History Main / SuccessionCrisis

->''"The King is dead! Long live the king! ...But ''who'' is the king?"''

If the rightful heir is foreign royalty, particularly the monarch of a rival country, almost the [[StandardRoyalCourt entire court]] will unite to prevent them inheriting the crown out of simple self-interest. The foreign heir will object to this, vigorously, and [[YouAndWhatArmy he will have an army backing him up]]. When there are several candidates with a convincing legal argument, the dispute is normally [[MightMakesRight settled on the battlefield]], often with the death of one or more of the claimants.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is partially driven by the maneuvering of various claimants to the Britannian throne seeking to solidify their claim. The fact that the Emperor is still alive doesn't bother them too much. [[spoiler:The series concludes with Lelouch brainwashing Pendragon's aristocracy and royalty, defeating Schneizel, and becoming the first ruler of the entire world... only to get assassinated by Suzaku two months later. It turns out, he planned his own death so that Nunnally would get the title of Empress, and rule in a peaceful world united by mutual hatred of him]].

** However, that leads to the ''next'' succession crisis: Ienari has so many children that one of these is inevitable. Harusada took it upon herself to poison the grandchildren she doesn't like (and it's implied she did that because she was ''bored'') and after her death the various concubines started poisoning each other's children. However, Ienari took a page from Yoshimune and abdicated in favor of one his sons. He also pre-empted another crisis by declaring Ieyoshi's daughter Iesada next in line after him, as she was the only one of his children to show any competence.

** Iemochi was initially content to let Yoshinobu be her heir, knowing that many would have preferred him to be shogun over her anyway, but after he alienated everyone with his arrogance, she began seeking a new heir, adopting a boy from a branch family. [[spoiler:Once she dies of beriberi induced heart failure, her wishes for the succession are promptly ignored, with the excuse that they needed an adult to lead since they were at war. And then Yoshinobu's actions cause the shogunate to be abolished entirely.]]

* A smaller-scale version occurs in ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' with the large, wealthy (and old) Sohma family. After Akito's father, Akira, dies, there's a huge dispute over whether his wife Ren or his child Akito should take over as Head of the Family. Akito ends up winning, since it's in Akira's will, but considering that we only hear about that stipulation from the head maid (who has always despised Ren) after the conflict has had some time to escalate, it's possible she made it up. The factions among the servants are still butting heads a decade or so later.
* In ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'', if the current Lord Beezlebub has too many children (read: more than one), demons are obviously going to create factions over in-fighting, and civil war will eventually start, threatening both the family itself and the entire kingdom. Case and point: Baby Beel and his older brother En. Though, it's assumed that whoever inherits the Beelzebub is the true successor to the throne. Since En did not inherit the title despite being the eldest, it's obvious who their father's successor is. This causes En a considerable amount of (somewhat childish) angst, and claim that he is an "unwanted child," perhaps in realization of that and the fact that he tends to act like a SpoiledBrat.

* ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'' has the princes fighting each other after their father deliberately set them against themselves to see who would become emperor, nearly destroying the country in the process. Not to mention exiling his former favourite son Prince Seien, the most competent out of his sons. In the end after four of the six princes killed each other, [[TheUnfavourite the youngest prince Ryuuki]] becomes emperor, something he hated and never wanted.

** Upon becoming Emperor of the French, Napoleon becomes obsessed with having a heir, fearing disputes among his brothers could ruin his work. Thus the moment he has an ''illegitimate'' child from one of his lovers, proving he's not sterile, he goes on divorcing Josephine and marrying Marie Louise of Austria (daughter of the Austrian emperor and niece to Marie Antoinette), who goes on giving him a son.

* One story arc in the ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' comics featured King Blozo of Spinachia being pressured into marrying because his subjects were fearing this trope. He didn't like the idea of having a wife, but was reconsidering because the people of Spinachia were threatening to depose him and elect a President.

** The Crown enters one after Joffrey's madness becomes widespread knowledge after an incident at a major banquet. One of the reasons Robert's rule was tolerated was because it got the Mad King Aerys off the throne. Westeros will not tolerate another Mad King, to the point of going to war over it. This is an issue because Tommen, Myrcella, ''and'' Stannis all died during the Plague — and with Renly disqualified from the line of succession due to having a male soulmate, that leaves only Shireen as the only other possible heir. For what it's worth, Robert has been trying for more trueborn children, [[spoiler:but Cersei has been thwarting his efforts through a careful schedule of moon tea so she can have Jaime's kids intead]].

** The Lannisters want to keep their grip on the Iron Throne through Cersei's children: unfortunately, her eldest Joffrey is ''extremely'' [[AxeCrazy bloodthirsty, sadistic]] [[StupidEvil and dumb about it]], to the point his grandfather Tywin seriously considers to disinherit him. He could be replaced by his younger brother Tommen, who's actually nice... ''too'' nice, plunging into ExtremeDoormat territory. Their sister Myrcella inherited brains, kindness and assertiveness, if there was not for her gender. And that's without taking in account their true incestuous parentage, which deprives them from any kind of claim to the crown.

** The main reason Catelyn won't remarry is because she doesn't want to risk one of the other Houses using it as an opportunity to usurp her children with Ned with any she might have with her second husband.

* ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'': Officially, the succession is straightforward: an established rule dictates that on the leader's death he will be succeeded by his deputy. However, UsefulNotes/GeorgyMalenkov is a weak-willed [[TheDitherer ditherer]] (Stalin made him his NumberTwo specifically because he wouldn't pose a threat to his own power and become TheStarscream), so there's still a conflict among the more strong-minded and devious officials to determine [[TheManBehindTheMan who will be unofficially but actually in charge]]. Per history, UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev emerges the victor, and later dismisses Malenkov to become the new General Secretary... until it's indicated that in a few years time [[HereWeGoAgain Krushchev himself will end up being replaced]] by an ambitious soldier named [[UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev Brezhnev]].

** The original movie centered around this as well, as the death of Mia's father, Phillipe, forced Clarisse to seek out Mia, as she was his only child and the last heir from the Renaldi lineage and without her, the throne would pass to the unlikable Baron von Troken.

* A variation occurs in ''Series/{{Farscape}}''[='=]s "Look at the Princess" trilogy. Moya's crew lands on a Sebacean planet where succession goes through the eldest child regardless of gender, but only if they are married (to someone who can give them viable offspring) by a certain age. Since Princess Katralla's DNA was poisoned by her younger brother, she despairs of ever finding a Sebacean male who is compatible and thinks she will have to forfeit the throne. This is particularly problematic since Prince Clavor will lead the society into destruction at the hands of the Scarrans if he is allowed to rule. Fortunately for her, John shows up. As he is human and not Sebacean, he is genetically capable of producing an heir with her and is practically forced to wed her. [[spoiler:The Queen even has her daughter artificially inseminated with his DNA to make sure there will be a continuing line.]]

** The rival Lupertazzi family of New York has their own succession crisis in Season 4 and 5 after their long-time boss Carmine Lupertazzi dies of a heart attack, leading to a brief power struggle between Carmine's underboss John Sacrimoni ("Johnny Sack") and his son Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. The power struggle ends after Carmine Jr. (who isn't terribly interested in mob life) agrees to let Johnny succeed his father, but things becomes a bit more complicated after [[spoiler:Johnny is subsequently arrested--allowing the truly ruthless Phil Leotardo to take over]].

** House Davion had a succession crisis that caused a civil war so bad that they rewrote the rules of succession to be exceedingly specific, so that there could be no ambiguity as to who would succeed who. It... didn't work. Well, technically, the rules ''would'' have worked, but when the populace (and various nobles) simply accepted a new ruler in clear violation of those laws, they were shown to be nothing more than ink on a page. A civil war erupted a few years later.

* The classic ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' adventure module "The Lost Heir of the Rinaldi" takes place among a brewing succession crisis. The High King Fidelio di Rinaldi has been murdered along with his eldest son, probably by his new wife, the necromancer Lady Amalsand Jakoba; however, his second son Fabrizio is missing and could still be alive. The players are usually hired by a banker to whom the king owed a lot of money and who is being pressured by the Great Houses to foreclose on the Rinaldi estate so they can buy it from him, but he can't until they know what happened to the prince. [[spoiler:His stepmother drove him completely insane with a curse, he can't even speak coherently. And there's at least two other factions looking for him, and an impostor, and Amalsand wants him dead so her own son can claim the throne.]]

** Special note goes to the ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' expansion pack ''The Old Gods'', in which pagan factions (especially the Norse) are ''required'' to have elective gavelkind succession[[note]]anyone who can inherit, does inherit, which frequently splits kingdoms when a ruler dies[[/note]] until they reform their religion (if ever). This inevitably results in various succession crises, as your heirs start fighting each other over who has a better claim on a title. Vicious intrafactional fighting follows, since this ''is'' the Vikings we're talking about.
** [[http://youtu.be/cle3Vxjl5Vc One]] of the live action trailers for ''Crusader Kings 2'' shows how one can engineer succession crises in neighboring kingdoms and take advantage of them to invade.

*** The Orzammar Dwarves are in the middle of a succession crisis of their own. One candidate, the son of the late king, is 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. As the dwarves have an ElectiveMonarchy and the supporters of both claiments are deadlocked, the city is currently paralyzed and it's up to you to get one or the other chosen as the new king in order to get them to finally take action against the Darkspawn Blight.

** In one of the comics leading up to ''Legion'', Magni wakes up from his crystal slumber. There are immediately fears that Magni will once again assume the throne, undoing the unity the Council of Three Hammers has achieved, potentially re-igniting the old conflicts and putting everything right back where it started. Fortunately for that, Magni has other issues to contend with, as he [[spoiler:becomes the Speaker for Azeroth itself]].

* Averted, mostly, with the ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' universe. ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIQuestForTheCrown'' is centered around an attempt to avert a succession crisis. By completing the quest given to him, Sir Graham is proven worthy of being the childless King Edward's heir, preventing Daventry from falling into chaos when said king dies mere moments after the quest is complete. 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 in the fan sequel, Graham can choose whether or not to make the protagonist of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'' heir to the throne.

** Unfortunately, this didn't quite work out as planned. Although the next queen (Lymsleia, the protagonist's younger sister) was never in doubt, a crisis occurred with regards to who would marry her and become royal consort and head of the country's military. This is traditionally decided through a tournament of champions, but since House Godwin won it through drugging or discrediting all potential threats to their champion, a lot of people were upset with this choice. The Godwins then tried to solidify their rule by assassinating the current Queen and Commander right away, when Lymsleia is still too young to rule on her own. The prince (the protagonist) was able to survive this assassination attempt, and much of the country begins to look to him as preferential to Gizel Godwin as leader of the Queendom (including the father of another contender for Lymsleia's hand, with whom the Prince takes refuge). And thus the stage is set for the civil war that comprises the majority of the game.

* The plot of the strategy video game series ''Lords of the realm'' (e.g. ''VideoGame/LordsOfTheRealm2'') is entirely based on this trope: after the king's death, you must defeat other claimants to while they try to do the same thing with you.

* The Laurentia arc of ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' had the mess left behind by Laurentian national founding father [[TheAce Lucien Moreau]], who wasn't a ''ruler'' per se but still had such a expansive business empire that he might as well have been one. Lucien was plagued by the PerfectSolutionFallacy in life and put enormous pressure on all of his children to surpass him, up to and including exiling his illegitimate (and only) son so that a life of hardship would [[SinkOrSwimMentor make a man out of him]]. Once Lucien died, one of his daughters had already married outside the family, another was burned out from the pressure of being Lucien's overworked [[TheGoodChancellor lieutenant]] for so long, and the youngest had never received any training or education in running a business empire and was unprepared when the task of last-ditch backup heir was suddenly dumped on her. The exiled son — [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome by now a violent and bitter man after decades of hardship]] — returned soon after and took advantage of the situation to seize Lucien's estate for himself.
* An unusual one in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors'', as the problem is that neither heir ''wants'' the throne: Lianna thinks she doesn't have the self-confidence to be an effective ruler, and Rowan thinks being a ruler will weaken him [[spoiler:after seeing his father literally die from the stress of ruling]]. The crisis is put on the backburner once the plot kicks off, and after a bunch of character growth on both Rowan and Lianna's parts, the crisis is resolved: [[spoiler:they're ''both'' crowned as [[BrotherSisterTeam co-rulers]] of Aytolis]].
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the Garlean emperor Solus zos Galvus dies without naming a successor, leading to an offscreen civil war where his grandson Varis emerges victorious over the other claimants and assumes the throne. [[spoiler:Varis is then murdered at the end of ''Shadowbringers'' by his son Zenos, who has no interest in ruling the Empire and walks away from the throne, leading to ''another'' civil war. By the time the Warrior of Light and the united Grand Company of Eorzea march towards Garlemald in ''Endwalker'', the resulting war, thanks to Fandaniel's manipulations, has left the empire an empty shell of itself. Due to Zenos's part in bringing about Garlemald's downfall as part of his scheme to fight the Warrior of Light once more, Zenos was officially declared a traitor and given the middle name of "viator", which brans him as an enemy of the now leaderless empire.]]

** The Sarghress clan ends up facing the same problem. Quain'tana's eldest daughter, Mel'arnach, is rebellious to the point that she would gladly destroy the Sarghress clan. Quain'tana's eldest son, Kel'noz, is competent, but a male in a {{Matriarchy}}, which would make things difficult for him even in the relatively egalitarian Sarghress clan. Laele'aell ''was'' perfect, but was broken beyond repair by DemonicPossession and a botched experiment to exorcise her. Syphile ended up as a short sighted loser. Ariel and Koil'dorath aren't completely hopeless, but they aren't quite leaders by nature either and are more or less {{Reluctant Ruler}}s. When Quain'tana dies, the clan is wrecked by internal divisions. Koil'dorath fails to keep the clan together and ends up dying. Ariel, Quain'tana's official successor, loses most of her backing and is eventually branded a "traitor" by what little leadership the Sarghress have left.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the Garlean emperor Solus zos Galvus dies without naming a successor, leading to an offscreen civil war where his grandson Varis emerges victorious over the other claimants and assumes the throne. [[spoiler:Varis is then murdered at the end of ''Shadowbringers'' by his son Zenos, who has no interest in ruling the Empire and walks away from the throne, leading to ''another'' civil war. By the time the Warrior of Light and the united Grand Company of Eorzea march towards Garlemald in ''Endwalker'', the resulting war, thanks to Fandaniel's manipulations, has left the empire an empty shell of itself.]]

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the Garlean emperor Solus zos Galvus dies without naming a successor, leading to an offscreen civil war where his grandson Varis emerges victorious over the other claimants and assumes the throne. [[spoiler:Varis is then murdered at the end of ''Shadowbringers'' by his son Zenos, who has no interest in ruling the Empire and walks away from the throne, leading to ''another'' civil war.]]

* ''Manga/{{Ooku}}: the Inner Chambers'' is about harem politics, so this trope is a constant.

* ''Film/ThePrincess'': The queen not having given birth to [[HeirClubForMen any sons]] is what caused the very concerned King to promise the Princess's hand to Julius to begin with. [[spoiler: The Princess defeating Julius in the end convinces him to change the law so that women can inherit the throne.]]

* ''LightNovel/AccomplishmentsOfTheDukesDaughter'' has this as a background element in the first volume, which gradually grows in importance until it comes to a head in the climax of the fourth. The King of Tasmeria is ill and fading, leaving behind two sons by two different wives. By established law, the firstborn, Prince Alfred, is the rightful heir. But between the ambitious scheming of the second queen's family and the fact that he's a far more visible public figure (largely because Alfred is trying to avoid his stepmother's scheming while he builds his powerbase), the second prince, Prince Edward, has a large following that wants him to take the throne. [[spoiler:Alfred wins the throne by demonstrating his competence in dealing with a national crisis while Edward demonstrates his incompetence, causing Edward's faction to collapse.]]

* In ''Anime/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'', there is Arslan who is making his move to free Pars from Lusitania and [[spoiler:Silvermask/Prince Hermes, Andragonas' nephew]] who also wants to undermine Lusitania from within. Parsian officers in exile recognize that because there are two contenders for the throne, liberating Pars will not bring peace to the country.

* There are two concurrent succession crises in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'':
** The Fereldan succession crisis, caused by King Cailan Theirin's death without a legitimate heir fighting the darkspawn at Ostagar, frames much of the main plot, but the protagonist only gets involved ''after'' the civil war is mostly over. Problem is, the only candidates for the throne are the late king's wife (who isn't of RoyalBlood herself), the bastard son of said king's father (by an elven mother, no less, which would make him a target of FantasticRacism if anyone ever found out), and the PlayerCharacter (but only if they are of the Human Noble origin and choose to run for it). All the while, a paranoid [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] regent with a [[WellIntentionedExtremist facade of righteousness]] makes 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. [[spoiler:Possible resolutions are: HeroicBastard Alistair becomes king, Dowager Queen Anora becomes queen regnant, Alistair and Anora marry and rule together (the outcome of Alistair's CompanionSpecificSidequest determining which of them is really in charge), or either Alistair or Anora rules while marrying the Human Noble Warden. Additionally, another permutation for a non-Human Noble female PC who romances Alistair (again depending on his sidequest) is for her to become his [[TheMistress mistress]]. Whew!]]
** The Orzammar Dwarves are in the middle of a succession crisis of their own. One candidate, the son of the late king, is 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. As the dwarves have an ElectiveMonarchy and the supporters of both claiments are deadlocked, the city is currently paralyzed and it's up to you to get one or the other chosen as the new king in order to get them to finally take action against the Darkspawn Blight.

** Sebastian also mentions that preventing one of these was a factor in him being LockedAwayInAMonastery. His frustration with being TheUnfavorite due to being the [[SpareToTheThrone spare to the spare]] as the third son led to him acting out by being a womanizing hedonist. His parents feared that if Sebastian's various affairs were to produce any illegitimate children, it would have caused a bunch of trouble down the line for their legitimate grandchildren.

*** The [[CivilWar War of the Red Diamond]] in the 3rd Era started as the result of such a crisis. After the death of Emperor Antiochus Septim, his [[AChildShallLeadThem 15-year-old daughter Kintrya II]] took over as Empress. However, her aunt, the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen infamous "Wolf Queen" Potema]], accused Kintrya of being a bastard and therefore illegitimate. Potema declared her son (nephew to Antiochus), Uriel III, as the rightful heir. Potema and Uriel were joined by the disgruntled leaders of several of the Empire's provinces in starting the war, as well as an alliance with the Maormer (Sea Elves hostile to Tamriel), who invaded southern Tamriel, creating a two-front war for the strained Empire. Kintrya would be captured by Potema's forces and would die in captivity. However, her supporters, now led by her uncle Cephorus, would strike back and kill Uriel III, ending his claim to the throne. Cephorus would take over as Emperor, defeat most of Potema's forces, and then kill Potema herself after a protracted 10-year insurgency. It was the largest conflict the 3rd Empire of Tamriel had faced since it was founded (and would remain as such until the Oblivion Crisis).
** A subplot in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' involves this between Princess Elysana and Prince Helseth of Wayrest; they both have a claim to the throne, and it's left to a council to decide who would inherit on King Eadwyre's death. A side quest involves either blackmailing (Helseth) or killing (Elysana) a council member to curry favor for either heir. Between ''Daggerfall'' and ''Morrowind'', Elysana is coronated Queen of Wayrest and exiles Helseth and his mother, Barenziah, to Morrowind.

** As a consequence of ''Oblivion'', another succession crisis occurs. Ocato is named [[RegentForLife Potentate]] (a reserve title which can be granted by the Elder Council, effectively establishing a permanent regency), but is soon assassinated by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] assassins, seeking to destabilize the Empire to make way for the rebirth of the [[ScrewYouElves Aldmeri]] [[AntiHumanAlliance Dominion]]. War breaks out again as several local powers jockey for the Ruby Throne, eventually ending with the Colovian warlord Titus Mede claiming it. The period is known as the Stormcrown Interregnum, since Potentate Ocato's rule is an extension of the Septim Empire (and [[FounderOfTheKingdom Tiber Septim]] was anointed "Stormcrown" by the [[OldMaster Greybeards]]).

* In ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', Crown Princess Elodie faces one of these when Fabian, Duke of Elath, dies. His son Adair is too young to take the reigns, and so it's up to Elodie to appoint a regent in his stead. Certain choices can further complicate this, as [[DeathOfAChild Adair may end up getting assassinated]] as a result [[spoiler:with the implication that agents from a foreign nation, whose duke would technically be next in line after Adair to inherit the duchy, were responsible]].

* ''Literature/LookToTheWest'', being set primarily in the 18th and early 19th centuries, naturally has a lot of them. It even references the Yongzheng Emperor's strategy mentioned in the introduction to this trope...[[spoiler:not that it works if the Emperor writing the note is quietly bonkers and chose a son who had died years before as heir]].

* {{Invoked| Trope}} by the wizard in ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsAdventureInWonderland'', who kidnapped the Princess of Heart, just as she was about to be crowned queen, meaning he would take over.

** In the GrandFinale, Iroh explicitly cites this trope as why Aang has to be the one who defeats [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]]. Sure, Iroh could possible beat Ozai in a fight, but doing so will merely plunge the Fire Nation into civil war over succession and throw the world into imbalance all over again, as the event would be seen as just another instance of a man killing his brother to grab power. [[TheChosenOne The Avatar]] intervening to end Ozai's reign, however, would make a real lasting difference. Preventing this trope is also why [[RebelPrince Zuko]] spends the final battle dueling Azula for the throne; she's the only other candidate to be Fire Lord, and not dealing with her before Ozai is defeated would risk dividing the country's loyalties between the siblings.

** In the GrandFinale, Iroh explicitly cites this trope as why Aang has to be the one who defeats [[BigBad Firelord Ozai]]. Sure, Iroh could possible beat Ozai in a fight, but doing so will merely plunge the Fire Nation into civil war over succession and throw the world into imbalance all over again, as the event would be seen as just another instance of a man killing his brother to grab power. [[TheChosenOne The Avatar]] intervening to end Ozai's reign, however, would make a real lasting difference. Preventing this trope is also why [[RebelPrince Zuko]] spends the final battle dueling Azula for the throne; she's the only other candidate to be Firelord, and not dealing with her before Ozai is defeated would risk dividing the country's loyalties between the siblings.

Or there can be succession mandates with serious penalties. For example, the [[UsefulNotes/TheMonegasqueRoyalFamily Grimaldi family]] owns the country of Monaco, because, basically, they got a contract from France saying so back in the 13th Century. However, their contract ends if the current Prince (or Princess) dies without a direct descendant. There were worries for a time that Monaco might revert back to French control if both of Prince Rainier's children, who are [[TooDumbToLive not exactly known for participating in safe practices]], were to be killed and he didn't get married and have another kid fast enough. So far, it looks like there have been some changes in the activities of the members of the House of Grimaldi and the chance that France will be able to take Monaco back is no longer likely.

Or there can be succession mandates with serious penalties. For example, the Grimaldi family owns the country of Monaco, because, basically, they got a contract from France saying so back in the 13th Century. However, their contract ends if the current Prince (or Princess) dies without a direct descendant. There were worries for a time that Monaco might revert back to French control if both of Prince Rainer's children, who are [[TooDumbToLive not exactly known for participating in safe practices]], were to be killed and he didn't get married and have another kid fast enough. So far, it looks like there have been some changes in the activities of the members of House Grimaldi and the chance that France will be able to take Monaco back is no longer likely.

* ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'' has the princes fighting each other after their father deliberately set them against themselves to see who would become emperor, nearly destroying the country in the process. Not to mention exiling his former favourite son Prince Seien, the most competent out of his sons. In the end after four of the six princes killed each other, [[TheUnfavourite the youngest prince Ryuuki]] becomes emperor, something he hated and never wanted.

** The Orzammar Dwarves are in the middle of a succession crisis of their own. One candidate, the son of the late king, is 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.

* ''Series/YTheLastMan'': The series is setting this up as Jennifer was elevated to Speaker and then President despite being a Democrat when the Republicans are in control. The late President's daughter is already making moves to convince other remaining Republicans that they should be in charge as the "lawfully elected party." To complicate matters further, the actual woman who was in the line of succession, Regina Oliver (known as a borderline lunatic), is found alive in Israel, meaning she should be President despite how Jennifer was already sworn in with everyone citing the Constitutional crisis (not helped by how there are only three Supreme Court Justices left alive, though It's notable that filling the Supreme Court should be (comparatively) easy as there are many female judges to pick from. Supreme court justices are picked by the president and then approved by a simple Senate majority, though heaven knows how much of the Senate still exists...).

* ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'': Officially, the succession is straightforward: an established rule dictates that on the leader's death he will be succeeded by his deputy. However, UsefulNotes/GeorgyMalenkov is a weak-willed [[TheDitherer ditherer]] (Stalin made him his NumberTwo specifically because he wouldn't pose a threat to his own power and become TheStarscream), so there's still a conflict among the more strong-minded and devious officials to determine [[TheManBehindTheMan who will be unofficially but actually in charge]]. Per history, UsefulNotes/NikitaKrushchev emerges the victor, and later dismisses Malenkov to become the new General Secretary... until it's indicated that in a few years time [[HereWeGoAgain Krushchev himself will end up being replaced]] by an ambitious soldier named [[UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev Brezhnev]].

* ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'': Officially, the succession is straightforward: an established rule dictates that on the leader's death he will be succeeded by his deputy. However, Malenkov is a weak-willed [[TheDitherer ditherer]] (Stalin made him his NumberTwo specifically because he wouldn't pose a threat to his own power and become TheStarscream), so there's still a conflict among the more strong-minded and devious officials to determine [[TheManBehindTheMan who will be unofficially but actually in charge]]. Per history, Krushchev emerges the victor, and later dismisses Malenkov to become the new General Secretary... until it's indicated that in a few years time [[HereWeGoAgain Krushchev himself will end up being replaced]] by an ambitious soldier named Brezhnev.

** Iemochi was initially content to let Yoshinobu be her heir, knowing that many would have preferred him to be shogun over her anyway, but after he alienated everyone with his arrogance, she began seeking a new heir, adopting a boy from a branch family. [[spoiler:Of course, given how history plays out, this wasn't going to work, though ''how'' this doesn't work hasn't been seen yet.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara "The Androids of Tara"]] is basically a version of ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda''. Prince Reynart must be crowned at a specific time. Trying to stop him is an evil count, who plans to kill him or prevent his attendance so the next in line, Princess Strella, takes over — or more specifically an android double. However, the prince has an android double of himself and Strella looks exactly like Romana. Spare a thought for Mary Tamm, who had to play both roles and doubles of each.

* As they deal with the start of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and the rise and fall of UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' and its sequel ''Eikou no Napoleon - Eroica'' deal with the trope repeatedly:

* The Laurentia arc of ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' had the mess left behind by Laurentian national founding father [[TheAce Lucien Moreau]], who wasn't a ''ruler'' per se but still had such a expansive business empire that he might as well have been one. Lucien was plagued by the PerfectSolutionFallacy in life and put enormous pressure on all of his children to surpass him, up to and including exiling his illegitimate (and only) son so that a life of hardship would [[SinkOrSwimMentor make a man out of him]]. Once Lucien died, one of his daughters had already married outside the family, another was burned out from the pressure of being Lucien's overworked [[TheGoodChancellor lieutenant]] for so long, and the youngest had never received any training or education in running a business empire and was unprepared when the task of last-ditch backup heir was suddenly dumped on her. The exiled son — [[RealityEnsues by now a violent and bitter man after decades of hardship]] — returned soon after and took advantage of the situation to seize Lucien's estate for himself.