine Right of Kings, a ruler can lose this mandate and the mandate of his dynasty if he failed in his obligation. In the Chinese view, a ruler being overthrown and usurped is in and of itself proof that the Mandate of Heaven had been revoked and transferred to the usurper, because otherwise the usurper couldn't possibly have succeeded. Some speculate the Mandate only becomes non-explicit even after the 1912 abolishment of monarchy: the Nationalists once claimed "China's destiny lies fully with Kuomintang" and the Communists view "Chinese Socialism is the only way to achieve the Great Reconnaissance of the Chinese Nation" but "the Party must stay in touch with the people if it want to rule long-term" (implying it can lose the Mandate otherwise).

* ''Film/RobinHood2010'': Robin Longstride and England's barons make a deal with King John that they'll follow him into battle against a French invasion if he agrees to sign a charter limiting his power as king. After the battle, John goes back on his word, invoking divine right, and declares Robin an outlaw for impersonating a nobleman. This by the way is an anachronism and historical license, since Divine Right is not, strictly speaking, a medieval concept.
* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': Arthur recounts how he was gifted Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake and that by divine right this makes him the King of England. The literal Mud-farmer he recounts this to calls this out for the InsaneTrollLogic that it is and explains that supreme executive power such as those of monarchs like him is done through social contract by the citizenry and not magic and divine declaration.

** King Aegon I Targaryen and his dynasty ruled first by right of conquest. They converted to the Faith of the Seven, the main organized religion of Westeros but they gained significant concessions though they faced numerous revolts by the Faith over the years. Later, Robert Baratheon toppled the Targaryens by dint of his Targaryen ancestor and conquest. His wife Queen Cersei later courts the Faith to legitimize and approve King Tommen I because of his contentious issue.
** In addition to Robert being a Targaryen descendent, he is also descended from House Durrandon through the female line. According to legends, its founder Durran Godsgrief married Elenei, daughter of the Sea God and the Wind Goddess and became the first [[FounderOfTheKingdom Storm King]]. Despite Elenei having forsaken her immortality to be with Durran, their descendants still boasted divine heritage and governed the Stormlands for centuries until the Orys Baratheon married the last Durrandon princess.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The elected kings of the high elves must pass unharmed through the [[SacredFire Flame of Asuryan]], their god, to be judged worthy of rule. While he appears to largely accept the choice and the ceremony has not prevented the coronation of kings who are reckless, feckless, or otherwise poor stewards of the country, this is not an empty ritual and when Malekith murdered his way to the throne he barely managed to throw himself back out of the fire, hideously burned.

** A lot of people on the Disc believe in this, which Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch '''hates'''. He bitterly notes that people are willing to put up with a lot of crap just because someone royal said so. His own ancestor, Stone-Faced Vimes, killed the last king of Ankh-Morpork, a horrific [[TheCaligula Caligula]] who was known for "[[ColdBloodedTorture entertaining]]" [[WouldHurtAChild children]] in the palace dungeons. Old Stone-Face still gets made out as the villain of the tale, somehow.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5193644/1/Time-Braid Time Braid]]'' has [[spoiler:Naruto]] be the current holder of the Mandate of Heaven, meaning he's destined to one day rule the world and gets help from various divine powers to back it up. The Mandate itself is a spiritual seal making him imperious to demonic corruption.

* ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'': Played with in a very meta sense. [[BigBad Dream]] believes that he should be the ultimate authority of the server because it was ''his'' server to begin with and sees the infinite lands of the SMP as his property, and considers L'Manburg's secession from the "Greater SMP" as [[{{Hypocrite}} an act of tyranny]], even though secession was never against the server rules to begin with. However, the lands of the SMP have existed long before Dream came into the picture (as seen in many ''Tales From the SMP'' episodes that [[FieldTripToThePast took place in the past]]) and the SMP is only Dream's in the sense that Dream the ''content creator'' is the one owning it, so the closest approximation for Dream the ''character's'' opinion on the "ownership" of the server would be this trope mixed with his own ControlFreak tendencies, perhaps with a slight dash of his pride and eventual [[AGodAmI god complex]] thrown into the mix.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Amon claims that the divine right granted to the Avatar by the spirits has been rescinded, and that he has the new right to bring balance to the world by destroying all benders. He then proves it by [[DePower removing the bending powers of a number of criminal captives]]. [[spoiler:He's actually an incredibly powerful waterbender combining bloodbending with chi-blocking to essentially surgically block a bender's chi permanently. Though he does believe his own claims about bending being evil, the spirits have nothing to do with it.]]\\\Since ''Legend of Korra'' takes place in what's [[SchizoTech (more or less)]] this universe's version of the twentieth century, there's a noticeable backlash against the concept of Divine Right in the world and its practice is beginning to die out, but remains relevant for the Avatar, who is the reincarnation of a divine figure herself. After Amon's defeat, Republic City institutes a democratically elected president. The Northern Water Tribe operates under a hereditary monarchy system, but the Southern Water Tribe (which is noticeably more modernized and less traditional) elects its leaders. The Earth Kingdom is still ruled by a (selfish and cruel) monarch, but many of its citizens are unhappy with this system and increasingly discuss how it's become an outdated concept. This gets PlayedForDrama in the final season when the BigBad (a charismatic military leader) uses this argument to de-legitimize the claim of the Earth Kingdom's next heir (a friendly, harmless, egocentric and incompetent guy), and appoints herself autocratic leader of the country. [[spoiler:After the BigBad is defeated, the heir decides to step aside and let the Earth Kingdom reorganize into a democracy.]] As stated above, the Fire Nation still doesn’t use this concept as much, even if under hereditary rule.