The Good King / Real Life

• Older Than Dirt: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ancient Egyptian History gives us an example. Starting no later than the Middle Kingdom's Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1802 BCE), Egyptian texts ascribe to King Sneferu of the Old Kingdom Fourth Dynasty (reigned c. 2613-2589 BCE, give or take) many of the classic characteristics of this trope. Middle Kingdom texts trying to link the current monarch to a prior golden age of splendor, prosperity, and justice tended to try to link the king to Sneferu, who was always portrayed as a wise king willing to take the counsel of his priests and advisors and who made Egypt beautiful. As the Middle Kingdom was characterized by a flowering of Egyptian literature, with texts composed during this era copied continuously for the next 2,000 years, the court of Sneferu became a default setting for any Egyptian trying to present a didactic story presided over by a great and just king. Interestingly, Sneferu's reputation is pretty well deserved: Sneferu built the first true pyramid (the Red Pyramid at Dahshur), and what records exist from his incredibly ancient reign suggest that he really did reign well and prosperously. That said, the Egyptians were sure to not make him too good: One of the famous Twelfth Dynasty-era stories about Sneferu takes care to depict him as a good king, yes, but one who maybe loves beauty and luxury a little too much, e.g. by taking his advisor's suggestion of a pleasure cruise on the Nile surrounded by beautiful women and turning it into going into a boat with gilded ebony oars, rowed by beautiful young ladies wearing nothing but jewelry and nets.
• The Roman Empire had a few:
  • Augustus is an interesting example: All subsequent Romans regarded him as the pinnacle of Roman achievement in rulership (except for perhaps Trajan, for whom see below). And he really did do something remarkable in ending the instability of the late Republic, rebuilding the ravaged city of Rome in unprecedented splendor, expanding the territory of the Empire, and generally ruling wisely and justly. But he did so by subverting the hard-won Roman traditions of freedom and rule of law. Was this good? Was this necessary? Was this wise? Well, Western political philosophy has spent the last 2,000 years discussing this exact subject...
  • Claudius was known as a fairly kind and benevolent emperor particularly when compared to his predecessor. Not bad for a man who was hastily crowned by the fleeing Praetorian guards.
  • Trajan, the second of the "Five Good Emperors of Rome." He extended Rome to the pinnacle of its size and power, but what really makes him this trope is that his reputation has survived, unblemished, through nineteen centuries of scholarship, making him one of the most triumphant aversions of the Values Dissonance that sometimes comes with naming historical figures as this trope. It was customary afterward for the Senate to pray when recognizing a new emperor that he be as good as Trajan.
• Given the length of the Imperial China era, they had at least one of these per major dynasty:
  • The Western Han Dynasty had Emperor Wen, who kickstarted an era of prosperity and was known for his benevolence. Then they had Emperor Jing, who despite the Seven States rebellion continued his father's rule. Emperor Wu of Han is also highly regarded by modern Chinese for soldifying China's borders, however this trope was somewhat subverted in his later reign when he became obsessed with witchcraft to the point he executed his son Liu Ju's family. After Emperor Wu was Emperor Xuan, who was in fact Liu Ju's grandson and due to being a newborn was simply put in prison rather than executed. Due to growing up in prison he empathised with the people and despite problems with the powerful Huo family that culminated in their deaths had a good reign.
  • The Eastern Han^note  the Han dynasty was split in two following a usurpation by an official Wang Mang's first three emperors, Guangwu, Ming and Zhang were responsible for restoring the era of prosperity during the peak of the Western Han dynasty. Unfortunately their descendants had a habit of dying young which led to regents and eunuchs holding immense power and becoming corrupt, leading to the end of Eastern Han and a 400 year long era of chaos ended by...
  • Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, despite getting the throne by usurping and then murdering the Northern Zhou royal family, is generally seen as this. He reunified China after the Southern and Northern Dynasties, was known for his frugality, helped the people and was one of few Chinese adult monarchs to never have children with any of his concubines. Unfortunately his sucessor Emperor Yang ran the empire into the ground with deadly construction projects and wars against Goguryeo, leading to the dynasty's collapse.
  • The Sui dynasty was replaced with the Tang Dynasty, who brought back Emperor Wen and Jing's prosperity under the rule of the Emperor Taizong of Tang. Despite seizing the throne in a violent manner, he created the start of the Tang prosperity, caring deeply for his citizens and improving their lives, and getting rid of the threat of nomadic raids by conquering the nomads once and for all or using marriage alliances. The Tang Dynasty became multicultural and as a sign of this Taizong adopted the title of Heavenly Khagan.
  • Tang prosperity lasted for another hundred years, continued by the reforms of Wu Zetian, which also promoted an early form of gender equality. Tang finally reached its peak under Emperor Xuanzong, who improved the economy, improved literacy among the people, improved industry and even abolished the death penalty. However what comes up must come down. The corruption of his later reign led to the bloody An Lushan rebellion, which killed a large amout of the people and greatly weakened the Tang dynasty.
  • The Song Dynasty had its first two rulers Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong (Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi). They promoted invention, education and focused on scholarly pursuits rather than military ability, due to powerful military governors causing the fall of the Tang. There was enough economic development to lead to the beginnings of a middle class. However the Song's preference of diplomacy over war took its toll; the north was conquered by the Jurchen Jin and the south by the Mongols.
  • The Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle, despite purging many of the scholars of his nephew and launching a campaign to seize the throne, he expanded Ming territory and sent his admiral Zheng He as far as Africa for exploration, and introduced another era of prosperity after Mongol rule.
• You didn't think we'd do a royal trope without some British monarchs, did you?
  • Alfred the Great. He saved Wessex from Viking invasion after the Vikings had nearly conquered it. He then started a system of burghs—fortified market towns—to protect the country and started an education system. His actions eventually united England. There's a reason he's the only English king to be given the moniker "the Great".
  • King George VI, king of the United Kingdom during World War II. He was very shy and suffered from a speech impediment, becoming king after his older brother abdicated and caused a constitutional crisis due to being obsessively in love with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. George VI was not alone though, with the support of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and despite the dangers, even when Buckingham Palace was bombed, they refused to leave and decided to stay with their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret, becoming pillars of hope against Nazi Germany. With his patriotism, his unwavering will in front of danger, his humble and modest nature and his positive effect on his people's morale, George is one of the United Kingdom’s most fondly remembered monarchs.
• As always, the French royals are also a good source of examples:
  • Subverted with King John II of France, called Jean le Bon or "John the Good". Unfortunately in his day, "bon" could mean "brave", and John exemplified Honour Before Reason. When his army lost the battle of Poitiers (a.k.a. Maupertuis), he refused to retreat, ended up in English hands, and had to be ransomed for three million gold écus and several French provinces (the biggest king's ransom in French history). He also gave his younger son Philip the Bold the duchy of Burgundy, without which there might not have been the internecine strife between the Armagnacs and Bourgignons and the English-Burgundian alliance that disastrously affected the reign of John's grandson, King Charles VI. No wonder there never was another King John of France...
  • To this day the French call Henri IV of France, founder of the Bourbon dynasty, le bon roi Henri –- "Good King Henry." He was kind to his subjects, religiously tolerant in an era of fanaticism and religious war, devoted to ensuring national prosperity (the phrase "a chicken in every pot" as shorthand for "everyone doing well economically" is derived from his statement that, God willing, he would ensure that every peasant in France would have "a chicken in his pot every Sunday") and a famously good time.
• Juan Carlos, king of Spain, who led his country from the dictatorship of Franco into a first-world democracy and a member of The European Union. He got a reputation when he single-handedly stopped an attempted coup by Franco's former military men in 1981. Has become a Memetic Badass when he told Hugo Chavez to shut up when Hugo was making light of the deaths during Franco's regime. Him saying "Why don't you just shut up" became a very popular ringtone in the Spanish-speaking world. His elephant-hunting activities and a series of scandals of many kinds really damaged his popularity among Spaniards, though, as most polls showed. Many analysts consider this drastic reduction in popularity the real reason behind his unexpected abdication.
• King William II of Sicily enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign, as compared to those of his father and successor, and the years of his kingship are recorded as being a golden age of peace and justice; in the years after his death, he came to be remembered fondly by his people as "William the Good."
• Umberto II, last king of Italy, managed to prove himself this both as Lieutenant General for the Realm (basically, his father Vittorio Emanuele III made him regent after Italy switched sides in World War II because he himself was tainted by having supported the Fascist regime while Umberto was a known opposer of both Fascism and Nazism), when he managed to avoid the secession of Sicily without spilling a single drop of blood, and in his brief reign (35 days) where, in the face of the many irregularities in the referendum that had seen the Italians choosing the republican regime, he single-handedly defused any chance of a civil war while still calling out the government for proclaiming the Republic before the official results were announced.
• Christian IV of Denmark is, despite his horrible war record that later almost destroyed the country, universally respected as a great ruler. He loved art and music and budgeted many musicians to play at his court, was a Friend to All Children, was a very upbeat man even in his elderly days, ruled justly, and was a joy to be around.
• Gustav Vasa Of Sweden is often considered to be this, despite his highly polarizing actions as king. Sweden fondly remembers him for freeing them from the yoke of King Christian II Of Denmark (who to this day is referred to as "Kristian Tyrann" or Christian The Tyrant in Sweden), and is widely recognized as the father of modern Sweden, to the point that the Swedish Day Of Independence on June 6th is one of two commemorative events (the other being the signing of the 1809 government declaration) because that's the day when Gustav Vasa was officially crowned king in 1523, leading to the official dissolution of the Kalmar Union. However, for all of his accomplishments, Vasa is remembered for his vicious destruction of the catholic church and introducing Protestantism as the official religion of Sweden mainly so he could confiscate the Church's wealth. This, combined with his taxation policy, resulted in the "Dackefejden" (Dacke Feud), a peasant uprising in southern Sweden led by revolutionary Nils Dacke that took years to put down. Regardless, despite the controversy in his own time, King Vasa is still a beloved icon in Sweden and considered a national hero in the modern day.
• And now Norway:
  • King Olav V of Norway once joked that he never needed to bring bodyguards with him in public domestically because he had four million of them — meaning the entire population of Norway at the time. Unlike the aforementioned examples, Olav was a constitutional monarch and had no actual power, but was extremely well-regarded in Norway as a symbol of national unity, to the degree that he was voted "Norwegian of the Century" in 2005 (fifteen years after his death) despite being born Danish.
  • His father, Haakon VII (born Carl) was no slouch in this department either. While he, like his son and grandson, was a constitutional monarch, the mess known as World War II forced him into a more proactive role. During the war, Haakon became an important symbol of Norway's resistance against the occupation, especially since his refusal to acknowledge the Nazi-sanctioned parliament prevented it from legally seizing power from the Parliament-in-Exile. The elected parliament of Norway had, at one point, attempted to surrender, but Haakon told them to get their asses in gear and do the job they were elected for.
• Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, is the inspiration of the traditional Christmas carol 'Good King Wenceslaus' listed above under folklore. Immediately following his murder by his brother he was adopted as a local saint, and though he was only a duke, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I posthumously conferred the regal dignity and title of king upon him in honor of his legacy.
• King Casimir III the Great of Poland. He rebuilt Poland financially, doubled the size of the kingdom, founded the first Polish university, gave Jews rights and protections as 'people of the king', encouraged Jewish migration, and reformed the law. He was sometimes called 'the Peasant King' because he was known for taking the side of commoners where the law didn't protect them from the nobility and clergy, or 'the Polish Justinian', for his reforms of judiciary system and work for unified legal code. A popular Polish proverb says he 'found Poland wooden and left it brick', due to his support for urbanization (with over 100 towns founded during his reign) and fortification of the country. (This is also a reference to the aforementioned Augustus, who famously said that he had found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.)
• While the results varied on the monarch and often had a bit of Values Dissonance, the House of Habsburg (the Austrian branch at least) for all their flaws strove to uphold this trope as per their duty. The last Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Karl/Karoly IV in particular's still highly regarded for his humility, efforts to end the Great War and dedication to serve (and hold intact) the Empire...which went horribly wrong. If anything, his reign is something of a tragic deconstruction similar to Brazil's Emperor Dom Pedro above: his work to alleviate the sufferings of his people, holding the various realms together and generally being the Only Sane Man among the Central Powers would have helped the Habsburg monarchy endure into the 20th century and beyond if not for the strains of World War I ultimately tearing the Empire at the seams.
• Frederick the Great was way ahead of his time in several ways, including allowing freedom of speech, abolishing torture, and reducing the sentence for many crimes (which previously were punishable by death.)
• Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire is fondly remembered by the Turks for his tolerance and fair rule, ushering in his reign a period of peace and stability later sultans would try to emulate. In Turkish, his title translates to "Law-Giver".
• Peter I of Bulgaria had this reputation during the centuries following his rule. Inheriting a vast empire, he managed to keep the peace for 40 years, which was in stark contrast to his father Simeon's wars of conquest. While economy had suffered lasting damage from Simeon's wars, Peter's rule was remembered fondly enough that three future rebels claiming the Bulgarian throne following the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria renamed themselves after him.
• Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil. He was an abolitionist, a cultured man, and a sponsor of the arts and sciences, using his power in a benevolent way. He was also a massive advocate for the freedom of his people, with freedom of speech, civil rights, economic development, and democratic representation flourishing under his rule, and was willing to accept that the monarchy's days were numbered and that a transition into a republic would best serve Brazil's future.^note  Admittedly, the reason for this sentiment was due more to sexism than anything — the only issue he had was a daughter, Maria, and Pedro did not believe she was capable of ruling his vast empire, nor did he think anyone in his government would support her. The other reason was that he was unwilling to shed blood to fight back against the eventual republican coup, even though he clearly had the support of the people. (Bizarrely, even the coup plotters greatly admired him, to the point where they seriously regretted launching the coup in the first place after he actually abdicated.) He is still a national hero and highly respected in Brazil to this day.
• King Sejong the Great, who was the fourth king of Joseon Dynasty, is one of the most respected monarchs in the history of Korea. He created the Korean alphabet 'Hangul' from scratch for peasants who couldn't learn complex Chinese characters. He helped create the traditional Korean music notes with his own music skills. He began a series of military conquests to ensure that neighboring countries would respect their border. He let a genius commoner work in his court and develop automatic water clocks, sundials, and the world's first rain gauge. He published books about agriculture that would help peasants, researched and legislated laws that were so groundbreaking at that time that later kings didn't find the need to legislate new ones for centuries, and set a precedent for future kings by trying to debate and cooperate with his subjects, not rule over them. This overworking combined with diabetes probably caused his death at age 52. Koreans are so grateful to him that even centuries after his death, they use his portrait on their money, named the main road that crosses downtown Seoul after him, built a statue of him in the middle of said road, and named the administrative city after him.
• Thailand has two recent ones:
  • Rama IV of Thailand (better known to English-speakers as King Mongkut) is revered as one of its greatest monarchs^note which is why The King and I and Anna and the King are shunned by the Thai people and government. He revolutionized their science, technology, and to a lesser extent their society. To say nothing of his Batman Gambit against imperialism, in which he westernized the country to the point where the West couldn't invoke White Man's Burden and invade.^note  They took pieces anyway, but Siam itself remained independent.
  • Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX of Thailand, is known for being Royals Who Actually Do Something, personally visiting areas and people in need to understand their problems. Thailand had two civil wars over the past few years over political reasons, but the one thing both sides agreed upon, in both wars, is that their king is a wonderful man. After an exceptionally popular, seven-decade reign; his death at the age of 88 years in late 2016 was universally mourned by the people of Thailand. Such is his reputation that Thais seeking to insult his son and successor (who is far less well-regarded) without running afoul of Thiland's famously strict lèse-majesté laws conspicuously praise the late King for qualities in which his son is regarded as lacking.
• King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth Dragon King of Bhutan, was the first king to lead his country out of isolation from the rest of the world, introduced modernization such as television and the internet, created the Gross National Happiness Index to rule based on what would make his subjects happy rather than just focusing on the economy, and finally abdicated and ordered the establishment of a democratic parliamentary constitutional monarchy, on the basis that it had been found that countries with parliamentary democracies were happier than absolute monarchies. He did let his son take the throne as king, but only as a spiritual leader and political figurehead (as with the British monarch).
  • However King Jigme Singye Wangchuck also oversaw the expulsion of ethnic Nepalis from Bhutan
• Hussein of Jordan (r. 1952-1999). Described as kind, patient, very good-humored, and extremely humble, he loved to fly and even trained as a pilot. Unlike his name would suggest, he was a very benevolent and wise ruler who despite being situated between two warring countries and constantly pressed for action by the likes of Colonel Gadaffi, refused to participate in needless military conflicts and often bartered for peace. He was also a promoter of moderate Islam and had no part in the rising extremism that was at the time prevailing in the Middle East.
• Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II was The Chessmaster in both war and diplomacy. He defeated an Italian invasion, making Ethiopia one of the only parts of Africa never fully colonized by Europe, and received diplomatic recognition of Ethiopia from many other European powers. He was an equally skilled internal reformer, cracking down on the slave trade, modernizing Ethiopia's governance, creating a new postal system and national bank, starting Ethiopia's railway network, and introducing electricity, telegraphs, and modern plumbing to his capital of Addis Ababa.
• A more modern version would be Céphas Bansah King (more in a spiritual way) of the Ewe people in Ghana. He lives in Germany, where he runs a car service station. He manages most of the governing via Skype, but he regularly visits his people. He has raised several fundraisers to improve the standard of living for his people (often even paid much of the costs himself). Among other things, he has built water pumps and pipes, schools, hospitals, training centres, and even prisons.