History Main / RoyalBlood

* Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': In ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'', Jadis treats with contempt the notion that Uncle Andrew could be anything but a king: Royal Blood and magic go together. Whoever heard of commoners being magicians? Whether this is AuthorityEqualsAsskicking or -- in light of her ruthless use of magic for power -- AsskickingEqualsAuthority is not clear, but she certainly treats it as the former.

* In ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'', the fifth installment of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', deuteragonist [[RebelliousPrincess Aravis]] is a Tarkheena (high-ranking noblewoman in [[TheEmpire Calormen]]) whose family is directly descended from the GodEmperor Ilsombreh Tisroc.

* In Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ''Ballad of Lady Clare'', the titular lady is the daughter of a deceased earl and betrothed to her cousin, Lord Ronald. The day before the wedding, however, her aged nurse confesses that the earl's real daughter died in infancy -- Lady Clare is the nurse's daughter, whom she substituted for the dead baby. Everything she inherited from the man she thought was her father rightfully belongs to Lord Ronald, who is the next in line. When she tells him, however, he assures her that her lack of royal blood doesn't bother him at all; [[HeartwarmingMoment they'll still get married the next day as planned, "and you shall still be Lady Clare."]]

* People with the surname Fitzroy (or an ancestor with that surname) are typically illegitimate descendants of a (British or English) king.[[note]]"Fitz" is a specifically Anglo-Norman thing, derived from the Old Norman pronunciation of the word for "son" (''fiz'', pronounced "fits", derived from Latin ''filius'' and related to French ''fils''), but used in a way unknown in the rest of the Romance-speaking world: the custom of using your language's form of "someone's son" as a surname was a Germanic--especially Scandinavian--thing, and while the Normans spoke French, they were in many ways still Vikings--even after almost 200 years in France--when they conquered England.[[/note]] Other Fitzes have been used for the illegitimate children of royalty, most notably [=FitzClarence=], the illegitimate children of [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover King William IV of the United Kingdom]] (the children were all born while he was still the Duke of Clarence); [=FitzCharles=], for some of the illegitimate children of Charles II (others used Fitzroy or [=FitzRoy=],[[note]]One of the most famous holders of the name used the latter; Robert [=FitzRoy=], a fifth-generation descendant of Charles II, was the captain of HMS ''Beagle'' during Creator/CharlesDarwin's famous voyage to South America; the captain himself was a pioneer of meteorology and weather forecasting and eventually became the second Governor of New Zealand, where he has a good reputation for his defense of Māori land rights.[[/note]] the name of their mother's husband, or in one case, the odd choice of "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Tudor Tudor]]"); and Fitzjames, the illegitimate children of [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart James II]]. Most people whose name is "Fitzsomething" aren't royal bastards, though. (For example, Henry II of England was known as Henry Fitzempress because he was the son of the claimant Matilda, who was the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V before marrying Henry II's father.)

* The various royal lines of the [[WarriorPrince Ancient Belka kings]] in ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' come with various powers that allow them to become [[PersonOfMassDestruction Persons of Mass Destruction]]. The reason behind this isn't as idealistic as most examples though. During the [[LensmanArmsRace Ancient Belka War]], the different factions delved deeply into [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetic engineering to seek an upper hand over everyone else]], and their kings greatly modified themselves to not only gain these powers power, [[SuperpowerfulGenetics but to force these powers onto their descendants as well]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has the [[PhysicalGod Diamonds]], which are revered as the next best things to goddesses by the other Gems. With the reveal of [[spoiler:Rose Quartz being actually Pink Diamond, Steven is not half-Quartz, but rather ''[[SemiDivine half-Diamond]]'', and therefore, as the son of Pink Diamond, he is the second generation of the Diamonds, yet ironically he is the only one with blood.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has the [[PhysicalGod Diamonds]], which are revered as the next best things to goddesses by the other Gems. When it's revealed that [[spoiler:Rose Quartz is actually Pink Diamond, Steven is not half-Quartz, but [[SemiDivine half-Diamond]], and therefore, as the son of Pink Diamond, he is the second generation of the Diamonds, yet ironically he is the only one with blood.]]

* Flora, in the ''ProfessorLayton'' games, is the daughter of a baron. Her genealogical connection to the royal family forms part of the plot of the bonus game ''Professor Layton's London Life''.

* In ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/185.htm The False Prince And The True]]'', a young man is put on trial for his life because he struck the prince. He saves himself by revealing that the purported prince was a quarryman's son, and he is the king's son by a secret marriage.
* In ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/076.htm The Lute Player]]'', the couple are the king and queen.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/maidmaleen/index.html Maid Maleen]]'', she is a princess.

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/facetiousnights/night4_fable1.html Costanza / Costanzo]]'', Costanza nobly rejects the notion of marrying below her Royal Blood.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/hopomythumb/stories/beeorangetree.html The Bee and the Orange Tree]]'', the girl living with the ogres who saves the prince is herself a princess -- and the prince's own cousin.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/finettecendron.html Finette Cedron]]'', the sisters are abandoned by their parents in the woods for reasons of poverty -- even though they are king and queen.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/rushen.html Rushen Coatie]]'', the heroine is a princess.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/aulnoy/1892/princessbelleetoile.html Princess Belle-Etoile]]'', the story requires that the heroine be in poverty in the opening, so she's the daughter of a princess in reduced circumstances.

** In the ''TabletopGame/{{Birthright}}'' campaign setting, characters with royal blood have a divine power known as Regency.

* In ''Bleach'', more and more characters are revealed to be of Noble blood, [[spoiler: including Nanao, in her backstory and even Ichigo and Issin themselves]] that it can feel like an overused, uninspired reveal in later chapters or break WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief

Royal Blood! It's real, it's significant, and only the person who's really got it is suitable for the throne. Obviously required for the RightfulKingReturns. In {{Fantasy}}, may actually [[RoyaltySuperPower endow the person with magical powers]], or even be required [[FisherKing by the land]] (and, unfortunately, making it useful in BloodMagic). Features even in SF for a FeudalFuture. And when it comes to being OfferedTheCrown, Royal Blood may encourage them to choose you.

SuperTrope of RoyaltySuperpower. May lead to the ManInTheIronMask or HiddenBackupPrince. Will likely be inherent in a PrincessClassic and PrinceCharming. Obviously common in the StandardRoyalCourt or DeadlyDecadentCourt. Will often appear with ErmineCapeEffect and RequisiteRoyalRegalia, where royalty uses visible clothing to show off their status -- all the time. Conversely, ModestRoyalty may appear humbly dressed all the time. (In RealLife, royalty will usually dress practically, and in special circumstances, dress to impress.)

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/index.html The Six Swans]]'', both the heroine and her six brothers.

** To illustrate this point, a 12-year-old student BridgeAnne d’Avignon doing a simple project into lineages managed to prove that every single American President (up to Obama, as this happened during his term), with the sole exception of UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, is descended from King John of England. (Yes, this includes UsefulNotes/BarackObama, through his distinctly Anglo mother.) As if to highlight this further, Van Buren is also the only President to whom English was a second language (he was ethnically Dutch and had Dutch as a first language).

** To illustrate this point, a student doing a simple project into lineages managed to prove that every single American President (up to Obama, as this happened during his term), with the sole exception of UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, is descended from King John of England. (Yes, this includes UsefulNotes/BarackObama, through his distinctly Anglo mother.) As if to highlight this further, Van Buren is also the only President to whom English was a second language (he was ethnically Dutch and had Dutch as a first language).

** To illustrate this point, a student doing a simple project into lineages managed to prove that every single American President, with the sole exception of UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, is descended from King John of England. (Yes, this includes UsefulNotes/BarackObama, through his distinctly Anglo mother.) As if to highlight this further, Van Buren is also the only President to whom English was a second language (he was ethnically Dutch and had Dutch as a first language).

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' those with royal blood on either side of the war are able to use Dragon Veins [[GeoEffects to manipulate the environment]]. This is due to being descended from dragons (the Dawn Dragon for the Hoshidan royals, the Dusk Dragon for the Nohrian royals, [[spoiler: and the GreaterScopeVillain for the Avatar]]. Note that it ''is'' possible to give non-royals [[spoiler: (and their children, but only if said kids are recruited ''after'' that]]) the ability by giving them [[http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/First_Blood the First Blood item]], but actually ''getting'' said First Blood [[NintendoHard is a pain in the butt.]]]

[[quoteright:302:[[TsaristRussia http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coronation.JPG]]]]

* ''Film/TheLastCommand'': General Sergius, Tzar's cousin.
* ''Film/{{Stardust}}'' has their royalty reappear as ghosts if they die before the next king is crowned (which they likely will, because it's a family tradition to bump the male siblings off, and the last man standing gets the crown). Unfortunately, their ghosts look the same way they did at their time of death, [[spoiler:which makes it awkward if you got killed while in the bath]]. They also are apparently ''literal'' Blue Bloods. [[spoiler:Or at least, that would explain why Septimus isn't surprised at all to see his brother dead in a bathtub, with his throat slit and a blue bloodstain down his front. On the other hand, Septimus doesn't seem fazed by much of anything, except the sight of Robert de Niro in drag, so it's possible that he's just generally unflappable.]] They're from AnotherDimension. [[spoiler: Tristan is actually the rightful king, inheriting the royal blood from his mother, Lady Una.]]

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' there is a lot of royal blood, as the kings are often adulterers. The ruling king has a bastard brother, who has a position at court, and a legitimate brother whom he locked up in order to have him out of the way. Ironically, the bastard brother is a much nicer man than the king.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the royal line of Númenor/Arnor/Gondor and thusly Aragorn descend from various elven royal families and human royal families of the First Age, and a divine spirit as the first of several cross-race-marriages. The people of Gondor have the saying of the opening quote, that royal blood gives him [[HealingHands healing powers]].
* In ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'', they are willing to try the [[EmergencyImpersonation imposture]], because he is himself illegitimately descended from a {{Ruritania}}n king. The fact that the impostor looks exactly like the king helps...
* In ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'', Laurence is revealed to be a distant descendant of the Plantagenet line. This is enough proof for the Chinese to allow him to be Temeraire's companion, albeit reluctantly and mostly because Temeraire would not be swayed.[[spoiler: Later on, he is actually adopted by the Chinese emperor and treated as a prince upon his return to China many years later!]]
* Creator/TerryPratchett's Discworld has funny ways of dealing with this:
** ''Discworld/WyrdSisters''; they end up choosing between two half-brothers, but they are not the king's illegitimate and legitimate sons, but his ''court jester's'' legitimate and illegitimate sons. The king's ghost (who doesn't know any of this) is still happy.
** It is hinted several times that part of the reason that Carrot is so liked by EVERYONE is because of his royal lineage. It's also suggested (including by Carrot himself), that even a ''good'' king is a bad idea, so he keeps quiet about it.
** True Troll Kings are rather hard to miss, since [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Discworld trolls are made of Metamorphological rock]], and the kings are made of Diamond. There is ''no'' royal [[strike:blood]]silicate line, as a Troll King arises among trolls only in times of duress. According to Mr Shine, any troll with a diamond composition becomes king whether they want or not, since unlike Carrot, hiding isn't an option.
* [[spoiler:Melisandre and Stannis Baratheon]] from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' are currently trying [[spoiler:to resurrect a dragon]]. They need a royal blood sacrifice to do so, so other characters are actively hiding children that could even remotely be considered "kings blood". [[spoiler:Like the son of Mance Rayder, the leader of the northern wild men]].
* in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'', being a member of the Royal House of Amber makes one [[strike:practically]] superhuman, with great strength, impressive healing, the [[FunctionalMagic Trumps]], the ability to [[TheMultiverse walk between worlds]]... Being so powerful means their only real competitors are other members of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Royal Family]]. Being a scheming lot, this leads very quickly to a GambitPileup...
* In Creator/GarthNix's ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series, several bloodlines including the royal one were invested with a lot of the power of the makers of the Great Charter. Prior to the events of ''Sabriel'', the Old Kingdom had been in steady decline since the apparent loss of the royal bloodline protecting it.
* In Creator/LFrankBaum's second [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz book]], ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'', Glinda tells the Scarecrow of Princess Ozma, and everyone immediately agrees that she is the only possible heir, being the last king's daughter.
* There was a Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure book, ''Black Vein Prophecy'' where you are a member of a family of RoyalWizards.
* In Randall Garrett's ''Literature/LordDarcy'' stories, the throne of England combined with that of the Holy Roman Emperor. As a consequence, it is elective, but only among the Plantagenet line. At one point, we see the king's brother thinking that his nephews are more likely candidates but he is a possible one.
* In John Barnes's ''Literature/OneForTheMorningGlory'', Prince Amatus is asked to cure the sick because a prince's touch can do that. Works, too.
* Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has increasing amounts of magical power amongst the nobility with the First Lord (i.e. the King) being the most powerful.
** Though this is implied to be as much AsskickingEqualsAuthority as it is Royal Blood- more powerful crafters automatically get more respect, and therefore get high titles, and therefore pass both powers and titles on to their children.
** An example of this being subverted is Isana. She's just a steadholder, and her power is apparently limited. However, in ''Captain's Fury'' and later ''Princeps' Fury'' she realizes that the concept of power being limited to station is so heavily ingrained into her - and by extension, the rest of Alera's - consciousness that it was effectively blocking her full potential.
** [[spoiler: It is also revealed in the final book that it's not the bloodline of the First Lords that made them more powerful than all the other nobles, but their contract with [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Alera itself]].]]
* In Creator/DorothyLSayers' Literature/LordPeterWimsey novel ''Have His Carcase'', the murder victim was convinced he had Royal Blood. [[spoiler:The murderers used it to lure him to his death]]. His blood ended up being an important clue [[spoiler:He was a haemophiliac and also Russian (cf Alexei Romanov hence his belief) so when Harriet discovered the corpse covered in fresh blood he wasn't at all recently dead as they thought]].
* In Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip's ''Literature/TheRiddleMasterTrilogy'', kings have a mystical bond, called "land-law" that allows them to sense their own kingdoms. An heir receiving this feeling is often the first notice anyone receives that a king has died.
* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/AMidsummerTempest'' takes place in an alternate English Civil War. Prince Rupert is the main character. [[spoiler:Although the magic they work to save him carefully explains that it cares about the land and the king only in as much as the king helps the land, once it has done so, it brings down the Roundheads]].
* In Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'', Jadis treats with contempt the notion that Uncle Andrew could be anything but a king: Royal Blood and magic go together. Whoever heard of commoners being magicians? Whether this is AuthorityEqualsAsskicking or -- in light of her ruthless use of magic for power -- AsskickingEqualsAuthority is not clear, but she certainly treats it as the former.
* In Fiona Patton's ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'', the royal line is possessed by a fire god -- they all have fiery eyes, the fire growing brighter as one gets closer to the throne. This neatly cuts out the problem of illegitimacy, but one king is remembered as "The Bastard", since his foreign mother seduced the king in order to end a war by having her son inherit.
* In Christopher Stasheff's ''[[Literature/AWizardInRhyme Her Majesty's Wizard]]'', the Queen is truly infallible when it comes to public matters as queen -- whatever she says essentially becomes true. When she confers virtues (such as bravery) on a knight, the knight visibly gains those virtues. It only works on issues of policy or governance, being tied more into [[DivineRightOfKings Divine Right]]. When the issues become personal, all bets are off.

** In ''The Chessman Of Mars'', Corpals "[[{{Necromancer}} that by commanding the spirits of the wicked dead gains evil mastery over the living]]" are said to be killable only by those of Royal Blood. And the weak and cowardly king can not be deposed for a noble and brave nobleman; fortunately, he also has a brave and popular son whom he hasn't killed yet.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' series, the Imperial bloodline (and that of several noble families which are closely related to the Imperial family) are secretly bred by the Bene Gesserit for PsychicPowers. During and after the rule of Leto II, descendants of the Imperial/Atreides line develop these and other useful "talents", including protection from prescience that makes them vital to humanity's survival.
* In P.C. Hodgell's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', a magical significance attaches to being of the house of Knorth, the Highlords' house. Breeding programs long ago concentrate certain Shanir (magical) abilities in certain Houses. Historically, most breeding pairings were between close relatives, concentrating the bloodline, the talents, and the negative traits that come along with them.
* Played very straight in Katherine Kurtz's Literature/{{Deryni}} books. Faced with a [[TheCaligula tyrannical king]] Camber's family track down the last descendant of the ''previous'' royal house (which was overthrown three generations ago)... and when they find him minding his own business as a celibate monk under a vow of silence, they [[MoralDissonance kidnap him in the dark of night]], hold him prisoner for nearly a year, force him to marry at swordpoint, and use mental and magical coercion to make him into a king. The resulting three centuries of persecution for the Deryni might be viewed as karma.
** In the second book of the Camber trilogy Joram points out to his father that he (Camber) could have made himself king with fewer problems then Cinhil Haldane is having. Camber argues that that would have made him no better then the Deryni Festils as he has no royal blood and no legal right to the throne of Gwynedd. Clearly Camber is a legitimist.
* In JimButcher's ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novels, this appears to be standard for Knights of the Cross. Every long term bearer of a Sword held a connection to famous kings, such as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne]],[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin Saladin]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8D_Tai Sho Tai]]. However, it is by no means ''necessary''. After all, both [[spoiler: Susan]] and Murphy become temporary Knights during ''Changes'', and there's no indication that either of them have royalty in their ancestry - just righteous amounts of love and faith, respectively.
* In the ''WarsOfLightAndShadow'' series by Janny Wurts, royal blood is important for more than symbolic reasons -- the founders of the five royal dynasties were all given a certain trait (compassion, justice, etc) which would be inherited by their successors. Plus, the charters under which the monarchies were established were an important part of the deal which gave humanity permission to settle in its current home. The fact that the monarchies were all overthrown a few centuries before the start of the story is a significant plot point.

* In Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'', Ged found an old man and woman stranded on an island. In the sequel ''Literature/TheTombsOfAtuan'', Tenar explains that they were a prince and princess, the last of their family, whom the God Emperor had abandoned at sea as infants as he feared to kill those of Royal Blood.
* In Creator/WenSpencer's ''Endless Blue'', Mikhail's family. Though they resorted to cloning rather than the usual.
* In Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/SylvieAndBruno''.
-->''"You came by the Royal Road, sweet one. Only those of royal blood can travel along it: but you've been royal ever since I was made King of Elfland that's nearly a month ago. They sent two ambassadors, to make sure that their invitation to me, to be their new King, should reach me. One was a Prince; so he was able to come by the Royal Road, and to come invisibly to all but me: the other was a Baron; so he had to come by the common road, and I dare say he hasn't even arrived yet.''
* In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', while there aren't any kings on Pern, the bloodline that ruled Ruatha Hold was known to produce many heirs with enhanced telepathic talents.
* In the ChivalricRomance ''Roswall and Lillian'', Roswall has been reduced to poverty and the king's service, but the princess Lillian, even when told his father was of low degree, correctly discerns his Royal Blood.
-->''“By the Cross,” she said, “I cannot but think that ye are come of noble blood. By your courtesy I know it, and by your great fairness.”''

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero In Hell]]'', Queen Agave of Thebes. It startles Miranda to realize this about her brother's cook.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/{{Kull}}'' / ''Literature/BranMakMorn'' story "Kings of the Night", one tribe demands to be led only by a king, and one of their own blood.
* In Creator/JosephaSherman's ''Literature/TheShiningFalcon'', one royal family is also magical; you have to be able to turn into a bird to prove you are royal.
* In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt, Royal Blood is good for BloodMagic.
* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Court Of The Air'' and ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', a very bad thing to have: Jackals keeps around royals to be abused, and deliberately breeds them.

* Done every which way in Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain''. Most notably, there's the matter of the sword Dyrnwyn, which bears an inscription explaining that gets quoted early in the series as ''Draw Dyrnwyn, only thou of royal blood''... The heroes give the blade to their friend Prince Gwydion, who is able to use it because he does indeed fit the description - except that the sword's runes have been mistranslated. It's actually ''Draw Dyrnwyn, only thou of noble worth''... While that still applies to Gwydion, it also opens the door for someone else to use the sword later.
* In Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ''Ballad of Lady Clare'', the titular lady is the daughter of a deceased earl and betrothed to her cousin, Lord Ronald. The day before the wedding, however, her aged nurse confesses that the earl's real daughter died in infancy - Lady Clare is the nurse's daughter, whom she substituted for the dead baby. Everything she inherited from the man she thought was her father rightfully belongs to Lord Ronald, who is the next in line. When she tells him, however, he assures her that her lack of royal blood doesn't bother him at all; [[HeartwarmingMoment they'll still get married the next day as planned, "and you shall still be Lady Clare."]]
* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', the fact that Jerin's grandfather was a kidnapped prince makes him a SuddenlySuitableSuitor for the current princesses, since royals can't marry commoners. What it doesn't do is make him eligible to rule in any way. Men in this setting just don't, nor does he have any desire to. However, it ''does'' mean that a noble family could kidnap and [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe marry him]], making ''those'' sisters eligible.
* ''Literature/VampireAcademy'':
** The series has a unique take on the idea of Royal Blood. The Vampire race, the Moroi, have an elected Monarch. The Moroi elect their leader from a pool of 12 royal families. The King or Queen then presides over a council made up of one member from each of the 12 families. Lissa, one of the main characters from the series, is the last in her family line, the Dragomirs, which causes tension as she cannot serve on the council or be elected Queen if she doesn't have at least one living family member, causing tension as her voice is not allowed to be heard.
** [[spoiler:In the last books it is revealed that Lissa's father had an illegitimate child, meaning there is another Dragomir. The plot is a race to find the child in order to give Lissa the support she needs. Similarly, once the child is found, they are put in extreme danger as people opposed to Lissa just need to kill them in order to invalidate her]]. The spin-off series, ''Literature/{{Bloodlines}}'' is all about preventing that from happening and keeping them safe.
** The way the family lines work in this series is also based on blood rather than name. Lissa's future partner has to be able to provide her with enough Dragomir blood in order to add them to her family line, rather than simply take their father's name.

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': The royal family of Ataidar traces its origins to Fiol, the country's founder and the avatar of the Grand Elemental Sentience Fire, so it's a big deal. If anyone marries into the family then they don't have the blood and thus possess considerably less authority. Queen Kasile claims that this trope is why Ataidar has a more stable government than Acemo, which is a republic to the north.
* ''Literature/TheInitiateBrother'' has, in addition to a reigning imperial family, a character who is a descendant of the previous dynasty. It's remarked that she has "too much of the old Imperial blood for her own good" - [[HeirInLaw anyone who marries her]] can thereafter use the restoration of her dynasty as a pretext for rebellion, so the current Emperor is bound want her either safely married to one of his ''own'' sons or else eliminated.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "King and Brooks," Miss Brooks discovers one of her students in an Indian prince. The boy's father, the maharajah, proposes marriage to Miss Brooks.

* Series/BabylonFive: the Triluminaries are attuned to the genetic inheritance of Valen. [[spoiler: Imagine the Grey Council's shock when it responds to the Human Jeffrey Sinclair.]] Not so to us, considering we knew [[spoiler:he ''was'' Valen,]] but generally a WTF moment to them.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode '[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]]', leadership is hereditary. Selris' objection to being deposed is due to this, and after his death, his son speaks of how he shall have to deal with the other man.

* ''Film/TheCourtJester''.