History Main / RegentForLife

* UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco was officially Regent of the Kingdom, among other jobs. Despite popular belief, he was not a Fascist but an Ultra-Conservative and a Monarchist (the Fascist party came to despise him for this, despite him having a lot in common with them on issues other than monarchism), and was ostensibly holding power until the rightful King stepped in... though he didn't actually say who that was until 6 years before his death. The man in question was the son of the Legitimist [[BigDamnHero Juan Carlos]] (conveniently, a descendant of ''both'' of the competing branches of the royal family), who upon Franco's death promptly declared a liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy (and squashed a coup attempt by fascist/neo-Francoist officers by going on television to ''expressly authorize the elected government to order the rest of the Spanish Armed Forces to squash the coup'' if the offending officers didn't stand down).

* UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco was officially Regent of the Kingdom, among other jobs. Despite popular belief, he was not a Fascist but an Ultra-Conservative and a Monarchist (the Fascist party came to despise him for this, despite him having a lot in common with them on issues other than monarchism), and was ostensibly holding power until the rightful King stepped in... though he didn't actually say who that was until 6 years before his death. The man in question was the son of the Legitimist [[BigDamnHero Juan Carlos]] (conveniently, a descendant of ''both'' of the competing branches of the royal family), who upon Franco's death promptly declared a liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria believed that she had only by the grace of God avoided a RegentForLife. When she was seventeen and recovering from typhoid fever, her mother's "friend" Sir John Conroy tried to make her sign a document stating that her mother, and through her Conroy, would rule in her place ''even after she turned eighteen''. Victoria had the presence of mind to refuse to sign the document, and it's unlikely that Parliament would have consented to such an agreement, but it was only her accession as Queen at eighteen that stopped Conroy from repeatedly pressing her to make him her regent. (It may also have helped that her uncle, [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover King William IV]], saw right through his sister-in-law's schemes and gave made it known he supported his niece's efforts to remain independent.)[[note]]Some even say that he clung to life despite his illness as long as he did so that Victoria could inherit at 18, at which point she would have to be recognized as monarch without a regency, basically for this reason. While we can't say for sure that's even possible, we can say that William would have done it if it were--he said so himself (and insulted Victoria's mother in the process; see the Real Life section of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech page for the full takedown).[[/note]] In fact, her entire life before her ascension as Queen was designed to make her this. She was raised under the Kensington System, which was a strict and elaborate set of rules designed by her mother and Conroy to make her weak and dependent, which thankfully did not work.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria believed that she had only by the grace of God avoided a RegentForLife. When she was seventeen and recovering from typhoid fever, her mother's "friend" Sir John Conroy tried to make her sign a document stating that her mother, and through her Conroy, would rule in her place ''even after she turned eighteen''. Victoria had the presence of mind to refuse to sign the document, and it's unlikely that Parliament would have consented to such an agreement, but it was only her accession as Queen at eighteen that stopped Conroy from repeatedly pressing her to make him her regent. (It may also have helped that her uncle, [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover King William IV]], saw right through his sister-in-law's schemes and gave made it known he supported his niece's efforts to remain independent.)[[note]]Some even say that he clung to life despite his illness as long as he did so that Victoria could inherit at 18, at which point she would have to be recognized as monarch without a regency, basically for this reason. While we can't say for sure that's even possible, we can say that William would have done it if it were.[[/note]] In fact, her entire life before her ascension as Queen was designed to make her this. She was raised under the Kensington System, which was a strict and elaborate set of rules designed by her mother and Conroy to make her weak and dependent, which thankfully did not work.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheMalloreon''. The King of Drasnia dies, leaving his young son on the throne. The boy's mother becomes regent and is very careful about steadily increasing his responsibilities, so that he'll be ready once she steps down. (It helps that Belgarion, for all intents and purposes a MessianicArchetype, is practically the kid's godfather - everyone would want to take over Drasnia with just a boy-king and a woman running it, but ''nobody'' will screw with the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Godslayer]].)
** Played straight in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' with the Warders of Riva, who have been waiting for their king for several hundred years. Like the Stewards of Gondor, they are hereditary regents, though unlike Denethor, the last one welcomes back his king. One of his sons, on the other hand, was so enraged at seeing his father's power be usurped he tried to kill Garion.
** An interesting variant occurred in the prequel novels - after Riva's queen Beldaran died, he was too grief-stricken to rule his kingdom. So he declared the crown prince to be his regent and went into seclusion. By the time the king actually died and the regent became king in truth, he'd been away from the public eye for so long that a lot of the peasants in the kingdom were surprised that he had still been alive up to that point.

** Empress Katariah (A [[OurElvesAreBetter Dunmeri]] Duchess, the sole non-human to hold the Imperial throne during the Septim dynasty) officially became Empress-Regent not long after becoming Empress -- her marriage to [[TheCaligula Pelagius the Mad]] was arranged by Pelagius' father specifically ''because'' she was a shrewd and capable politician that could help cover for Pelagius' eccentricities, and right from the coronation most actual power was held by Katariah and the Elder Council. However, by the two year mark of Pelagius' reign, his madness had become too publicly apparent, and Katariah was officially granted regency, holding it until Pelagius' death (at which point she assumed the throne and ruled in her own right in what is widely recorded as one of the most prosperous, peaceful periods of the Septim Empire).

* North Korea is a necrocracy, based on the rules of its late ruler, Kim Il-sung. After his death, he was elevated to the highest position as "eternal leader" while his successors are technically second in command as the "Supreme Leader.

* ''Jagged Alliance 2'' has it's intro sequence show billboards near Omerta with the caption 'Queen Deidranna- your Queen for life!' Which doesn't actually sound all that dystopian and BananaRepublic-like unless you know from [[AllThereInTheManual in-game briefings]] that the country was an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elective_monarchy elective monarchy]] with a parliament and considerably less tyranny going on until she poisoned the King and framed her husband the Crown Prince for it.

* [[TheBaroness Haman Khan]] is Mineva Lao Zabi's regent in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ''. While the princess is nominally the leader of Axis-Zeon, Haman is the one who's really in charge (Mineva was roughly eight years old at the time) and acts as Mineva's EvilChancellor, commander-in-chief of her armed forces, and dictator of Axis in all but name. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:it's not even been the real Mineva sitting on the throne since the end of ''Zeta'', and that Haman has had her replaced with a BodyDouble who's incapable of doing anything but parroting Haman's orders. This was actually [[PetTheDog one of the nicer things Haman ever did]], as it allowed Mineva to grow up with some semblance of a normal childhood. It's suggested that Char's calling her out on treating Mineva that way in ''Zeta'' was a factor in her deciding this.]]

* [[TheBaroness Haman Khan]] is Mineva Lao Zabi's regent in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ''. While the princess is nominally the leader of Axis-Zeon, Haman is the one who's really in charge and acts as Mineva's EvilChancellor, commander-in-chief of her armed forces, and dictator of Axis in all but name. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:it's not even been the real Mineva sitting on the throne since the end of ''Zeta'', and that Haman has had her replaced with a BodyDouble who's incapable of doing anything but parrotting Haman's orders. This was actually [[PetTheDog one of the nicer things Haman ever did]], as it allowed Mineva to grow up with some semblance of a normal childhood. It's suggested that Char's calling her out on treating Mineva that way in ''Zeta'' was a factor in her deciding this.]]

* Yzma in ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', although her official title is Advisor (and in this case, "for life" ''really'' carries some weight).

There is also, of course, the possibility that Princess Alice is [[TheCaligula an absolute nightmare]], and it is better to keep Charlie the regent and avoid [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Alice the tyrant]]. Expect BlackAndGrayMorality and other tropes of this nature to kick in as people question Charlie's legitimacy (which, admittedly, he lacks) and motives (which may well extend beyond altruistic intentions, especially if his struggles have made him cynical). [[HeWhoFightsMonsters This can ultimately]] lead to a horrible situation where [[BlackAndBlackMorality both Alice and Charlie are monsters,]] forcing a third party to step in.

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'', if a ruler is too young or becomes mentally incapable, the game appoints a regent from their court, often a parent or a spouse, but if neither of those are available, it will be a random courtier. This trope would be impossible for a too-young ruler, as the regency automatically ends when the ruler turns 16 but an incapable ruler's regent could continuing ruling until they die, the ruler dies or are replaced with another regent, making the trope possible in that case.

** Averted by Ezar Vorbarra, who picked the one man that he ''knew'' didn't want Imperial Power to be Regent for his grandson, Prince Gregor. When Gregor finally came of age, Aral willing stepped aside from Imperial power, becoming his Prime Minister in a strictly advisory role. Aral knew that he had succeeded in raising a true Emperor on the day that Gregor went against his advice when dealing with an interstellar crisis (though Aral still found it to be something of a shock).

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'', if a ruler is too young or becomes mentally incapable, the game appoints a regent from their court, often a parent or a spouse, but if neither of those are available, it will be a random courtier. This trope would be impossible for a too-young ruler, as the regent automatically ends when the ruler turns 16 but an incapable ruler's regent could continuing ruling until they die, the ruler dies or are replaced with another regent, making the trope possible in that case.

* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'': Gondor has a line of stewards that has been in charge for over twenty-five generations. While in the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings books]] the current steward would have been willing to give up the throne despite his mounting insanity (though he might have denied Aragorn as the rightful king, he dies before the question can come up), in the [[Film/LordOfTheRings films]] Denethor and his son Baromir both declare "Gondor has no king--Gondor needs no king." The game follows this, with Talion and the other Gondorians proud to be a country without a king, and consider themselves more free than any other because of it. When Celebrimbor points out that the steward is exactly the same as a king, Talion ignores him.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria believed that she had only by the grace of God avoided a RegentForLife. When she was seventeen and recovering from typhoid fever, her mother's "friend" Sir John Conroy tried to make her sign a document stating that her mother, and through her Conroy, would rule in her place ''even after she turned eighteen''. Victoria had the presence of mind to refuse to sign the document, and it's unlikely that Parliament would have consented to such an agreement, but it was only her accession as Queen at eighteen that stopped Conroy from repeatedly pressing her to make him her regent. In fact, her entire life before her ascension as Queen was designed to make her this. She was raised under the Kensington System, which was a strict and elaborate set of rules designed by her mother and Conroy to make her weak and dependent, which thankfully did not work.

* Yvonne Steiner-Davion of ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' was essentially this. When her brother, Victor, abdicated the throne, he chose her as his successor. However, she could not take the throne as First Prince as she had previously been a regent and was thus barred from the succession. Instead, she ruled as regent to her son, Harrison....who had not been born or even conceived when she took the throne. She is a rare benign example, as she was technically the right ruler and her rule was prosperous.

** [[DatedHistory It was once thought]] that Hatshepsut fit this trope. For a long, most historians believed that she had maliciously kept the throne from her stepson Thutmose III for thirty years, only allowing him to control the Army while she ran everything else. When she died, the story went, Thutmose immediately destroyed or covered up all of her monuments in an attempt to erase his wicked stepmother from the historical record. However, it's since been discovered that Thutmose didn't destroy any of her monuments until decades after her death, and other historians have pointed out that if Thutmose hadn't liked Hatshepsut being in power he could have disposed of her the day he reached adulthood, since ''he controlled the Army''. It's now suspected that Thutmose and Hatshepsut were ''friends and allies'' who ruled together peacefully, Thutmose conducting Egypt's many military campaigns while Hatshepsut stayed at home and dealt with the domestic matters that the budding YoungConqueror Thutmose didn't care about. As for her name being defaced off her monuments, many historians believe that Thutmose's successor [[GloryHound Amenhotep II]] simply wanted to take credit for building them himself.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'': It's AllThereInTheManual that [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] came into power when the current Earth King was coronated at the age of four. Though an adult by the time of the series, the Earth King seems happy letting Long Feng rule over most practical matters, and Long Feng, for his part, is such a MagnificentBastard that he's managed to keep the King from even knowing that the Earth Kingdom has been at war for the last ''century.''

* The Byzantine Empress [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Eirene]] started out as regent for her son... then, when he got too old to be kept under control, had him blinded and killed and took power in her own right, disarming the army so it wouldn't replace her (which, incidentally, let the Abbasid Caliph conquer large parts of the empire) and trying (largely unsuccessfully) to negotiate alliances with western powers as a military substitute. She was the first ruling Empress of the Romans, depending on whether or not you believe Ulpia Severina ruled as Empress regnant after her husband, [[MagnificentBastard Aurelian]], was assassinated.

* The Stewards of Gondor in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are a family of hereditary regents, generally good ones. They rule Gondor after the last king disappears. Unfortunately, the only one we actually ''meet'' in the books and films alike is Denethor, mentally unhinged by the loss of his favorite son, the hordes of Mordor at his doorstep, and finally by the EvilOverlord himself through the seeing-stone which Denethor foolishly thought he could control. In [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the movies]], possibly due to {{Flanderization}}, he and Boromir both make it very clear that "Gondor has no king. Gondor ''needs'' no king." In the book, Denethor says, his rule "is mine and no other man's, unless the king should come again" (''[=LoTR=]'' V 1). Denethor might be perfectly willing, even overjoyed, to yield to a king, but we never learn whether Denethor would accept Aragorn as the king.
** Gandalf tries to conceal from Denethor the coming of Aragorn. Denethor would have a solid precedent for refusing to give Aragorn the throne: Aragorn's ancestor Arvedui tried to claim the throne of Gondor, and they turned him down. Aragorn isn't a direct male-line descendant of Anárion. He's descended from Anárion's older brother Isildur, who ''was'' King of Gondor even though his children weren't, and he also descends from Anárion through his ancestress Fíriel, a daughter of the last king of the senior line of Gondor and wife of Arvedui, so there are arguments to be made both ways.

* [[TheBaroness Haman Khan]] is Mineva Lao Zabi's regent in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ''. While the princess is nominally the leader of Axis-Zeon, Haman is the one who's really in charge and acts as Mineva's EvilChancellor, commander-in-chief of her armed forces, and dictator of Axis in all but name. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:it's not even been the real Mineva sitting on the throne since the end of ''Zeta'', and that Haman has had her replaced with a BodyDouble who's incapable of doing anything but parrotting Haman's orders. This was actually one of the nicer things Haman ever did, as it allowed Mineva to grow up with some semblance of a normal childhood. It's suggested that Char's calling her out on treating Mineva that way in ''Zeta'' was a factor in her deciding this.]]

* This is one [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation possible view]] of Morgan Fey's motives in the ''VideoGame/AceAttorney'' series. With her younger sister, Misty, in hiding, Morgan was the one who raised Maya (the only surviving descendant of Misty and next-in-line as Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique). Morgan is quite determined to get Maya either arrested or killed to ensure that her own daughter becomes the next Master... except her daughter is eight, so sheltered that she has very little knowledge of life outside of the village, and utterly convinced that her mother is the kindest person ever and that she should do anything her mother asks of her.

* The Byzantine Empress [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Eirene]] started out as regent for her son... then, when he got too old to be kept under control, had him blinded and killed and took power in her own right, disarming the army so it wouldn't replace her (which, incidentally, let the Abbasid Caliph conquer large parts of the empire) and trying (largely unsuccessfully) to negotiate alliances with western powers as a military substitute. She was the first ruling empress of the Byzantines.

* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'' plays this one straight. Alhazred connived his way into the king's trust and became TheVizier, [[spoiler: then arranged for one of his pals to kidnap and enslave the princess, getting the only heir to the throne out of the way. followed by murdering the king and queen, then claiming they "died of grief."]] Since the kingdom is more or less a confederacy of lesser island kingdoms [[spoiler: he arraged for his genie to swipe treasures from each island, then spread lies that ''other'' islands were responsible, deftly playing on the prejudice of each island]], followed by grounding the only means of mundane transport between the islands so they couldn't communicate with each other, much less scheme against him. Even the Princess's return wasn't an issue. He just [[spoiler: imprisoned her, covered it by invoking a dated tradition]], and declared AndNowYouMustMarryMe. Only the blind luck and determination of the [[SpannerInTheWorks Prince]] [[GuileHero of]] [[BadassFamily Daventry]] exposed ''any'' of it.

* Worf was OfferedTheCrown in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneraton'' a few different times, including being Regent to the house of Duras. Worf refused both times. However, his MirrorUniverse counterpart seems to have taken such an offer, and rules the Alliance as Regent.

* Nerissa in ''Film/Enchanted'' seems to be this; it's implied her stepson, Edward, is supposed to be ruling the kingdom, but prefers to ride around acting like a KnightErrant and lets her rule it for him. That's why she fears the idea of him marrying Giselle; him settling down would mean her losing the kingdom to him and Giselle.