Heir Club for Men/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Inheritance (money, power, etc.) is passed down from father to firstborn son.

  • Played Straight: King Bob the Nth passes his crown onto Prince Billy, even though there is at least one princess who is older than Prince Billy.
  • Exaggerated: King Bob the Nth dies without any heirs, even though he had dozens of daughters.
  • Justified:
  • Inverted: The power is passed down from mother to daughter (i.e. from Queen Alice to Princess Annie
  • Subverted:
  • Double Subverted:
    • But she can never marry, lest the crown be passed onto her new husband.
    • But only until Prince Billy is old enough to rule on his own.
    • Even though Princess Annie is three years older than Prince Charlie.
  • Deconstructed: May lead to wars and chaos that could easily be prevented if the crown were passed onto a daughter. Also, "has a penis" doesn't necessarily automatically mean "is a competent ruler."
  • Reconstructed:
    • The crown is passed onto the oldest child, regardless of gender.
    • Alternatively, leaders are chosen by merit and/or by vote, rather than by lineage.
  • Parodied:
  • Lampshaded: "Only a prince can become a king!"
  • Averted: See "Reconstructed"
  • Enforced: Truth in Television
  • Invoked: King Bob the Nth gets his First Gray Hair and starts to think about what will happen after he's gone, knowing that he only has daughters.
  • Defied: King Bob the Nth decides he'll pass the crown onto his eldest daughter, and teach her how to be the best queen she can possibly be.
  • Discussed:
  • Conversed:
  • Played For Laughs:
  • Played For Drama: Almost always is.
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