Rags to Royalty: Difference between revisions

* '''[[Sleeping Beauty]] Style:''' Like the Snow White, she's royalty and forced into hiding for protection. Unlike the Snow White, she has no idea she has a [[Secret Legacy]]. Of course, her [[Genre Blind]] guardians [[Poor Communication Kills|feel she's safer]] [[Locked Out of the Loop|not knowing]] her ancestry ''or'' that there are evil forces seeking to harm her, or possibly they don't know either. You can guess how that ends. (''Note: Named after the Disney version of the story only.'')

** The classic [[Gender Flip]] version is, of course, [[King Arthur]].

** A [[Gender Flip]] classic of this type, the [[Child Ballad]] "The Lord of Lorn"

 

This is [[Older Than Feudalism]], and has long since gone into being a [[Dead Horse Trope]] when used in a serious application. However, sweeten the deal with a [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstruction]] or other device, and this will work quite well in a modern setting.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Tower of God]]'', [[Blue Blood|the 10 Great Families]] tend to adopt strong and talented children, among them orphans, to become Rankers and Princess candidates. The reason for this is that the Families apparently don't get it on that much (except for [[Dirty Old Man|Koon]] [[Harem Seeker|Eduan]]). The way to riches is very hard and dangerous though, as seen with Androssi Zahard's backstory.

* Empress Marianne of ''[[Code Geass]]'' would be a definite Cinderella case, a commoner by birth who rose to prominence as one of the Knights of the Round, before becoming one of [[The Emperor]]'s imperial consorts.

** Her children also fit into this trope, as Snow Whites.

** Though to be honest, his relation to {{spoiler|the Senju clan is incredibly distant.}} It isn't as distant as his mother's connection was, {{spoiler|considering Mito Uzumaki married the 1st Hokage and is Tsunade's grandmother.}}

* There are three in ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'':

* From ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', we have You Houki. She was a [[Country Mouse|poor farm girl]], taking care of her ailing father, when she was asked to join the emperor's harem (much to the ire of her former boyfriend Suu, later revealed to be {{spoiler|Hotohori's half-brother}}). Originally, she didn't want to go, but her father pressured her saying she'd have a better life. {{spoiler|And Hotohori eventually chooses her to be his Empress.}}

* In the [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]] of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', It's revealed that {{spoiler|the twins Fuka and Fumika}} picked up a pair of animals which turned out to be princes from the [[Magic World]]. Within five years they were married and already had their first kids.

 

== Ballads ==

* In [[Child Ballad]] #89 "[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch089.htm Fause Foodrage]," a nobleman's infant daughter is exchanged for the infant prince. After the prince learned the truth and overcame the usurper who would have killed him, he marries the daughter.

 

== Comic Books ==

* [[X Wing Series|Plourr Illo]], a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] expy of Anastasia, went into hiding and later became a pilot for the Rebellion after revolutionaries killed her family. She wasn't in rags, exactly, but she lived as well as any of the other pilots and kept her heritage a secret.

* [[Bone]] Thorn was unaware of her royal legacy. Her grandma told her that she is meant to lead a kingdom as the next queen. Thorn becomes Queen in the end.

 

== Fairy Tales ==

* In "[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/slavonic/wratislaw/beautifuldamsel.html The Beautiful Damsel and the Wicked Old Woman]", a prince marries a peasant girl because she is beautiful, weeps pearls and brings flowers when she can smile, and sews exquisitely, but when she is coming to the wedding with an old woman, the woman gouges her eyes out and thrust her into a cave, to replace her with her own daughter. But the girl weeps pearls and buys back her eyes, and when she can see, she sews a handkerchief that the prince recognizes, so she regains him.

* In "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/038.htm The Grateful Beasts]", the peasant lad Ferko marries the princess and becomes king

* A [[Gender Flip]] version of the above, [[Child Ballad]] "[http://www.bartleby.com/243/76.html The Lord Of Lorn]", has the young Lord of Lorn confess to a horse while the lady of the castle just happens to be listening.

* In "[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]", the woodcutter's youngest daughter marries a [[Talking Animal|bear]] who proves to be a prince.

* In "[[Brother and Sister]]", when the king find Sister in the woods, with her transformed brother, he marries her.

* A central portion of the "Persecuted Heroine" fairy tale type.

{{quote|''Oh, nettle-plant,

Little nettle-plant,

When I ate thee unboiled,

When I ate thee unroasted.'' }}

* In "[[Adalmina's Pearl|Adalminas Pearl]]", the cruel princess loses her [[MacGuffin|enchanted pearl]] and becomes a plain, dumb peasant girl. Thanks to a back up enchantment, her heart however turns good now, and stays that even after she gets the pearl back.

* In ''[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/075.htm The Grateful Prince]'', the prince goes to rescue [[Damsel in Distress|a peasant girl who was captive to an ogre]] because his father had promised him to the ogre, and substituted to the girl. After he does, he marries her.

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' has Ophelia as a Sleeping Beauty; she's the reincarnation of a fairy princess, but must pass many tests to prove she is still more royalty than human, and hasn't been corrupted by living among us.

** That's assuming the Faun is telling the truth, and is neither lying nor a product of Ophelia's imagination. [[Your Mileage May Vary]].

** Her first boyfriend wasn't a deadbeat, he had a perfectly good blue-collar job and before the movie ended had achieved his aim of owning his own boat. However he had no sympathy with her white-collar aspirations and he cheated on her.

* In ''[[In the Name of The King]]: A [[Dungeon Siege]] Tale'', [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|Farmer]] is a simple [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|farmer]] with no aspirations other than to grow crops and be a good husband and father. When his son is killed and his wife captured by the [[Evil Sorcerer]] [[Big Bad]], he goes to try to get her back and avenge his son. Meanwhile, the kingdom of Ehb is under seige from the sorcerer's mindless horde of creatures called the Krug. [[Burt Reynolds|King Konreid]] meets Farmer and is told by his wizard that Farmer is his long-lost son. Farmer neither believes him nor does he care. During the first battle with the Krug, the king is betrayed and mortally wounded by {{spoiler|his nephew Duke Fallow}}. On his deathbed, he convinces Farmer that the latter is his son. Farmer becomes King Camden Konreid.

 

== Literature ==

* The ''[[Belgariad]]'' had Garion, a male Sleeping Beauty.

* The original ''[[Deltora Quest]]'' series.

* Sergeant Nimashet Despreaux in [[John Ringo]]'s ''[[Prince Roger]]/March Upcountry'' series, who subverts the trope by recognizing that it is not a good idea for a bodyguard to be attracted to the person she's guarding. Also, since she is from a hick planet, she doesn't want to get anywhere near the [[Deadly Decadent Court]]. She actually has to be ORDERED by her CO to have a relationship with the prince because they need to get him out of a depressed funk. Later on, when he becomes heir to the throne, she gets cold feet. She then has to be ORDERED by her CO to marry him so that she can serve as his moderating influence and conscience.

* In the children's novel ''Just Ella,'' by Margaret Haddix, the trope is subverted. Having gotten to the ball by her own devices, she is dogged by rumors it was really a fairy godmother. She finds that court life is stifling, the poor are horribly downtrodden, and Prince Charming is stupid and unfeeling.

* {{spoiler|Octavian}} in the [[Codex Alera]] series is a male in the Sleeping Beauty style, and {{spoiler|his mother Isana}} was a Cinderella in the backstory and is a Goose Girl during the events of the main plot. {{spoiler|Octavian}} only reveals his birthright after he has proven himself a brilliant military commander.

* Jame, the heroine of P.C. Hodgell's [[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]] series, is a [[Sleeping Beauty]] type; she believes herself the outcast, ragtag daughter of a minor Lord, but she turns out to be the sister of the Highlord of the Kencyrath—a situation that doesn't make her all that happy, because she chafes under (and eventually rejects) the restrictions of the role.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "The Scarlet Citadel" [[Conan the Barbarian]] is proud of his going through this as a [[Self-Made Man]].

* In [[Josepha Sherman]]'s ''[[The Shining Falcon]]'', Maria is reduced to a peasant's life before gaining Finist's love.

* Bria in ''[[The Last Dove]]'' is the Sleeping Beauty Style.

 

* Guinevere does it Cinderella style on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' going from serving girl to Queen of Camelot in becoming Arthur's wife.

 

 

== Theater ==

** ''[[The Winter's Tale|The Winters Tale]]'': Perdita is raised as a shepherdess, although a princess.

 

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Fable II]]'' gives us an interesting example. [[The Hero]] is a pauper as a child, but then his/her [[Secret Legacy]] is discovered, which is that he/she is descended from a badass master of strength, marksmanship/litheness, and magic. After the tragic death of his/her sister at the hands of the [[Big Bad]], he/she grows up, masters the aforementioned skills, and defeats the [[Big Bad]]. However, rather than marry into royalty, he/she forms his/her '''own''' monarchy, and because he/she is a Hero (master of said skills), he/she and his/her children, the main characters of ''[[Fable III]]'', are referred to as nobility, and having royal blood.

** Which comes back to bite said family in the ass in the ''[[Fable III]]'' DLC "Traitor's Keep", when a general who was imprisoned by the Hero's despotic son stages a coup, and argues that the royal family is tyrannical and unnecessary, with no real claim to rule Albion besides its magic powers.

* It's strongly implied that [[Hello, Insert Name Here|the main character]] in ''[[Suikoden]] [[Suikoden IV|IV]]'' may, in fact, be {{spoiler|Prince of the Kingdom of Obel}}. This isn't a straight example, though, because said main character comes into his own independantly of royal lineage. (In fact, assuming the title would've been a ''drop'' in status by the time it comes up.) It does cast the fight with {{spoiler|King Lino}} in a [[Fridge Brilliance|new light]], though, doesn't it?

* In ''King's Quest III'', the slave Gwydion {{spoiler|is actually the long-lost Prince Alexander of Daventry}}.

* ''[[Dragon Quest V]]'''s protagonist. [[Kid Hero|Common kid]] --> [[Made a Slave|slave]] --> [[Walk the Earth|wanderer]] ---> [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|King of Gotha]]. It's just that he doesn't know it until he reaches his hometown. [[All Just a Dream|Not that we]] [[Or Was It a Dream?|don't see this coming.]]

 

* Villain example: In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', the demon lord Horribus (as well as his siblings Deplora and Terribus) were originally the demon equivalents of rednecks, with the simple names Horb, Plorb, and Terb, until Horribus's role in conquering the Dimension of Pain earned them all aristocratic status.

** The same occurs for long suffering member of Horribus's [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] {{spoiler|Psyk}}, who is made the new demon lord {{spoiler|Psykosis}}.

* While not a princess per se, Agatha Heterodyne in [[Girl Genius]] is a Sleeping Beauty type—the long-lost daughter and only survivor {{spoiler|besides her mother, who happens to be the [[Big Bad]], sort of}} of the powerful Heterodyne family. Raised by [[Parental Substitutes]] and protected from her heritage as a [[Mad Scientist|Spark]] by a locket her uncle made for her, she grows up having no idea she's heir to one of the most important families there is in a world run by [[Mad Scientists]].

* In ''[[Erstwhile]]'', Maid Maleen is a Goose Girl, All-Furs a Snow White, and the farmer's clever daughter is a Cinderella.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Rapunzel and {{spoiler|Flynn}} in ''[[Tangled]]''. Rapunzel is a Tippetarius Style, kidnapped as a baby so Mother Gothel can make use of her magic hair, while {{spoiler|Flynn}} is a {{spoiler|Cinderella Style, as he is an orphan and a thief who marries a princess (though he didn't know that she was royalty when he fell in love with her).}}

* Disney later subverts this with ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]''. Tiana marries Prince Naveen officially becomes a princess by marriage. But she dosen't get the royal treatment, but instead opens up her own restaurant with Naveen.

 

== Real Life ==

** Prince Edward's wife Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex, was also a commoner, as was Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Prince Andrew's ex-wife.

* Ditto [[wikipedia:Frida Lyngstad|Anni-Frid Princess Reuss of Plauen]], better known as Frida Lyngstad, the brunette from [[ABBA]]. Her late husband's country was absorbed into unified Germany after [[World War I]], meaning she has no real power, but it's still a long way to go from her childhood. (She was the product of her mother's affair with a German soldier during the [[World War Two|occupation of Norway]], and was raised by her grandmother to protect her from [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|the abuse war children received in Norway.]])

* King Rama IV of Thailand (you know, from ''The King and I'') spent twenty-seven years in a monastery after an usurper stole his father's throne. He was a devout monk who insisted on strict observance of the Southern School Buddhist monastic rules, which included things like chastity, moderation and poverty (a Buddhist monk is permitted a small number of robes, a begging bowl, a fan and very little else.) Upon the death of the usurper he became king, and inherited a whole load of palaces, servants and concubines.

* In a real-life "Goose Girl" example, King Clovis II of France (7th century) married an Anglo-Saxon noble who'd been sold into slavery.

* While ''not'' exactly royalty, more than one [[The Pope|Roman catholic Pope]] started his life in poverty or as mere middle-class and ended up as the highest authority in Catholicism. Some examples are: St. Pius X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, [[Country Mouse]] and son of a post office worker in a tiny village), Blessed John XXIII (Angelo Roncalli, doubling as a [[Country Mouse]] and an [[Impoverished Patrician]] since his sharecropper family descended from a secondary noble branch) and Blessed John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla, son of a Polish ex-military officer, thus as much urban middle-class).

* Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark began her life as an accounts manager for several advertising agencies, and later a realtor specializing in luxury properties. Cue the Sydney Olympics, Crown Prince Frederik and a pub, and let the fairytale begin.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Royalty and Nobility Tropes]]

[[Category:The Makeover]]

[[Category:Plots]]

[[Category:Poverty Tropes]]