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{{trope}}
The King, [[The Emperor]], or the high commander has become terminally ill, but lingers on his deathbed for weeks or months. His loyal retainers stand vigil at his side, mourning the loss of their leader and dreading the moment of his death... or are they? Is seems the anticipated power vacuum has kicked off furious machinations among the members of the court. Heirs and aspirants to the throne are collecting as many supporters as they can beg, bribe or threaten. There may even be whispers of [[Civil War]].
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If the royal power is still lucid, he or she may be desperately [[Thanatos Gambit|trying to prevent]] the looming anarchy, but hindered by their lack of trustworthy lieutenants. If the illness is such that they are senile, insane, or comatose, they will [[Succession Crisis|not yet have named their heir]], or left standing orders that make things awkward for everyone, but no one has the authority to rescind them.
If it wasn't a [[Deadly Decadent Court]], it probably is now. Expect to see power plays by [[The Grand Vizier]], [[The Evil Prince]], The [[Royal Bastard]]
{{examples|Examples}}▼
{{deathtrope}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[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.
** {{spoiler|What leads to Xerxes' destruction - the king wants immortality when he realizes he's dying and follows [[Deal
* 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 ==
* The Skeksis emperor in ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', leading to [[Trial
▲* The Skeksis emperor in ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', leading to [[Trial By Combat]] for his succession.
* 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]].
* Prince Humperdinck's father in ''[[The Princess Bride (
* 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.
* Kicks off the plot in ''[[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 proves his worthiness to be the next king. Young Stefan wins the crown and prevents chaos in the wake of Henry's death by {{spoiler|drugging the faerie girl he claims to love and ''cutting off her wings with [[Cold Iron]]''.}}
== Literature ==
* ''[[Chalion|The Hallowed Hunt]]'': The king falls ill before a successor has been elected. Everyone in the kingdom plots to advance themselves or their candidate, all the while {{spoiler|the ''true'' immortal king of the Weald, at last completes his incredibly complex [[Gambit Roulette]] to reclaim the hallow kingship}}.
* ''[[Vorkosigan Saga|Cordelia's Honor]]'': [[Magnificent Bastard|The Emperor]] is terminally ill, but still as lucid and conniving as ever.
* ''[[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 (
* 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
* 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 ''[[
=== Poetry
* 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.▼
== Tabletop Games ==
* In [[Warhammer
** Something similar played out with his rebel son Konrad Curze, whose descent into crippling madness tore his legion apart long before he died. His assassination by a Calidus assassin was more of an excuse for the [[Night Lords]] to dissolve than an actual reason to do so.
* ''[[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).
== Theater ==▼
* 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]].
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'': This situation kicks off the War of The Lions.
* ''[[King's Quest I]]''.{{context}}
▲* 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.
== Real Life ==
* Edward the Confessor{{context}}▼
▲* Edward the Confessor
* 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
* [[Alexander the Great]]{{context}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Authority Tropes]]
[[Category:Royalty and Nobility Tropes]]
[[Category:Death Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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