History Main / TopWife

* In the 1955 EpicMovie ''Film/LandOfThePharaohs'', which revolves around the building of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Creator/JoanCollins stars as the second wife of the Pharoah, who schemes to become top wife in the expectation of being in a position of power after he dies. [[spoiler:In the end, her treachery uncovered, she is awarded the "honor" of being interred alive in her husband's tomb.]]

* ''Film/VanHelsing'': According to her actress, Verona is the oldest of Dracula's brides and is the most dominant one of three as shown when she demands to have the first bite on Anna Valerious, the younger bride Aleera snarls but ultimately backs off.

* Series/BigLove has a polygamous off-shoot Mormon marriage. Of the three wives, Barbara is definitely number one, both by seniority and personality. It shows other polygamous marriages, some ordered and happy, others where newer and younger wives try to use that to gain status.[[/folder]]

* Celtic society allowed a man to take a second wife under Brehon Law. One of them would be known as the 'Chief Wife' and was allowed to abuse the second if she wished.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' - Sansa jokes about this in Season 8. She was still technically married to Tyrion when Littlefinger had her married off to Ramsay Bolton. She tells Tyrion he was the best of her husbands, which [[DamnedByFaintPraise isn't saying much]] - considering Ramsay was a rapist and serial killer!

* In the 1955 EpicMovie ''Land of the Pharaohs'', which revolves around the building of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Creator/JoanCollins stars as the second wife of the Pharoah, who schemes to become top wife in the expectation of being in a position of power after he dies. [[spoiler:In the end, her treachery uncovered, she is awarded the "honor" of being interred alive in her husband's tomb.]]

* In ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom'', Liscia has this position among Souma's queens, as his first wife and heir to the throne of Elfrieden.

* ''LightNovel/IsekaiCheatMagician'': Discussed early in the series, when Sumella [[AllAmazonsWantHercules is defeated by Taichi]] and immediately proposes that he take her as his wife. She also states that if he is spoken for, then she would gladly accept the position of concubine but still wants at least three children out of him.

** In the Literature/BookOfGenesis, Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two handmaids/concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The latter two are automatically lower than the others, and while Leah and Rachel seem to be officially equal, Rachel was Jacob's clear favorite. (Indeed, she was the only one Jacob really ''wanted'' to marry--he was [[BrideAndSwitch tricked into marrying Leah]].) Unfortunately, Rachel gets a roadside burial while Leah, the surviving wife, gets the honor of being buried along with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah in the tomb at the cave of Machpelah.

* In Literature/TheBible, Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two handmaids/concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The latter two are automatically lower than the others, and while Leah and Rachel seem to be officially equal, Rachel was Jacob's clear favorite. (Indeed, she was the only one Jacob really ''wanted'' to marry--he was [[BrideAndSwitch tricked into marrying Leah]].) Unfortunately, Rachel gets a roadside burial while Leah, the surviving wife, gets the honor of being buried along with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah in the tomb at the cave of Machpelah.

* In Literature/TheBible, Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two handmaids/concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The latter two are automatically lower than the others, and while Leah and Rachel seem to be officially equal, Rachel was Jacob's clear favorite. (Indeed, she was the only one Jacob really ''wanted'' to marry--he was [[BrideAndSwitch tricked into marrying Leah]].)

* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'': Immortan Joe has several captive "wives" in his harem, but it's made clear that the one named "Splendid" Angharad is his favorite. She's also the only one who's visibly pregnant, driving home that he valued her fertility more than anything. This doesn't seem to have necessarily translated to more authority among the wives themselves, since Furiosa (not a wife but a soldier) is the one calling the shots during their break-out.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': The first wives of noblemen who have at least two of them are not only expected to produce the first heirs in the sucession line. They are also the ones allowed to take an official part in political decisions to avoid having too many cooks spoiling the soup. For instance, if a viscount has several wives, only the first one holds the title of Viscountess. If a first wife dies, the second wife, if she exists, usually takes her place.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': The first wives of noblemen who have at least two of them are not only expected to produce the first heirs in the sucession line. They are also the ones allowed to take an official part in political decisions to avoid having too many cooks spoiling the soup. If a first wife dies, the second wife, if she exists, usually takes her place.

* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': Among the Holderkin, men take several wives, but the first one rules over the other wives. Talia, the protagonist of the first trilogy is a Holderkin girl whose mother is dead. Right before she get Chosen, her father's other wives are shown telling her she'll need to get married soon and to choose if she'd rather be a first wife or a secondary wife, listing the pros and cons of each option.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'':

-->-- ''LightNovel/MaoyuuMaouYuusha''

* ''LightNovel/MaoyuuMaouYuusha'': Demon Queen and Knight quickly become friends despite their mutual feelings for Hero. During one conversation with him, Knight [[OneDialogueTwoConversations accidentally says]] that they need to settle who's the wife and the mistress. On other occasions, when a situation makes it impossible or improbable for the girls to have him exclusively, they begin to bicker over who takes priority.

* ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': When [[DoesNotLikeMen Tsukiumi]] gets "winged" as Minato's Sekirei, she tries to save face and declares herself to be his wife before finding out that she's, in fact, his ''fourth'' Sekirei (in order of acquisition). Musubi and Kusano take offense to this, and declare that they're ''also'' Minato's wives[[note]]Matsu sometimes does too, only because [[TheGadfly it annoys the other girls]][[/note]], and when Tsukiumi then insists that she's the ''true'' wife, they insist ''they'' are as well. In general this trope is averted as Minato very much seeks to avoid favortism and treats them equally and the Sekirei he's winged generally respect this, though they can ruffle each others feathers from time to time especially early on.

* ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': When [[DoesNotLikeMen Tsukiumi]] gets "winged" as Minato's Sekirei, she tries to save face and declares herself to be his wife before finding out that she's, in fact, his ''fourth'' Sekirei (in order of acquisition). Musubi and Kusano take offense to this, and declare that they're ''also'' Minato's wives[[note]]Matsu sometimes does too, only because [[TheGadfly it annoys the other girls]][[/note]], and when Tsukiumi then insists that she's the ''true'' wife, they insist ''they'' are as well. In general this trope is averted as Minato very much seeks to avoid favortism and treats them equally and the Sekirei he's winged generally respect this, though they can ruffle each others feathers from time to time.

* In Japanese culture, only monogamy was ''technically'' allowed and thus the term "Legal Wife" became common. Most wealthy or powerful men had more than one concubine or mistress, though, who were secondary wives in all but name.

* ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': When [[DoesNotLikeMen Tsukiumi]] gets "winged" as Minato's Sekirei, she tries to save face and declares herself to be his wife before finding out that she's, in fact, his ''fourth'' Sekirei (in order of acquisition). Musubi and Kusano take offense to this, and declare that they're ''also'' Minato's wives[[note]]Matsu sometimes does too, only because [[TheGadfly it annoys the other girls]][[/note]], and when Tsukiumi then insists that she's the ''true'' wife, they insist ''they'' are as well.

* Muslims and Reformed Pagans with the Polygamy Doctrine can take up to four wives; said wives will sometimes compete for the position of First Wife, sometimes to the extreme of trying to murder one another or another wife's children.
** Additionally, Zoroastrians, most unreformed pagans, tribal Christians, and followers of the Indian religions can take three concubines in addition to their wife; the concubines don't compete with each other or with the wife, but they can be set aside at any time and their children face minor social stigma.

Series/BigLove has a polygamous off-shoot Mormon marriage. Of the three wives, Barbara is definitely number one, both by seniority and personality. It shows other polygamous marriages, some ordered and happy, others where newer and younger wives try to use that to gain status.[[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings II'' Muslims and Reformed Pagans with the Polygamy Doctrine can take up to four wives; said wives will often attempt to murder each other, attempt to murder each others children, and overall compete for the position of First Wife. Additionally Indian religions, most unreformed pagans, and tribal Christians can take three concubines in addition to their wife; the concubines don't compete with each other or with the wife, but they can be set aside at any time and their children face minor social stigma.