History Main / DivineRightOfKings

In fantasy works, this right can overlap with RoyaltySuperpower, with actual gods and other supernatural entities granting royals their favor. That doesn't mean the royals are immune to corruption or poor decisions, however. See also BlueBlood. Compare/contrast GodEmperor, where the monarch claims or is attributed the whole package of divinity. TheKingslayer is what happens when someone kills a king (and this is treated as a horrific thing because of his divine right) and {{Tyrannicide}} revolves around the conditions when one can legally revolt and topple a King.

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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 In the Chinese view, a ruler being overthrown and usurped is in and of itself proof that the Mandate of Heaven had been revoked and transferred to the usurper, because otherwise the usurper couldn't possibly have succeeded.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).

** Despite the French Revolution, the concept of divine right was revived in the 19th century as a cornerstone of the reactionary order established during the Concert of Europe. In that era, absolutist monarchs emphasized that as God's chosen rulers, adopting a constitution would interfere with the direct relationship between ruler and subject that God had ordained. This kind of absolutism was abandoned in Western and Central Europe after the UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848--whose main lasting achievement was forcing most European monarchs to adopt constitutions of some kind, even if they were mostly just window-dressing for continued royal power. However, UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia was spared revolution in 1848, and after the assassination of the reformist Emperor Alexander II in 1881, doubled down on the divine right thing. Of course, the last emperor Nicholas II's insistence on his divine right was a major factor in [[UsefulNotes/RomanovsAndRevolutions his ultimate]] [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober downfall]]....

** The concept of the Divine Right died 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.

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, 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.

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, emperor), 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.

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 a duke or a prince or an emperor, 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.

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. TheKingdom and TheEmpire exists because God willed it as the ideal earthly form of government. 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.

For most of history, in most of the world, people were subjects of the kingdom, governed by a King and his Royal Family. Across history, wars were fought between Kings, some became Emperors, but in most cases, 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.

* Though a few more ambitious pharaohs would proclaim themselves literal gods, the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt Ancient Egyptians]] had something similar to the Chinese in that the pharaoh was, if nothing else, the gods' appointed representative on Earth, and as such, his role was to maintain Ma'at (order). As Ma'at was the lynchpin of Egyptian religious and social belief, to defy the pharaoh was to defy ''the very notion of divinely ordained universal order itself.''

* All of the recognized Cyrodiilic [[TheEmperor Emperors]] of Tamriel in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' (the Alessian, Reman, and Septim dynasties) claim DivineParentage from Akatosh, the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] God of Time and [[TopGod chief deity]] of the [[SaintlyChurch Eight (later Nine) Divines]] pantheon, in the metaphysical sense (imbued with "Dragon Blood"), dating back to Akatosh's [[BargainWithHeaven covenant]] with St. Alessia, [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the First Empire. In addition to the [[RoyaltySuperpower patronage of the Divines for the Empire]], these Emperors serve as {{Barrier Maiden}}s, sealing and protecting Mundus (the mortal plane) from Oblivion.

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* Though a few more ambitious pharaohs would proclaim themselves literal gods, the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt Ancient Egyptians]] had something similar to the Chinese in that the pharaoh was, if nothing else, the gods' appointed representative on Earth, and as such, his role was to maintain Ma'at (order). As Ma'at was the lynchpin of Egyptian religious and social belief, to defy the pharaoh was to defy order itself.

* The Roman Emperors would occasionally associate themselves with gods in official works, but most would stop short with outright calling themselves such. They did however invoke the concept of ''cultus'', which held that the Roman Emperors ruled with divine sanction. Some Emperors would be defined posthumously, which their successors would hold up as further indication of the right to rule.

* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt Ancient Egyptians]] had something similar to the Chinese in that the pharaoh was the gods' appointed representative on Earth, and as such, his role was to maintain Ma'at (order). As Ma'at was the lynchpin of Egyptian religious and social belief, to defy the pharaoh was to defy order itself. A few pharaohs took it a step further, proclaiming themselves to be the earthly form of gods, such as Horus and Ra, saying they ruled with literal divine authority.

* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt Ancient Egyptians]] had something similar to the Chinese in that the pharaoh was the gods' appointed representative on Earth, and as such, his role was to maintain Ma'at (order). As Ma'at was the lynchpin of Egyptian religious and social belief, to defy the pharaoh was to defy order itself.

** Saul was specifically chosen by God to be king...until [[GodIsDispleased he ticked God off]], at which point He had a boy named David secretly anointed as Saul's successor. God says that there will never be any true kings outside of David's descendants; Christians and Jews both agree that the Messiah has to be from his family. However, only about half of the Davidic kings managed to keep God's favor, and the fact that they eventually got overthrown by Babylon ([[TheRightfulKingReturns with the promise of being restored one day]]), plus other calamities over the years, shows that this trope isn't a blank check to do whatever you want.

* This is a major plot element in ''Series/{{Kings}}'', which is set in a sort of PresentDay SettingUpdate with the modern western-ish nation-state of Gilboa ruled by an absolute monarchy, as it loosely adapts various stories from the Bible about Judaic monarchs. King Silas Benjamin rose to power with explicit consent from god, or so he claims from a story where he was given a divine message when [[PrettyButterflies butterflies flocked on his head to form a crown]]. His conflict with his protegé David is based on the fact that the latter is his prophesied successor, and Silas himself worries that he has [[GodIsDispleased fallen out of favor with God]].

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheMayors": The ScamReligion set up by the Foundation props up the petty kings ruling the neighboring Four Kingdoms by affording them a measure of divinity. However, when Prince Regent Wienis of Anacreon tries to conquer the Foundation, Mayor Hardin reveals that Terminus can revoke that divine right and turn the devout populace against them.

* In ''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 too 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.

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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).

** 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. 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 played for drama 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 coward), 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]].

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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".

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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 rather than abolished after 1912: 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".

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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 rather than abolished after 1912: 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".

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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 rather than abolished after 1912: 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".

In other nations, such as UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Emperor was regarded as a god in the Shinto religions, 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.