Basic Trope: Inheritance (money, power, etc.) is passed down from father to firstborn son.
- Straight: King Bob the Nth passes his crown on to his son, Prince Charles, even though Princess Alice is older than Prince Charles.
- Exaggerated:
- King Bob the Nth dies without any heirs, even though he had dozens of daughters, so Bob's nephew, or third cousin once removed, Charles, is named king despite clearly being unfit to rule a kingdom.
- King Bob's illegitimate son is placed above his daughters.
- King Bob the Nth can still expect to lead a mentally and physically active life for years, but he forfeits his crown to a male relative who has one or more sons to keep this trope active.
- Women Are Wiser in the setting, and Charles is blatantly Royal Brat Dumbass Teenage Son, but with Insane Troll Logic, King Bob the Nth passes his crown on to Charles anyway.
- Downplayed:
- When it comes time to divide up the inheritance, although all of Bob's children receive something, the bulk of it goes to Charles, his only son.
- The inheritance laws allow for Bob's firstborn daughter to inherit if he has no suitable male heirs.
- Justified:
- King Bob the Nth's kingdom is in a No Woman's Land; women are considered unfit to rule.
- Lineage Comes from the Father
- Only men are considered capable of fighting, and thereby of occupying a position of authority.
- Physical strength is required for the position as it implies going into battle directly against burly male warriors and the princess is a petite woman of delicate stature, unlike her brother who is tall and muscular.
- Alice is an Enfant Terrible who would kill King Bob to get on the throne early. For this reason, King Bob designated her calmer, more patient brother Charles his heir.
- Alice was the beneficiary of an Oblivious Adoption by King Bob; only a natural child of the reigning monarch may succeed them.
- Princess Alice and Prince Charles have a Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling dynamic, King Bob decides to give the crown to his son due him being more smart, responsible and wise compared to his sister.
- The kingdom traditionally requires male-only abilities for honorably ruling a kingdom.
- Inverted: The power is passed down from mother to daughter (i.e. Queen Alice passes her crown to her daughter, Princess Diana, even though some of Diana's brothers are older).
- Subverted:
- King Bob the Nth dies and Prince Charles expects to crowned king, only for his dad's will to name Princess Alice as his successor because she is older.
- King Bob the Nth dies and Prince Charles is crowned, but "he" turns out to be crossdressing princess Charla and her father knew this before he died and designated his heir.
- Charles is crowned not because he is male, but because he is The Wise Prince. Were his sister to take the throne, catastrophe would ensue.
- Double Subverted:
- Further into the will, the late king specifies that Princess Alice will be Charles' regent until he is old enough to be king.
- Charla was originally male but a demon transformed him into a girl. His father knew this as well.
- Charles dies and the crown is passed on to his younger brother David, who is even worse than his sister.
- Parodied:
- Alice is required to have a sex change if she wishes to become monarch.
- The statute governing succession to the throne could simply say that the crown will pass first to a male heir over a female one, but it says that and puts many obvious rule patches on top.
- When King Bob the Nth dies, his son Prince Charles, an infant is declared king over his 22 year old sister, Princess Alice.
- Zig-Zagged: The laws of succession are unclear, and thus inheritance is inconsistent. When a man dies, sometimes a daughter is passed over for her younger brother or cousin and sometimes not, and there are even a few times when a son is passed over for his younger sister or cousin.
- Averted:
- She Is the King.
- Neither gender nor heritage is a factor for inheritance, only asskicking.
- The country is an Elective Monarchy; each reigning monarch is chosen by a council of nobles and may be male or female.
- The country is a republic with an elected president.
- The inheritance passes to the eldest child in succession regardless of gender.
- Enforced:
- The show is a historical drama, and it's a Truth in Television.
- The writers planned for Princess Alice to ascend to the throne, but meddling executives argued that her more popular younger brother Prince Charles should become king instead. However, they also forbade the writers from writing Alice out of the show. Adding the rule that the firstborn son inherits the throne was the only practical way to accomplish this.
- Lampshaded: "Power is for men, not for women. Who would ever cower in fear in front of some dainty princess?"
- Invoked: King Bob the Nth gets his First Gray Hair and starts to think about what will happen after he's gone, knowing that he only has daughters.
- Exploited: King Bob the Nth has one sickly son. His enemies target that son, knowing that all will be thrown into chaos if he dies.
- Defied:
- King Bob the Nth decides he'll pass the crown onto his eldest daughter, and teach her how to be the best queen she can possibly be.
- Princess Alice is The Evil Princess and vows to kill her brothers and her father, even her mother and her father's mistresses if needed to seize the throne for herself, no matter what the law says.
- Implied: King Bob the Nth has twin children: his son Prince Charles and his daughter Princess Alice. Prince Charles is his heir. The twins' birth order is never discussed, so we can't be sure if Charles is the heir because he's firstborn, or because he's male.
- Discussed: Alice: "I should have known I'd be passed over just because I'm a girl."
- Conversed: "I used to see King Bob as a Reasonable Authority Figure. It's harder to hold that opinion not knowing whether he nominated Charles as his successor on practical or personal grounds."
- Deconstructed:
- Charles is crowned king despite being the youngest of the royal children, because he is the only male. However, "has a penis" doesn't translate into "is a competent ruler." Thus, Charles fumbles with his duties, which could cause trouble.
- A Succession Crisis begins because King Bob the Nth doesn't have a son despite having a daughter who could do a good job of it.
- Reconstructed:
- After Charles is crowned, his elder sisters become his advisors and they all pool their knowledge and experience together so that Charles makes the best decisions.
- The oldest princess rules temporarily until she can find a man with some claim to the throne that the belligerents can agree on. "Temporarily" can last a long time under the right conditions.
- One of the princess marries The Wise Prince to make the kingdom finally has a man who deservedly qualifies for the throne, so he can be coronated as the king, and make two kingdoms unite as a sole big and powerful country.
- Played for Drama: Nobody questions the system that elevated Charles over his more competent sister(s), even though his reign is marked by poverty, disease, and crime.
- Played for Laughs: Princess Alice wants to be Queen, but King Bob the Nth has her younger brother Prince Charles as his heir. Alice doesn’t think this is fair, so she starts an entire rebellion to stop Charles from being coronated.
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