History Main / SuccessionCrisis

** Indeed, the crisis comes to pass in the World of Warcraft novel, "The Shattering", which details the events leading up to the upcoming Cataclysm expansion.

If there is no real heir, the trope OfferedTheCrown can produce this as nobles intrigue to get their favorite candidate offered it.

* When the current Pope dies, it is left to the College of Cardinals to elect a new one. This usually takes a few days to a few weeks, but on occasion will stretch on for months and has even led to multiple Popes at the same time.

* A succession crisis frames much of ''DragonAge: Origins'', but the protagonist only gets involved ''after'' the civil war is mostly over. Problem is, the only candidates for the throne are the former king's wife, who isn't of royal blood herself, and the bastard son of the former king's father, with a paranoid regent and manipulative bastard with a facade of goodness making the mess even murkier. Just to add to that pressure, a nigh-on unstoppable horde of monsters has nearly destroyed the standing army and is getting ''very'' close to wiping out the country outright. The remaining army is on the brink of civil war and all foreign aid has been blocked at the borders until far too late to make a difference. Without getting a king/queen to sort this mess out soon, the country is utterly boned.

** The Orzammar Dwarves are in the middle of a succession crisis of their own. One candidate, the son of the late king, is [[spoiler: rightly]] suspected of framing one sibling for the murder of their brother. The other candidate, the head of another noble house, claims the king said on his deathbed that he did not want his remaining son to be king, but no one else can verify this.

* Pretty much the entire plot so far of ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' and a good chunk of the backstory. The real plot essentially kicks off when [[spoiler:Robert Baratheon]] is killed while hunting, leaving behind an heir who turns out to not actually be his son (and is a sociopath, to boot). The rest of the books focus on the so-called "Game of Thrones". Further complicating the succession crisis is that the dead king was the first of a new dynasty, having led a war against the previous lot, and nobody was really settled into things as of his death. By the start of the second novel, contenders to the throne include his son (not really his son, but a product of BrotherSisterIncest by the queen), his two younger brothers, the heir to one of the old Kings in the North (before Westeros was unified), the last surviving heiress to the previous dynasty, and the ruler of a nation that wants to secede from the Seven Kingdoms. [[{{Understatement}} Conflict ensues]].

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongzheng_Emperor Yongzheng]], the Chinese emperor who won a bloody succession crisis (and killed all but one of his brothers in the process), also tried to avert future crises by... Keeping a succession note prepared when he's alive but hiding it in a location only known to ''very'' close confidants. So the succession was made loud and clear when the emperors' health still allowed them to do so, it's announced ''after'' his death.

This is TruthInTelevision! Succession crises started the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Hundred Years War, and the WarsOfTheRoses, among many others. In medieval England alone, the deaths of William Rufus, Henry I, John, Edward II, Richard II, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III all led to irregular successions, and other countries have histories no less colorful. In TsaristRussia, this was particularly a very common thing, with the many Palace Revolutions resolved by the Leib Guards, before the strict succession laws were introduced by Paul I.

The Ottoman Turks of the 16th Century had a novel way of avoiding this. With the Sultan usually having many male children via his various harem wives, it became standard practice for the Sultan on his deathbed to name his heir, and the palace attendants would simply strangle all the other potential claimants in their beds. Job done... except that having more than one wife meant that they could start the succession crisis on behalf of their children well before he died and when one of the kids survived they tended to be angrier.

The RomanEmpire had a similar problem. Theoretically, the position of Emperor was not inherited: new emperors were supposed to be appointed to the position by the Senate (or by the Senate and the Army, depending who you asked). This tended to lead to civil wars, since pretty much any senator or general officer could be proclaimed emperor. There was a workaround where an Emperor could nominate a successor during his reign by adopting a respected politician or general - this usually quashed any rival claimants to the throne, but not in every case. The Five Good Emperors (Nerva to Marcus Aurelius) were all "adoptive", and Aurelius's decision to appoint his biological son as heir proved to be a tragic mistake, since the son's name was [[Film/{{Gladiator}} Commodus]] and his malfeasances led to his assassination and another brutal round of civil wars (Tellingly, Gibbon's ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' begins with the reign of Commodus). The Byzantine Empire went in for dynasties, which produced more stability.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongzheng_Emperor Yongzheng]], the Chinese emperor who won a bloody succession crisis (and killed all but one of his brothers in the process), also tried to avert future crises by... Keeping a succession note prepared when he's alive but hiding it in a location only known to ''very'' close confidants. So the succession was made loud and clear when the emperors' health still allowed them to do so, it's announced ''after'' his death.

In theory, when the King dies, his heir steps straight into the vacancy, replacing him without any fuss, but only in theory. In practice, the deaths of kings are occasions of high drama. Rival claimants - with or without RoyalBlood - dispute the succession, and even after the victor is crowned, they'll discover that their predecessor has left them with a host of problems, leaving their throne unstable for years to come.

The RomanEmpire had a similar problem. Theoretically, the position of Emperor was not inherited: new emperors were supposed to be appointed to the position by the Senate (or by the Senate and the Army, depending who you asked). This tended to lead to civil wars, since pretty much any senator or general officer could be proclaimed emperor. There was a workaround where an Emperor could nominate a successor during his reign by adopting a respected politician or general - this usually quashed any rival claimants to the throne, but not in every case. The Five Good Emperors (Nerva to Marcus Aurelius) were all "adoptive", and Aurelius's decision to appoint his biological son as heir proved to be a tragic mistake, since the son's name was [[Film/{{Gladiator}} Commodus]] and his malfeasances led to his assassination and another brutal round of civil wars (Tellingly, Gibbon's ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' begins with the reign of Commodus).

** Barrayar has been teetering on the brink of a succession crisis throughout most of the VorkosiganSaga. If anything happens to Emperor Gregor, there is currently no clear line of succession. Vordarian tried to trigger a succession crisis in ''Barrayar'', and a sub-plot of ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' had another attempt to trigger one. Many of the main characters of the series are very high on the list of possible successors, and wish that Gregor would hurry up and produce lots kids, already, to get them off the hook.

* In CSLewis's ''[[{{Narnia}} Prince Caspian]]'', when Caspian's [[EvilUncle uncle]] has a son, he intends to kill Caspian, whose throne he usurped, so that there will not be a Succession Crisis.

Female heirs, and anyone inheriting through the female line, may have greater problems. In countries with a long tradition of ruling Queens, they'll be fine. Elsewhere, the alternative male candidates will argue that [[HeirClubForMen women shouldn't count]], often with the help of an army. Such a situation occurred with Henry I of England's designated heir Matilda (Henry produced over 20 bastards, but only two ''legitimate'' kids who grew to adulthood, and she was the only one left by then). Similar problems arise if there are other restrictions on who may hold the crown, such as race, religion, or magical talent. If the rightful heir is [[AChildShallLeadThem underage]], they might be passed over completely, but more often, they'll get a regent. The great magnates will compete vigorously for this post, with its near royal status and opportunity to [[EvilChancellor corrupt the young ruler]].

It is ''not'' unknown for a country to use LoopholeAbuse to get out of a SuccessionCrisis--said loophole being the laws not stating that [[SheIsTheKing a King must be male]]. Poland did this, resulting in King Jadwiga. Yes, a woman King.

* ''TalesOfVesperia'' has a succession crisis going on in the background, involving one of the main characters (Estelle) but this actually seems to play a relatively minor role. And there is no real implication that it is ever averted due to the game's abrupt ending and lack of epilogues.
** They may have intended for it to be interpreted what would happen to some characters. Because they never explicitly reveal whether or not Ioder is crowned emperor or Estelle is crowned Empress, it is up to the player to decide whether or not the crisis in the imperial Knights made the full support of the council go to Estelle or if the exposed Corruption in the Council had caused them to support Ioder instead.
** However, if the illustrations shown during the credits are considered canon, then this really doesn't become much of a problem anyway.

* Disgaea starts with the Netherworld in the midst of one of these. The rightful heir, Prince Laharl, had been sleeping for several years after his father's death, leading most of the Netherworld to forget about him. The first couple chapters involve him dealing with the numerous contenders looking to be the next Overlord.

* [[EvilMatriarch Lady Kasuga's]] primary motivation in the second and third volumes of ''{{Ooku}}: the Inner Chambers'' is avoiding the massive succession crisis that she feared would occur if it became known that Shogun Tokeguwa Iemitsu died [[HeirClubForMen without a male hier]]. Anyone [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready that has read volume one]] (set about 80 years later) is well aware that [[LadyLand the secret came out]][[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning at some point.]]

* [[spoiler:Though it never comes to be,]] This is one of Thirrin's main worries in ''Cry Of The Icemark''. She marks a [[RoyalBlood relative]] to reign while she is gone, and if she doesn't come back, that line takes over--which goes straight to the whole foreign ruler trouble. To make matters worse, there is no one else who can claim to be an heir--[[AChildShallLeadThem Thirrin is only just fourteen]], and childless.

* [[EvilMatriarch Lady Kasuga's]] primary motivation in the second and third volumes of ''{{Ooku}}: the Inner Chambers'' is avoiding the massive succession crisis that she feared would occur if it became known that Shogun Tokeguwa Iemitsu died [[HeirClubForMen without a male hier]]. Anyone [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready that has read volume one]] (set about 80 years later) is well aware that [[LadyLand the secret came out]] [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning at some point.]]

* ''Matter'' by Iain M. Banks starts out with the king assassinated on the eve of his final triumph by his pseudo-loyal counsellor, when the crown prince has already died in the same campaign, the next older brother has to flee the world to escape the counsellor, and the next oldest prince is still underage and unprepared to be king. Intrigue ensues, of course. At one point the princess, who long ago emigrated and joined TheCulture, toys with the idea of turning male permanently and claim the throne, just to mess with people's heads.

* This is part of Ling's motivation for seeking the Philosopher's Stone in ''FullmetalAlchemist''. His father, the Emperor of Xing, has one foot in the grave & because he had so many children with concubines drawn from rival noble houses that when he finally croaks, the empire is bound to be torn to shreds by a succession war.

* A succession crisis frames much of ''DragonAge: Origins'', but the protagonist only gets involved ''after'' the civil war is mostly over. Problem is, the only candidates for the throne are the former king's wife, who isn't of royal blood herself, and the bastard son of the former king's father, with a paranoid (and, it is later revealed, [[ProperlyParanoid properly so]]) regent and manipulative bastard with a facade of goodness making the mess even murkier. Just to add to that pressure, a nigh-on unstoppable horde of monsters has nearly destroyed the standing army and is getting ''very'' close to wiping out the country outright. The remaining army is on the brink of civil war and all foreign aid has been blocked at the borders until far too late to make a difference. Without getting a king/queen to sort this mess out soon, the country is utterly boned.

* Averted, mostly, with the KingsQuest universe. King Edward was childless, but he outright stated that recovering the three treasures was more of a way for him to know the kingdom was in good hands, and a final test for his best knight. The FanSequel took it a step further by creating a legendary first king who handed the throne to his trusted knight when he died in battle without heirs. The king's brother was ''very'' displeased at being passed over, and founded the Black Cloak Society. In the Air Gem's final test Graham can choose whether or not to make the protagonist of Mask of Eternity heir to the throne.

**The player can also assert themselves as a contender, assuming they are male and chose the Human Noble origin.

*[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tmVk9yOCpQ Dynasty]] is the Wuxia story of YongZheng's ascension, reign and assassination.