King on His Deathbed: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''

** The Emperor of Xing is dying, which is why Ling and Mei have traveled to Amestris - they're looking for the secret to immortality in order to gain the Emperor's favor.

* A major part of the second season of ''[[Slayers]]''. The king of Saillune is an old man (Who never actually appears on screen), and various members of the Royal Family are trying to kill off Prince Philionel, the Heir Apparent so that they can claim the throne.

 

== Film ==

 

* In ''[[Gladiator]]'', Emperor Marcus Aurelius isn't literally on his deathbed, but knows he's old and dying, and so names the hero his heir. This, combined with telling his psychotic son before telling anyone else who could confirm it, leads to him passing the deathbed stage and going straight to [[Killed Off for Real|all the way dead]].

* In the beginning of [[Shrek]] 3, Fiona's father, the king of Far Far Away, is on his deathbed (in frog form), and is trying to get a message about an heir to the throne to Shrek and Fiona. He seems to die three times before [[Incredibly Lame Pun|croaking]] out the end of the message, then finally dying.

* King George V in ''[[The King's Speech]]''.

 

* ''[[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]]:

* King Guslav in ''[[The First Law]]''.

* 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.

* 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.}}

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* 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]].

* [[Alexander the Great]]