History Main / StandardRoyalCourt

* The royal court of ''{{Series/Merlin}}'', naturally. The King (first Uther, now Arthur), the Royal Sibling (Morgana) the Advisor (Gaius and Agravaine), Arthur was the Heir until season 4. Merlin is the Court Mage, albeit in secret, Guenivere is now Queen Consort as of season 4's end.Plenty of Nobles.

* The TaleOfGenji is set at the Imperial Court of Heian Japan which features an Emperor; two or more ex-Emperors, each with his Empress and harem; Princes and princesses galore and rival noble families all jockeying for position and power. However, as a rule the characters are kept so busy managing their complex love lives that one wonders who - if anybody - is actually running the country.

* ''{{Hamlet}}''

* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Ah, the Centauri court. Don't let the [[ErmineCapeEffect decadence and rituals]] fool you - it's got [[ThirtyGambitPileup more plots than a cemetery]]. Poison is quite popular. There are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a couple of Centauri]] [[DefectorFromDecadence who want to change things]] - [[OnlySaneMan about three of them]]. Fortunately for the Centauri people, [[spoiler:Vir Cotto, one of those three, eventually becomes Emperor after a crisis that nearly destroys them. It is presumed he makes the Republic a much nicer place to live and the court much less intrigue-ridden.]]

* The royal court of ''{{Series/Merlin}}'', naturally. The King (first Uther, now Arthur), the Royal Sibling (Morgana) the Advisor (Gaius and Agravaine), Arthur was the Heir until season 4. Merlin is the Court Mage, albeit in secret, Guenivere is heading toward Queen Consort but not there yet. Plenty of Nobles.

* Head of the church. Might be called high priest or archbishop. This person holds allegiance to an higher authority than earthly kings, making their relationship with the king fraught. On the other hand, many religions either place the king at the head of the Church or consider him outright to be [[GodEmperor a living god]], and even the ones that don't may allow the king to claim divine right to rule, in which case all is well. When the nation worships a pantheon, the king may have the fun task of balancing scheming high priests of several different gods without incurring any divine wrath.

* A large portion of ''ThePrincessBride'' takes place in the royal court of Florin - more than {{the film of the book}} would suggest.

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* The HonorHarrington novels have the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Which axis of morality and composition you see depends on why you're there in the first place.

* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Ah, the Centauri court. Don't let the [[ErmineCapeEffect decadence and rituals]] fool you - it's got [[ThirtyGambitPileup more plots than a cemetery]]. Poison is quite popular. There are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a couple of Centauri]] [[DefectorFromDecadence who want to change things]] - [[OnlySaneMan about three of them]].

* The TaleOfGenji is set at the Imperial Court of Heian Japan which features an Emperor; two or more ex-Emperors, each with his Empress and harem; Princes and princesses galore and rival noble families all jockying for position and power. However as a rule the characters are kept so busy managing their complex love lives that one wonders who - if anybody - is actually running the country.

* The Scarlet Dynasty in {{Exalted}} are one of the less-detailed variants.

* ''Hamlet''

** The previous generation. Royal uncles, and the Queen Mother. These tend to spend a lot of time telling the king what their father would have done. If the uncle is an EvilUncle who continues to plot against the king, even when it's his nephew rather than his brother... there will be trouble.

* Head of the church. Might be called high priest or archbishop. This person holds allegiance to an higher authority than earthly kings, making their relationship with the king fraught. On the other hand, many religions either place the king at the head of the Church of consider him outright to be [[GodEmperor a living god]], and even the ones that don't may allow the king to claim divine right to rule, in which case all is well. When the nation worships a pantheon, the king may have the fun task of balancing scheming high priests of several different gods without incurring any divine wrath.

* Phillipa Gregory's Tudor novels are mostly set at the courts of Henry VIII or one of his children. ''The Constant Princess'' also shows some of Henry VII's court.

* [[TheTudors The Tudors]] would be a perfect example, considering that the entire show is about Henry and his court.
* The first two seasons of ''{{Blackadder}}'' have cut-down versions for a sitcom budget. The court of Richard IV in ''The Black Adder'' had the King, the Queen Consort, the WisePrince Harry, the incomptently EvilPrince Edmund, and Edmund's TooDumbToLive friend Lord Percy. Other nobles were generally around, but never made much impression. In ''Blackadder II'', Elizabeth's court consisted entirely of Lord Melchett.

* ''CodeGeass'' has a DeadlyDecadentCourt that includes TheEmperor, his OneHundredAndEight consorts, his many children (the numbered princes and princesses), the Knights of the Round, and the many nobles who hold important positions in TheEmpire.

* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Ah, the Centauri court. Don't let the [[ErmineCapeEffect decadence and rituals]] fool you - it's got [[ThirtyXanatosPileup more plots than a cemetery]]. Poison is quite popular. There are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a couple of Centauri]] [[DefectorFromDecadence who want to change things]] - [[OnlySaneMan about three of them]].

[[AC: Film]]

* The Corleone Family in TheGodfather. Though they aren't royal they might as well be and act more or less like a StandardRoyalCourt.

The StandardRoyalCourt is a staple setting of historical and SpeculativeFiction, the natural home of [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure good]] [[RoyalBlood kings]], {{Evil Chancellor}}s, and every breed of [[BlueBlood aristocrat]]. Usually, it is loosely based on an [[TheThemeParkVersion idealized version]] of the medieval European model, with minor variations to fit the setting, which is [[JustifiedTrope more plausible than it may seem]]. Feudalism, in the narrow technical sense, only occurred in western Europe, but recognizably similar systems have developed throughout history, whenever and wherever the central government was too weak to function (or, as was more often the case, just plain ''gone''.) The courts of Ancient Egypt and medieval Japan are recognizably variants of the same theme.

** The Centauri magnates/great families are well-represented at court, and are collectively known as the Cetaurum. The Centaurum is implied to be a legislature of sorts for the Republic (Londo often mentions getting a bill through the Centaurum as an obstacle to his plans), most likely modeled (as befits the theme) on the Roman Senate.

The DeadlyDecadentCourt falls in one corner of this space. All these dimensions are loosely correlated with the age of a court. A newly established kingdom will generally have a simple court. A millennia old imperial court will usually be decadent, and encrusted with many layers of meaningless ritual.

Typical plot lines for works set in a StandardRoyalCourt include internal power struggles, and external threats.

The members of a StandardRoyalCourt can be classified by their closeness to the centre of power. The monarch, of course, is right at the centre. The inner circle of courtiers has one or two people from each power bloc within the court, and directly advises the monarch. The outer circles of courtiers spend their time trying to get into the inner circle. The part-time courtiers have a recognised place in the court, but spend most of their time away from it. At the bottom of the pile, the servants keep the whole place running.

* The ruler. Normally this is the monarch, but sometimes the role is filled by a regent. Either way, this person bears ultimately responsibility for the conduct of the nation. Many factions, both within the court, and outside, will be attempting to control or depose them. An evil regent may attempt to become RegentForLife. Good regents, and kings, act as {{mentors}} to their successors.
* The [[RoyalBlood heir]]. Normally the next in line to the throne, but during a regency this role is filled by the actual monarch. The heir spends most of their time waiting for the ruler to die, and may decide to hurry up the process with a little direct action, especially if the ruler isn't their parent. In turn, the heir is the frequent target of assassination attempts by people wanting to move up the line of succession.The heir is also an alternative centre of power for the court, since their inner circle is the government-in-waiting.

** The previous generation. Royal uncles, and the Queen Mother. These tend to spend a lot of time telling the king what their father would have done. Assuming the uncle is not an EvilUncle who continues to plot against the king even when it's his nephew rather than brother.

** Royal siblings. These are either the King's most loyal supporter, or scheming to get the throne for themselves.[[EvilUncle This is especially true for the younger brother of the present ruler.]]

* Head of the church. Might be called high priest or archbishop. This person holds allegiance to an higher authority than earthly kings, making their relationship with the king fraught. On the other hand, many religions either place the king at the head of the Church of consider him outright to be [[GodEmperor a living god]], in which case all is well. When the nation worships a pantheon, the king may have the fun task of balancing scheming high priests of several different gods without incurring divine wrath.

The StandardRoyalCourt is a staple setting of historical and SpeculativeFiction, the natural home of [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure good]] [[RoyalBlood kings]], {{Evil Chancellor}}s, and every breed of [[BlueBlood aristocrat]]. Usually, it is loosely based on an [[TheThemeParkVersion idealised version]] of medieval European model, with minor variations to fit the setting, which is [[JustifiedTrope more plausible than it may seem]]. Feudalism, in the narrow technical sense, only occurred in western Europe, but recognisably similar systems have developed throughout history, whenever central government was weak. The courts of Ancient Egypt and medieval Japan are recognisably variants of the same theme.

How much of this structure the reader sees depends on the focus of the narrative. If the protagonists are just visiting the court, they'll usually only deal with an handful of people in it leaving the rest of the StandardRoyalCourt as a background blur. If the protagonists are themselves courtiers, the whole panoply will be deployed.

In general, the overall tone of a court is set by its ruler. A good king will have good courtiers; an evil king, evil courtiers. However, there will usually be one or two courtiers who run counter to the trend, which gives them a greater prominence in the plot, and a new king may inherit a court that runs opposite to his preferences.

* The great magnates. These are the chief nobles, each with near-sovereign power in their own domains. Their support is essential for any rebellion, and priceless to foreign invaders. If the ruler loses majority support among the great magnates, the nation will be in crisis. In future settings, this role can be filled by the heads of megacorporations or planetary/sector governors.
** If there are enough magnates, they might form a separate body within the court that acts as a kind of legislature for the nation. [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of the [[BritishPoliticalSystem British House of Lords]], the French Estates-General (or just the First and Second Estates), the [[RomanRepublic Roman Senate]], and the [[HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman]] ''Reichstag'' are common.

** The previous generation. Royal uncles, and the Queen Mother. These tend to spend a lot of time telling the king what their father would have done.

In terms of the ranks of AuthorityTropes, the tropes that are equal are TheCaligula, TheGoodChancellor, EvilChancellor, and DeadlyDecadentCourt. The next step down is TheKingOfTown. The next steps up are TheEvilPrince, PrinceCharming, PrinceCharmless, WarriorPrince, TheWhitePrince, TheWisePrince, and all PrincessTropes.

* Any mistresses the king has. Essentially the same role as favourites, but less respectable. This doesn't stop ambitious courtiers parading their sisters in front of the king.

* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Ah, the Centauri court, the Centaurum. Don't let the [[ErmineCapeEffect decadence and rituals]] fool you - it's got [[ThirtyXanatosPileup more plots than a cemetery]]. Poison is quite popular. There are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a couple of Centauri]] [[DefectorFromDecadence who want to change things]] - [[OnlySaneMan about three of them]].

* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Ah, the Centauri court. Don't let the [[ErmineCapeEffect decadence and rituals]] fool you - it's got [[ThirtyXanatosPileup more plots than a cemetery]]. Poison is quite popular. There are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a couple of Centauri]] [[DefectorFromDecadence who want to change things]] - [[OnlySaneMan about three of them]].