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King on His Deathbed: Difference between revisions
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* Kicks off the plot in ''[[Stardust (film)|Stardust]]''.
* King George V in ''[[The King's Speech]]''.
* The dying King Henry in ''[[Maleficent]]'' has no heirs, and holds on until one of several candidates
== Literature ==
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* ''[[Tigana]]'': this is going on in the background in the Empire of Barbadior. We never actually see the machinations, but they're part of Alberico's motivation.
* [[Discworld]]:
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
* King Guslav in ''[[The First Law]]''.
* The King of Stormhold in ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]''.
* Happens at least twice in ''[[The Bible]]'':
** With King David on his deathbed, the royal court brings the beauty Abishag to warm him up. This does nothing. In the meantime, his son Adonijah attempts to take the throne; his court prophet Nathan and his favored wife Bathsheba inform him of this in such a way that David orders that Bathsheba's son Solomon becomes king. Solomon takes the throne upon David's death, and after a short period orders the execution of Adonijah (he had asked for the hand of Abishag, which would give him a claim on the throne... or so goes the theory).
** With King Solomon in ''his'' deathbed, years later, his ''successor'' is clear (his son Rehoboam), but whether his successor would be ''accepted'' is another matter entirely, with rumblings of discontent across the land. Things come to a head when Jeroboam, a rival claimant, comes up and asks Rehoboam, more or less, if he would be an improvement on Solomon. Rehoboam famously replies, "My father chastised you with whips... I shall chastise you with scorpions!" To which Jeroboam replied, "To your tents, O Israel!" and ten of the 12 tribes split off to form the northern Kingdom of Israel; the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remain loyal to Rehoboam.
* In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', it's mentioned that the Emperor of the Galaxy has been on his deathbed for thousands of years, having been placed in temporal stasis because nobody really wanted any of the people who would have inherited the throne when he died. After all his heirs died out, the galaxy became a popularly-elected democracy with the Emperor as a figurehead.
* The second ''[[Redwall]]'' book, ''Mosseflower'' has Lord Verdauga the wildcat in this state, while his son [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|Ginguivere]] and daughter [[God Save Us From the Queen|Tsarmina]] tend to him. It doesn't end well, because {{spoiler|Tsarmina is secretly poisoning him to frame her brother.}}
* In the second ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' series, WindClan leader Tallstar is ill for a long time, and his deputy Mudclaw has been doing most of the leader's duties, and looks forward to becoming leader himself. When Tallstar dies, {{spoiler|naming Onewhisker his successor}}, Mudclaw thinks that some scheming has been going on behind his back, not believing Tallstar would have wished that.
==
* The end of [[Society for Creative Anachronism|Cariadoc of the Bow]]'s first 'William Marshal' poem take place at the deathbed of King Henry II.
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* ''[[Exalted]]'' has an interesting variation; the Scarlet Empress is merely missing, rather than dying, and speculation among her Dynasty includes factors not only related to the possibility of her confirmed death but also of her potential entirely healthy return (which would include her easily resuming control of the empire's superweapon network).
==
* Edward IV's illness creates this situation at the beginning of Shakespeare's ''[[Richard III]],'' since Edward's son is too young to be an effective ruler, and Richard not-yet-III devotes a great deal of his energy to knocking off everyone who'd be a more respectable regent than himself.
* Henry IV's deathbed scene in ''[[Henry IV]], Part Two'' involves a slightly panicky Prince Hal contemplating the responsibility of the crown, the dying king dressing his son down for his truant ways, then giving him the crown. Hal accepts it and, contrary to all expectations, [[Henry V|rises to the kingship in magnificent fashion]].
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'': This situation kicks off the War of The Lions.
* ''[[King's Quest I]]''.{{context}}
== Real Life ==
* Edward the Confessor{{context}}
* Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain. His death was so prolonged and important to Spain that ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' constantly joked that he was still dead for years.
* Vladimir Lenin's long, drawn-out death and the struggle for his position that ensued amongst several high-ranking Bolsheviks.
* This happened in the long and lingering final illness of [[The Virgin Queen|Elizabeth I]] of England, as she hesitated to name a successor. Finally, some gestures she made were interpreted as naming James VI of Scotland, who succeeded her as [[The House of Stuart|James I of England]].
* China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang was this during his last days, obsessing on acquiring the elixir of life. Reportedly, he died from the pills that were supposed to make him immortal, [[Death by Irony|which unfortunately contained mercury]]. Some Chinese adaptations of his life depicts him having any newborns heard within his vicinity immediately executed.
* [[Alexander the Great]]{{context}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Authority Tropes]]
[[Category:Royalty and Nobility Tropes]]
[[Category:Death Tropes]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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