History Main / SuddenlySuitableSuitor

* ''Hey, Cinderella!'' provides a rather odd example. Prince Arthur Charming falls in love with Cinderella (who he knows is a servant) and wants to marry her, but the king thinks that him marrying a girl who sits in front of a fireplace all the time is ridiculous. Instead, he insists the prince marry a mysterious princess he danced with all night at the ball (actually Cinderella, although nobody realizes this), not because she seems to be royalty but because he feels she has good qualities (that is to say, she gave him a present he liked). Cinderella providing the other glass slipper and being magicked back into her gown by the fairy godmother convinces Arthur that she's the maiden he's been ordered to marry and everyone is perfectly fine with it (of course, considering that Arthur wanted to marry her from the start, it's understandable ''he'' has no objections. The king takes everything surprisingly in stride, though).

* In the final arc of the ''Literature/RiftwarCycle'', the Duke of Crydee falls in love with the Princess of Roldem. While perfectly acceptable from a pure rank perspective, the fact that Crydee is on the opposite side of the continent from Roldem means that her family doesn't stand to gain anything from such an alliance (The fact that his duchy gets invaded while he's out doesn't help). Then, after a SuccessionCrisis that erupts into civil war, the Duke ends up becoming King of the Isles. Since the now-King can now offer a far more valuable alliance then he could as a Duke, the Princess' family approve the match.

Differs from ParentalMarriageVeto in that it isn't the parents making the rules, and just sucking up to them won't fix it. Can lead to IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy by one or both parties. If the [[AnAesop Aesop]] has been divulged and is suddenly {{Broken|Aesop}}, it's a bad case of SweetAndSourGrapes. Expect spoilers afoot!

* Disney's ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' is an aversion--it's never required that Cinderella be a princess or nobility, the king just wants his son to settle on a girl, any girl, so the only thing that matters is that she prove she's the girl the prince fell in love with by [[TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper fitting into the glass slipper]]. Every woman in the kingdom is tested, and Cinderella is discovered while she's still a servant to her family. (Cinderella is actually of perfectly respectable birth, but it's never brought up one way or the other as being even potentially an issue.)

* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', as shown in the page quote.

* Faked in ''VampireGame''. Yujinn manufactures a royal pedigree for Darres so he and Ishtar can get married.

* In a ''RuneScape'' quest, when Bob the Cat finds out he was once a human warrior, Neite agrees to elope with him.
* In the ''NeverwinterNights'' expansion "Shadows of Undrentide", you physically enter a story where the damsel in distress is sent away to a monastery (and subsequently sacrificed to a demon) because her father disapproves of her loving a blind beggar. On the second read-through you can change the story so the beggar is actually a knight (with functional eyes) disguised as a beggar, because he wanted to be certain she loved him for himself, and not his title. As an added bonus, this also means that he'll save her before she's sacrificed.

* A variant occurs in one of Creator/RobertEHoward's ''King {{Kull}}'' stories: the law forbids a certain young [[BlueBlood noble]] from marrying the girl he loves, because she's a slave. Even the King can't change the law, although he's thoroughly sympathetic to the lovers. And then the girl learns of a plot against Kull, and her lover rushes to the King's aid ... and Kull, at the end of the story, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight smashes the tablet on which that law is inscribed]].

[[folder: Film]]
* In ''Film/KingRalph'', a commoner likes Ralph for who, rather than what, he is, but even being seen with her is scandalous, since they can't marry until [[spoiler:he resigns the crown]].

* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', as shown in the page quote.

** Razoul actually does call him such.

* In ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Jimmy is actually a billionaire, and more so, Muffy's stepson, and MORE SO, Miss Dorothy's brother! So Millie can marry for love and still end up with loads of dosh!]]
* In ''Film/ComingToAmerica'', EddieMurphy plays an African prince who is arranged to marry a general's daughter, who has been groomed from childhood to be the "perfect wife" (i.e. a pliant, willing sexual partner with no independent thoughts or wants). He wishes for a woman who is more his intellectual equal and goes to New York to find one. He meets and falls in love with the daughter of a fast food restaurant owner and she falls for him as well, but the King (Creator/JamesEarlJones) arrives and explains her the situation. She tells the prince they are from two different worlds and that she can not marry him, even though he offers to abdicate his throne and renounce all his titles. He finally leaves with his parents back to Africa and his mother berates the king for messing with true love, but the king replies that he can not violate tradition. She points out that he is the king and can do anything. The wedding day comes, and the prince meets his bride only to lift up the veil and see his love.

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooInArabianNights'': In the gender-flipped version of Aladdin, the Prince [[ArrangedMarriage was supposed to marry the Princess of Serendibe]] but she disappeared back when she was a little girl. Aliyah-Din was eventually revealed to be the lost Princess.

* In ''ThoroughlyModernMillie'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Jimmy is actually a billionaire, and more so, Muffy's stepson, and MORE SO, Miss Dorothy's brother! So Millie can marry for love and still end up with loads of dosh!]]
* In ''ComingToAmerica'', EddieMurphy plays an African prince who is arranged to marry a general's daughter, who has been groomed from childhood to be the "perfect wife" (i.e. a pliant, willing sexual partner with no independent thoughts or wants). He wishes for a woman who is more his intellectual equal and goes to New York to find one. He meets and falls in love with the daughter of a fast food restaurant owner and she falls for him as well, but the King (Creator/JamesEarlJones) arrives and explains her the situation. She tells the prince they are from two different worlds and that she can not marry him, even though he offers to abdicate his throne and renounce all his titles. He finally leaves with his parents back to Africa and his mother berates the king for messing with true love, but the king replies that he can not violate tradition. She points out that he is the king and can do anything. The wedding day comes, and the prince meets his bride only to lift up the veil and see his love.

* Spoofed a bit in CodenameKidsNextDoor. Numbah 3/Kooki and Mushi go on a Rainbow Monkey water ride with automatronic monkeys playing a kid-friendly version of RomeoAndJuliet (no tragic deaths). The girl monkey is of royalty and can't marry the charming boy monkey, but he tells her a long family tree explanation that he's actually royalty. "That means..." A Rainbow Monkey wedding with its iconic theme tune!

* ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'': Shakuntala and Raghunath Rao (partially subverted in that she needs to be pushed into the wedding, and then just ignores the rules).

* In the earliest French literary version of "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, the story doesn't end when the Beauty cures the Beast. The Queen is appalled that her son actually intends to marry the riffraff who rescued their kingdom, but luckily, it turns out that whoops, she was adopted all along! And her mother is a fairy princess and her father is the king of an island utopia! And they're all related! Needless to say, this lengthy and improbable denouement did not make into the famous versions of the tale.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': When Leonard starts dating Leslie Winkle, suddenly Sheldon loses his opposition to Leonard/Penny.

And then, his real parentage is discovered, and he's really a prince. Or he inherits enough to pay the Bride Price. Or maybe her royal father, realizing the law is unfair to his beloved daughter, repeals it.

* ''TheBelgariad'': Garion and Ce'Nedra (humorously inverted in that, once his parentage is known, it becomes an ArrangedMarriage...and they've been thrown together all along with the intent that they fall in love).

* In the SherlockHolmes story ''The Sign of the Four'', Watson falls in love with Holmes' latest client, Mary Morstan. Then she inherits a treasure worth a large sum of money, and Watson feels it would be improper for him to make his feelings known. When the treasure is lost in the Thames and Watson confesses his feelings the two then got married.

* In the WheelOfTime, Aviendha has a self-inflicted case. While she has ''technically'' married [[spoiler: Rand al'Thor]], she wont allow herself in his presence until she completes her training as a Wise One, viewing ''herself'' as not worthy without the title.

* In the earliest French literary version of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'' by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, the story doesn't end when the Beauty cures the Beast. The Queen is appalled that her son actually intends to marry the riffraff who rescued their kingdom, but luckily, it turns out that whoops, she was adopted all along! And her mother is a fairy princess and her father is the king of an island utopia! And they're all related! Needless to say, this lengthy and improbable denouement did not make into the famous versions of the tale.

* GilbertAndSullivan used this device in ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'' and ''Theatre/TheGondoliers''.

* Jerin turns out to be suitable for Ren fairly early in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', since she finds out that his grandmothers [[AMatchMadeInStockholm abducted Prince Alannon]] before that entire wing of the Prince's family was killed for treason. This does make them [[KissingCousins third cousins]], but that's okay.

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* In the earliest French literary version of ''Literature/Beauty and the Beast'' by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, the story doesn't end when the Beauty cures the Beast. The Queen is appalled that her son actually intends to marry the riffraff who rescued their kingdom, but luckily, it turns out that whoops, she was adopted all along! And her mother is a fairy princess and her father is the king of an island utopia! And they're all related! Needless to say, this lengthy and improbable denouement did not make into the famous versions of the tale.