History Main / StandardRoyalCourt

* ''ComicBook/Sleepless'': The setting is the royal court of Harbeny, where Lady Poppy and her loyal protector Sir Cyrenic are forced to navigate a shifting web of political alliances as a new ruler takes the throne. Complicating matters is Poppy's status as the technically-illegitimate (but widely beloved) daughter of the previous king and his foreign court astrologer, and Cyrenic's position in an order of magically empowered knights who must prove their worth to the skeptical new ruler before their corps is disbanded.

* ''ComicBook/TheInhumans'': The Royal Family: King Black Bolt, Queen Medusa, Gorgon (leader of the Royal Guard), Karnak the advisor, heir Ahura, and a few others, regularly [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething deal with superheroes and help save the world]]. There is also a separate administrative body, the Genetic Council.

** The court chaplain: often this role goes hand-in-hand with the head of the church, but when they're two separate positions, they're distinguished by the fact that the latter serves more as the monarch's personal spiritual advisor or confessor, whose authority is limited to the court itself. Of course, this doesn't make him any less important a figure, since having the ear of the monarch himself gives him a lot of influence.

** The typical noble, with one castle and 20 acres of land or the SpaceOpera equivalent, is usually a nobody at court, with no hope of gaining personal access to the Monarch. If he's lucky, however, his own direct liege might take an interest in his concerns and pass them up the chain of command.

** A common ploy is for a patron to introduce suitable candidates to the ruler. If any of them find favour, the patron can then influence the ruler by passing suggestions through the favourite, though ambitious favourites will turn on their patrons the moment they have a better one.

* [[IdleRich Dissolute nobles and courtiers]]: most courts have at least some of these. They might be [[SpoiledSweet fairly harmless]], or they might be a [[TheCasanova source of disgusted but rather envious scandal]]. Some of these end up sooner or later finding that they have HiddenDepths if appropriate to the plot.

* Literature/YashimSeries : The story is about an Ottoman court eunech [[TheyFightCrime who fights crime]]. The picture of the Sultan's court given is one of a rather amiable decline with the weight of ages pressing down on them. The curious contrast between tradition and foreign innovation is brought out.

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 a handful of people in it, leaving the rest of the court as a background blur. If the protagonists are themselves courtiers, the whole panoply will be deployed.

* Any [[TheMistress mistresses]] the king has: essentially the same role as favourites, but usually less respectable (although between Charles VII and Louis XV the position of official mistress to the king was highly prestigious in France). This doesn't stop ambitious courtiers parading their sisters in front of the king. If the aforementioned RoyalHarem is present, mistresses will live there.

** [[RoyalHarem The Harem]]: most often found in Middle Eastern or Far Eastern settings. Guarded by eunuchs. There is intense competition within the harem for the king's favour, and a tense relationship with the Queen (if there ''is'' a Queen).

* Any [[TheMistress mistresses]] the king has: essentially the same role as favourites, but usually less respectable (although between Charles VII and Louis XV the position of official mistress to the king was highly prestigious in France). This doesn't stop ambitious courtiers parading their sisters in front of the king. In a setting with Islamic and/or Asian influence, there may be an official RoyalHarem.

* Any [[TheMistress mistresses]] the king has: essentially the same role as favourites, but usually less respectable (although between Charles VII and Louis XV the position of official mistress to the king was highly prestigious in France). This doesn't stop ambitious courtiers parading their sisters in front of the king.

* [[PraetorianGuard The royal bodyguard]]: expect [[BlingOfWar flashy uniforms and weaponry]]. Depending on the story, they can be little more than a showy force with [[{{Mooks}} no substance]] [[RedshirtArmy behind them]] to [[EliteMooks unkillable badasses]]. May be a CadreOfForeignBodyguards [[note]] Common historically, e.g. the Swiss Guard who protect the Pope, the Varangian Guard of Norsemen and Anglo-Saxons who defended the Emperors of Constantinople, or Christian knights hired to defend Moorish princes[[/note]], and the possibility of a BodyguardBetrayal may become important. Anyone seeking to do harm to the ruler or anyone else in the court will likely have to deal with them at some point.

* [[TheJester The court jester]]: can be any form of entertainer, e.g. a minstrel or resident troubadour. These people have no official power, but do have the king's ear, and can often [[SpeakTruthToPower speak freely]] under the guise of silliness. Usually either pure comic relief or a power behind the throne and frequently turns to be [[ObfuscatingStupidity wiser]] or, in some cases, [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass more dangerous]] that they seem at first. In more modern ages jesters were replaced by other entertainers such as royal composers, poets laureate etc. Sometimes the jester is secretly also ''something else'', for example a court wizard or spymaster (like Zorn and Thorn of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' fame).

* In the ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'' series, the Farseer court at Buckkeep is as standard as it gets, with -- most of the time -- a King, his Queen, the King-in-Waiting (or Queen-in-Waiting, but the books are dominated by the male members of the Farseer line), princes, a royal bastard -- who's the main protagonist of most of the books -- , TheSpymaster doing double duty as the chancellor, [[TheJester the Fool]], various nobles and their hanger-ons, the King's/Queen's Guards, the normal guards and a vast array of servants.

* The ruler: normally this is the monarch, but sometimes the role is filled by a regent. Either way, this person bears ultimate 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, as well as sovereigns, act as {{mentors}} to their successors. (Though some evil kings may try to arrange matters so that they won't ''need'' a successor...)

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.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has a DeadlyDecadentCourt that includes TheEmperor, his 108 consorts, his many children (the numbered princes and princesses), the Knights of the Round, and the many nobles who hold important positions in TheEmpire. The First Prince (Emperor Charles' oldest son) Odysseus is "The Heir" (although he's not very savvy), and Second Prince Schneizel is the Prime Minister/Chancellor. Princess Cornelia appears to be a very high ranked military official (possibly the head of the army), and Clovis is the Viceroy of Area 11 (Japan).

* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'' has two royal courts combining into one, and all of the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt lingering resentment, bickering, and petty backstabbing]] one would come to expect from two factions of previously bitter enemies being forced to make nice. PassiveAggressiveKombat is practically the default manner of speech there, with very few exceptions.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' shows several courts, ranging from the austere court of the Ironmen, to the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt deadly decadence]] of King's Landing, to the unstructured free people of the King Beyond the Wall.

*** The court of the King on the Iron Throne: ''the'' DeadlyDecadentCourt. Comes with a wider set of advisors, called the Small Council, a number of hangers-on which may be (and usually are) spies for someone, a lot of servants (which are also someone's spies) and a possibility to assembly a proto-parliament called the Great Council, which is very rarely used.

* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' features several, from the simple and open Ducal court of the Atreides to the decadent, despotic court of the Harkonnens to the (presumed to be) [[DeadlyDecadentCourt deadly decadent Imperial court]] of the Corrinos. The Landsraad is also presumably one of these, as well as being an {{Expy}} of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire's ''Reichstag''.

** The Barons of Jacksons Whole are the mutant offspring of MerchantPrince and DeadlyDecadentCourt without an emperor to moderate it.

* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] is pretty heavy on courts, unsurprising as he sets a lot of his works in either medieval or mystically pre-medieval time periods. The Danish royal court in ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' is probably the most obvious, alongside others such as the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt British court]] in ''Theatre/{{King Lear}}'' or those of Sicilia and Bohemia in ''Theatre/{{The Winters Tale}}''.

** Kellwood plays host a pair of [[TheFairFolk Sidhe]] courts, the Seelie and Unseelie which are both dangerous [[DeadlyDecadentCourt deadly decadent courts]] with the difference being that the Seelie will try to sneakily stab you in the back while the Unseelie wouldn't feel the need to wait for you to turn around.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda'' has one of these as its center of action. Zelda's father is a good king, surrounded by good subjects.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''Videogame/{{Destiny}}'', [[EvilOverlord Oryx the Taken King]] has his Court, which is a collection of monstrous Hive warriors, wizards, and other agents who serve Oryx. As part of their service to Oryx, [[FantasticCasteSystem they take a tribute of violence and Light taken by those beneath them in the Hive caste system and give that Oryx]], which [[HorrorHunger allows Oryx to feed the Worm within him that would otherwise devour him if it did not receive a constant supply of Light and violence.]] Seeing how the Hive are [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething very hands on]], most of the roles within the Court are very practical, with several CourtMage positions who perform research or craft [[RealityWarper paracausal]] weapons, as well as [[HighPriest the Warpriest]] who challenges those who would personally face Oryx. There are also warriors and bodyguards, and even a variant on TheCourtJester, though in this case the jester doesn't know he's one; instead he's a fanatical devotee of Oryx's son Crota dressed up like him, and Oryx keeps him around to both laugh at him and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes to help cope with his grief after crota's death]]. In-game the Court of Oryx serves as a challenge on the Dreadnought, where players bring tithes to the Court to summon them as bosses to fight for loot.

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''Anime/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'' features the ruler, the royal children, the queen, the head of the military, and the Holy Sage who is pet scientist, advisor and head of the intelligence at the same time. Court proceedings are not decadent but ritualized and cold.

* ''Anime/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. The First Prince (Emperor Charles' oldest son) Odysseus is "The Heir" (although he's not very savvy), and Second Prince Schneizel is the Prime Minister/Chancellor. Princess Cornelia appears to be a very high ranked military official (possibly the head of the army), and Clovis is the Viceroy of Area 11 (Japan).

How elaborate the court is will depend on the [[TechnologyLevels technology level]], the wealth of the nation it rules, and the image the ruler wishes to convey. A barbarian warlord will have the most basic version; one right-hand man, a dozen minor chiefs, and a few hundred warriors. A galactic empire will have a court bigger than most cities, and a population to match--ten million courtiers living in conditions of unparalleled magnificence, their lives all revolving around the centre of power, the emperor at the court's heart. If, that is, the writer wants to keep in touch with reality; [[Literature/{{Gormenghast}} total mismatches between the size of the court and the size of the country]] occur, and often without causing administrative problems (if the court is too small) or financial ones (if the court is too large).

Any court beyond the most basic will typically be fractal in structure. Most of the courtiers will themselves be the heads of lesser courts, mirroring the structure of the main court, and many of their courtiers will in turn head minor courts. Thus, the crown prince's best friend and chief advisor might be a duke, ruling over several earldoms, advised by the ducal chancellor. Historically, most courts stopped at four or five tiers, but in fiction there is no limit, especially in fiction where [[FeudalFuture feudal regimes govern whole galaxies]].

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 Standard Royal Court 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 will have 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.

* Sneakiness: some courts are a web of conspiracies; in others, everyone is open about their intentions.
* Aristocrats vs civil servants: the nobles may actually run the kingdom, or they may leave all the administration to the clerks. (Note that in the RealLife [[TheMiddleAges Middle Ages]], appointing paid civil servants rather than letting the nobles run things was an important step towards modern government, although in some cases the civil servants became aristocrats themselves, e. g. counts, originally appointed officers of the crown became first a hereditary office and then a rank of nobility).
* Decadence: are the courtiers interested only in pleasure?
* Level of ritual: some courts are pretty plain, others can't do anything without a three hour ritual.
* Appearance: can range from Spartan to the ErmineCapeEffect.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/royalcourt.jpg]]

* Any number of special favourites--courtiers who are important not because of their inheritance and offices but because the regent has an affection for them. They usually have a certain something about them which can be charm, boldness, honeyed tongue, cleverness, honesty, strength, beauty and other quirks and abilities. The important part is that their influence on the leader is not easily measured. The writers might add as much spicy SubText as they like.

* Miscellaneous dignitaries: these are various courtiers whose place has a {{Backstory}} more interesting (or at least better developed) then "I like to hang around court." Typical examples of these might be a NobleFugitive; it was long common practice for rulers to harbor pretenders to the throne of a rival kingdom or their followers in order to have possible leverage. Another possibility is a hostage; once it was considered an honorable practice for rulers to exchange relations as a [[OffWithHisHead guarantee]] of a treaty. Other possibilities include high-class prisoners of war awaiting their ransom. In both of these cases both the ruler and the prisoner or hostage are considered host and guest under the rules of SacredHospitality with appropriate modifications for the circumstances of their position. There could also be sons of lesser nobles being fostered by a given monarch as training as a warrior or courtier. Or a prince or princess from an ArrangedMarriage; this character would have constant ConflictingLoyalty. Guild leaders, especially from the capital city will often be here. And of course, as rulers never have enough money and merchants never have enough force there will likely be a MerchantPrince negotiating a deal with the monarch. If the ruler has a liberal streak or wishes to pretend to have such he might have a tribune or ombudsman speaking for the interests of "the people". And very common will be artists, or scientists, or scholars or other such expressions of "culture" who the monarch can sponser as a way to get prestige or simply as a PetTheDog.

* The Empress Berenene in ''[[Literature/CircleOfMagic The Will of the Empress]]'' runs a decadent and elaborate court like this, with Ishabal Ladyhammer as both her chief mage, head of armies, and chief advisor.

** Royal children: the nation's long-term future lies with them, so it falls on them to learn their trade early on, and preferably marry well--probably after an EngagementChallenge. Now, the kids outside the direct line of succession can make real nuisances. If they're not kept busy, sibling rivalry often turns lethal. Illegitimate royal children get high status, but are outside the line of succession. There is almost always [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses a princess]], whether of the [[RebelliousPrincess Rebellious]], [[PrincessClassic Classic]], or [[PoliticallyActivePrincess Politically-Minded]] variety. The ShelteredAristocrat is sadly spoiled and naive, TheEvilPrince can decimate a regent's offspring. TheWisePrince, in contrast, would be any good king's pride. During part of the Middle Ages it was customary for younger siblings and sons to be encouraged to join the clergy; after the development of professional militaries, younger royal sons have tended to join the armed forces and often ended up as career officers.[[note]]Case in point: Since the 18th century, for every British monarch who had a second son, the second son either became a career officer or started on a military career before events intervened.[[/note]]

* CourtMage or pet mad scientist: not all courts have these. When they exist, they usually get on badly with the church representatives, and supply phlebotinum to the court. They are also popular choices for chief advisor.

* Much of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' takes place at the royal court, to which Jerin Whistler and some of his sisters have been invited for Jerin's coming-out, that is, his first ball and presentation to the general public. It is surprisingly devoid of ceremonies (the Whistlers are only asked to disarm before they go to see Queen Mother Elder), and intrigues, but there is a hint of decadence, what with nobles wearing the same clothes only for some weeks or months before they discard them to follow a new fashion. The Queens are all sisters who rule together, with the help of the adult Princesses. The RoyalHarem usually consists of the Queens' husband and the Princesses' husband, both of whom unfortunately died some time prior to the plot.In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', many of the protagonists belong to royal courts, none of them decadent. The Tsurani one can be quite deadly, however.

* Much of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' takes place at the royal court, to which Jerin Whistler and some of his sisters have been invited for Jerin's coming-out, that is, his first ball and presentation to the general public. It is surprisingly devoid of ceremonies (the Whistlers are only asked to disarm before they go to see Queen Mother Elder), and intrigues, but there is a hint of decadence, what with nobles wearing the same clothes only for some weeks or months before they discard them to follow a new fashion. The Queens are all sisters who rule together, with the help of the adult Princesses. The RoyalHarem usually consists of the Queens' husband and the Princesses' husband, both of whom unfortunately died some time prior to the plot.

* In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', many of the protagonists belong to royal courts, none of them decadent. The Tsurani one can be quite deadly, however.

* Caterers: this is actually a fairly important job, absurd as it sounds. Knowing how to put on a good FancyDinner or DancesAndBalls puts people in a good mood to begin negotiations, and advertises a monarch's importance. If TheKingdom can pay for political disputes with wine instead of blood, TheKingdom has gotten a good deal. As a footnote, having rival dignitaries drunk(or drugged) during a negotiation can be a useful if risky ploy. Certain palace servants like the sénéchal or majordomo will have making deals with caterers as one of their major jobs. Other servants have need of these as an obvious part of their role. Cooks need food. Bards need special effects experts, musicians and so on, the palace itself needs architects, and everyone needs expensive clothing, sometimes even including servants.