# Has there ever been a book/movie about someone REFUSING a throne? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373 "2013-05-15T03:34:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/1 "2013-05-15T03:34:26Z")
Specifically a US citizen that is. There’s been tons of books, also movies, where an American finds that they have a claim to, or can take, the throne of another country, usually European. There’s the _Princess Diaries_, also made into a movie. There was _King Ralph_, the movie, with John Goodman. Even Edgar Rice Burroughs had a swing at it, with _The Mad King_. And there’s a host, I’m sure, of lesser works. But has there been a story wherein the American who could become a monarch refuses to do so, for whatever reason? “Dammit, I’m an _American_, Jim, not a monarch!” Why _ **do** _ little girls fantasize about being princesses? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/2 "2013-05-15T14:20:51Z")
This happens in the children’s book _A Royal Pain_, by Ellen Conford. A girl discovers that she was switched at birth, and she moves back to her country to be a princess. She hates it, and the former princess hates being an American, and they make themselves so obnoxious that both sets of parents pretend that the original mistake never happened. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/3 "2013-05-15T14:31:13Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > There was _King Ralph_, the movie, with John Goodman. You remember how that one ended, right? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/4 "2013-05-15T14:54:11Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Specifically a US citizen that is. > > There’s been tons of books, also movies, where an American finds that they have a claim to, or can take, the throne of another country, usually European. There’s the _Princess Diaries_, also made into a movie. There was _King Ralph_, the movie, with John Goodman. Even Edgar Rice Burroughs had a swing at it, with _The Mad King_. And there’s a host, I’m sure, of lesser works. > > But has there been a story wherein the American who could become a monarch refuses to do so, for whatever reason? “Dammit, I’m an _American_, Jim, not a monarch!” > > Why _ **do** _ little girls fantasize about being princesses? Two characters in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series have refused the throne of Ankh-Morpork - and one of them is in fact the legitimate heir (details avoided so as not to spoil things). In Charles Stross’ Merchant Princes series, a woman from our world learns that she is a rich and powerful duchess in another world - but medieval society, even for a noble, is far worse than middle-class American life, so she struggles to avoid being entangled in that society as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/5 "2013-05-15T15:35:16Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Why _ **do** _ little girls fantasize about being princesses? Power, subservient citizens bowing to you and catering to your wishes, bling (ponies and pretty dresses), and usually light on the responsibility end of things. If you’re unlucky you’ll need some dude to help you defeat the Big Bad but after that, it’s all Happily Ever After and you’re set. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/6 "2013-05-15T16:29:58Z")
FADE IN on SNOOKUMS, an outstandingly pretty, shining apple-cheeked teenager, checking her cell phone. SNOOKUMS: “OMG, guys, my great-aunt on my mother’s side, Marie, the Queen of South Northeast Roumaniacland, just died!” BOOKSIE, who we can tell is smart because she wears glasses: “I was just reading about her on The Straight Dope. She has no heirs, except maybe for one who escaped to America after their civil war and was adopted by two lesbian and two gay parents!” SNOOKUMS: “Yes, that’s me! The text says I’m the new Queen of South Northeast Roumaniacland!” BOOKSIE and EXTRAS: “Your Majesty!” SNOOKUMS: “Don’t be silly. I’m not going back to that hellhole when I’ve got you guys. And a Pinkberry.” BOOKSIE, to herself in voiceover: ‘That means I still have a chance to marry her!’ THE END Running time, 36 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/7 "2013-05-15T16:35:07Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You remember how that one ended, right? I do, he gave it up. But not for his son. If you look at the credits in the movie his son, whom you see as a toddler right at the end, is listed as “Ralph II”. So I guess it went from O’Tooles character to the boy sometime later on. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/8 "2013-05-15T18:16:42Z")
There used to be a text computer game based on _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. As the player, you were given situations and then offered a choice of what you would do. Then based on your choice, you’d go on to the next situation. One of the first situations you face is when your friend Ford Prefect offers you an opportunity to hitch a ride on a passing Vogon ship. You can join him or decline his offer and hang out in the bar. If you decide to stay in the bar, the game tells you that you have a few drinks, make some new friends, tell some jokes, everyone thinks you’re a great guy, and then you die as the Earth blows up. The end. Game over. The point is that you don’t hear stories about the people who refuse to do something worth telling a story about. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/9 "2013-05-15T20:58:04Z")
I’m sure there was a Star Trek episode or two where one of the characters was offered a chance to marry some space princess and rule her world, but declined because he was already married to the ship or some such. Or does it only count it they refuse to inherit the throne, not if they refuse to marry into it? ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/10 "2013-05-15T22:23:08Z")
In Raymond Feist’s first “Magician” (Riftwar) books, there are three brothers inheriting the throne and two abdicating in favor of the third. That’s not what the tales are about, though. It’s just an interesting point in the story’s development. G! Milamber for President - 2016 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/11 "2013-05-15T22:25:33Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m sure there was a Star Trek episode or two where one of the characters was offered a chance to marry some space princess and rule her world, but declined because he was already married to the ship or some such. > > Or does it only count it they refuse to inherit the throne, not if they refuse to marry into it? Yes, I was thinking that there must be some romances in which the protagonist has to choose between taking the kingdom (and the spouse that comes with it) or the humble American boyfriend/girlfriend. Sort of a variant on Edward VIII. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/12 "2013-05-16T01:24:30Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > In Raymond Feist’s first “Magician” (Riftwar) books, there are three brothers inheriting the throne and two abdicating in favor of the third. That’s not what the tales are about, though. It’s just an interesting point in the story’s development. > > G! > > Milamber for President - 2016 Man, this is what I came in here to say. And for a moment I was trying to remember who the other brother was, but… 😉 Now the only thing I have is last week’s Doctor Who episode. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/13 "2013-05-16T01:30:28Z")
The early P. G. Wodehouse novel [_The Prince and Betty_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince_and_Betty) has a young heir to a small Mediterranean princedom ruling for about a week before abdicating. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/14 "2013-10-01T17:11:26Z")
_King Ralph_ was loosely based on a 1980 novel, which I read not long ago: [Headlong (Williams novel) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlong_(Williams_novel)) (warning: spoilers!). Very different from the movie, and much, much better, although there were two plot points which had me rolling my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/15 "2013-10-01T17:33:37Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > There was _King Ralph_, the movie, with John Goodman. Just to make it clear, Ralph accepts the throne and abdicates, but only because it turns out that Peter O’Toole’s character was higher in the succession list and he had refused the throne by failing to let anyone know that. Good movie. The gorgeous princess with the beer-hall baritone never fails to crack me up. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/16 "2013-10-01T17:43:39Z")
In Tad Williams _Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn_: the country descends into civil war between the newly ascended king, who is a power-mad tyrant, and his younger brother. At the end of the series, the king is killed, and the younger brother fakes his own death to escape the throne, allowing it to be passed on to the series’ protagonist, who is descended from an older line of monarchs thought to have been extinguished. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/17 "2013-10-01T18:12:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The point is that you don’t hear stories about the people who refuse to do something worth telling a story about. Well, yeah. You don’t refuse to go along at the beginning of the story. You refuse to accept the crown at the _end_ of the story. Of course, in real life there’s [Cincinnatus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnatus). Doctor Who was named the President of Gallifrey at the end of **The Five Doctors** , but runs away. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/18 "2013-10-01T18:19:28Z")
In Lois Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, the titular hero is never actually offered the throne of Barrayar, and one of his primary motivations throughout the series is to keep it that way. His father was the Regent for the current Emperor of Barrayar, when he was still to young to rule, and just about everyone expected him to quietly do away with the kid and take the throne for himself. He didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/19 "2013-10-01T18:28:27Z")
In robin McKinley’s _[Spindle’s End](http://www.amazon.com/Spindles-End-ebook/dp/B0023EFB4Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1380651692&sr=8-5&keywords=Robin+McKinley)_, the princess and her best friend Peony decide the friend is far more princess-like and would love the life far more than the actual princess, so they just say Peony’s the princess. **Miller** - IMHO, Miles never had a chance to take the throne of Barrayar, even if he wanted it, which he didn’t. He was perceived as a mutie and someone would’ve taken him out, even with Sgt. Bothari guarding him. His father could easily have ascended the throne, though. StG ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373/20 "2013-10-01T19:06:07Z")
At the end of _ **Conan the Destroyer** _, Arnold Schwarzenegger was given the chance to marry the princess (Olivia D’Abo) and rule her land with her. But he walked out on her, saying “I will have my OWN kingdom, and my own queen.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-book-movie-about-someone-refusing-a-throne/658373.md?page=2)