History Main / TheGoodKing

** People who turn up at the end and become king are often suggested to be this sort of king, such as Malcolm in ''{{Macbeth}}'' and Richmond in ''{{RichardIII}}.''

* Appears often in WilliamShakespeare's works. In his historical plays, the English royals tend to be portrayed as this (since one of Shakespeare’s benefactors was Queen Elizabeth and all).
** Duncan in ''{{Macbeth}}''.
** ''{{King Lear}}'', where the king's trusting nature is also his downfall.
** ''{{Henry V}}''

* ''{{Babylon 5}}'': Emperor Turhan of the Centauri, [[spoiler: near the end of his life he wanted to formally apologies to the Narn and their government for what the Centauri, and his family, did to the Narn people and homeworld during their occupation. The first step towards healing both races and true peace. [[TearJerker To say he didn't get a chance to would be a grave understatement...]]]]

[[AC:Folklore and Mythology]]
* While not the original, KingArthur is the TropeCodifier and adaptations featuring him usually portray him as this.
* Richard the Lion Heart in ''{{Robin Hood}}'' and its adaptations. Particularly in contrast to his brother John.

** King Triton from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''.

** The King of Maldonia (Prince Naveen's father) from ''Disney/ThePrincessandtheFrog''.

Kings are portrayed in one of two ways in works of fiction. There's [[TheCaligula the morally repugnant, power mad, gluttonous, possibly insane sadist]] and on the opposite side of the coin there's this trope.

Kings are portrayed in one of two ways in works of fiction. There's [[TheCaligula the morally repugnant, power mad, gluttonous, sadist]] and on the opposite side of the coin there's this trope.

** Bowser also shows shades of this trope, in the RPGs he's protrayed as a BenevolentBoss who commands his troops out of respect and admiration rather than fear.

** The Prince of the Forest from ''{{Bambi}}''.

** Later Kungas too, though Kungas was a bit more grim and ruthless then Eon.

* ''DragonAge'': If the player chooses Prince Bahlen as the new dwarf king the epilogue will reveal that Bahleen made many changes to dwarf society including giving the casteless dwarfs more rights and freedoms. He many have achieved his throne through some less-than-moral means but given the [[GreyandGreyMorality moral climate of Ferelden]] he’s practically a saint.
** King Maric, who died before the events of DragonAge, is said to have been a Good King. He was also one of the leaders of LaResistance during the Orlesian Occupation. His son King Cailan clearly thought he was this trope, unfortunately [[WrongGenreSavvy Cailan was another trope entirely]].

** Though the position has been occupied by bad hats since its inception, most surviving Constitutional Monarchies turn out rulers that are harmless at worst. This is because the limitations on their authority only allow them to affect the country when the people are on their side and their highly cultured upbringing tends to give them refined and respectable personalities even if they are incompetent. Heads of State in countries where the true power is with a separate Head of Government also tend to be benevolent.

* After becoming king of the Planet Sakaar TheHulk actively worked to rebuilt his new kingdom, maintain peace with the resident StarfishAliens and was more than willing to spend the rest of his life ruling Sakaar peacefully. Unfortunately [[WorldWarHulk it didn’t take long for Sakaar to be destroyed by an outside source.]] [[spoiler: [[OrIsIt Or was it an outside source?]]]]

** The Prince of the Forest from ''{{Bambi}}''.
** The King (PrinceCharming's father) from ''{{Disney/Cinderella}}''.
*** That king is actually a bit of a JerkAss. He threatens his prime minister with death for letting a girl leave the ball.

* In ''TheLionKing'', Mufasa embodies this trope. The sequels show that Simba is following in his father's footsteps.
* The emperor from Disney's ''{{Mulan}}'' was more concerned with protecting his people from the invading Huns than with his own safety.
* Other Disney kings include:
** The Prince of the Forest from ''{{Bambi}}''.
** The King (PrinceCharming's father) from ''{{Disney/Cinderella}}''.
*** That king is actually a bit of a JerkAss. He threatens his prime minister with death for letting a girl leave the ball.
** Kings Stefan (Princess Aurora's father) and Hubert (Prince Phillip's father) from ''Disney/SleepingBeauty''.
** Arthur "Wart" Pendragon from ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone''.
** King Richard the Lionheart (a ''literal'' lion) from ''Disney/RobinHood''.
** King Triton from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''.
** Zeus from ''{{Disney/Hercules}}''.
** [[LeonardNimoy Kashekhim Nedakh]] and later on his son-in-law, [[MightyWhitey Milo]] (due to him marrying [[TheHighQueen Kida]], Kashekhim's daughter) from ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''.
** The King of Maldonia (Prince Naveen's father) from ''Disney/ThePrincessandtheFrog''.
** Rapunzel's father from ''{{Tangled}}''.

May be HappilyMarried to TheHighQueen. When a PrinceCharming or WisePrince grows up, he tends to become this.