writing royalty characters

[valiant12]

How do you write your royal characters?
Do you have a main character who is king\queen\emperor\etc?
Do you have a main character who is ruler of non human country?
Do you have a country which is technological advance and a yet is ruled by absolute or feudal monarchy?

an useful site for writing royalty- Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters - Springhole.net

 

[Jay_Ehm]

Actually, the main characters of my current work in progress happen to be a royal family! I've actually used that Springhole link to help me with getting a feel for what they're like, and I'd personally recommend it to people who need help with writing characters who are royalty as well.

These characters are humans, and they live in a country that generally has 19th Century-level technology (rifles, trains, and ironclad ships are present) but with some elements of magitech, Viking-esque aesthetics, and shamanism and witchcraft. These characters do deal with some more mundane royal duties that come up once in a while, but the story mostly focuses on them dealing with their duty to protect their country from magical disturbances: This case being a group of very powerful witches wanting to bring about a new age of Witch-Lords and tear down the country's (rather sensible) laws that keep magic from running wild. Another royal duty that comes up is the royal family being the ones more likely to be allowed to practice witchcraft and become anti-witches who work to set a good example of responsible magic use and try to understand a magic that often has many secrets hidden within.

But most of all, I treat my royal characters first and foremost as people. They all have very distinct interests, flaws, and personalities that aren't constrained within just their titles and duties. For example, King Gustav appears as a strong and well-spoken man in public, but he is noted to get excited as a young boy over cool weapons and warships, and has a very bizarre taste in food. Deep down, the main characters are really just a family of four, and I strive to generally portray them as a positive and happy one at that although a disagreement between Queen Margaret and Princess Honora over the latter sneaking off with a friend and making a rather impulsive decision to become an anti-witch without knowing the realities of the position sets the stage for the events in the story to come. I might be portraying these people in a position of power a bit idealistically, but I'm not intending to write a story that's overly gritty or dark. Some of the witchcraft stuff and its origin gets somewhat dark, but other than that I want to write a story where the royal protagonists are genuinely trying to do their best to fulfill their responsibilities to the people and where things can be humorous and upbeat alongside some of the darkness these characters have to face.

 

[Russ]

Writing royalty as MC's can be tricky.

There is a desire to make them human and give them typical or charming quirks like everyone else in society. This is worth considering because readers can and hopefully will identify them more.

However royalty are not like everyone else. In a society with any resources they are brought up very differently, taught to think, act, value and evaluate differently. If you believe upbringing shapes the person they are very different at a very deep level from the common man.

It also depends on how long they are on the throne and how "rich" the culture is. Conan's first years on the throne are one thing, the reign of Franz Joseph of Austria very different.

Important questions need to be answered like "how far does the king's power reach." Many German kings spent their lives touring because unless their subjects saw them fairly often with a group of armed men they would tend to ignore his direction. Compare that to say how the Roman Empire worked.

But in an established monarchy/empire of more than a generation or two, royalty are not like "us".

 

[skip.knox]

I have a NIW (novel-in-waiting) about Emperor Frederick II. His early years are a wild adventure tale. So, he's royalty, but he grew up on the streets of Palermo and was tossed around like a football until at 18 he decided to go make himself emperor on his own. He was definitely not your typical royal. Then again, I'd argue that before the 17thc, very few royals were typical royals. There are acres of differences between Louis IX of France, William II of England, Henry IV of Germany, Alfonso XI of Castile, just to grab a few famous names.

The best way to write a royal MC, imo, is to read a dozen or so royal biographies. Preferrably medieval rather than early modern ones.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

In my current project the main villain is a former queen in the foreign country my main characters are visiting. She is working to regain her throne and has amassed an army of her own to do so. She has a mentality of superiority that comes from her gaining magical powers and being alive for over 100 years. I enjoy showing what she does because she doesn't have to explain herself to anyone. She sets things in motion and deals with the aftermath.

 

[valiant12]

But in an established monarchy/empire of more than a generation or two, royalty are not like "us".

Is there scientific proof that great power and wealth causes insanity

 

[Russ]

Is there scientific proof that great power and wealth causes insanity

No. But in many cultures royalty ends up marrying closer relatives to keep bloodlines pure, which can have many negative impacts.

You should also keep in mind that while we like to talk about "mad kings" etc, there were plenty of rulers who were wise and fair.

 

[Jay_Ehm]

Also, adding to Russ's point about royalty not necessarily being 'us', monarchy and chiefdoms in Europe and beyond had rulers who were literally believed to either be descended from gods themselves or using divine right to justify their claim to power and actions. The Springhole article mentions this a little bit, as well as the royal life being a person with a noble title's comfort zone. Someone who sees themselves as a literal god or doing God's work on earth is not going to act like nor have a desire to act like everyone else. Deep down, yes, they are still human and have a personality and interests outside of their position, but they may see themselves as a better human than the people they rule over. Then again, there are always exceptions and more complicated factors that go into a monarch's ruling style and view of their title. It's good to remember that these people are groomed practically from birth to be who they are.

Here's an example of a monarch not being 'like us'. Say what you will about the historical accuracy and quality of the movie Hyde Park on Hudson, but King George VI is an example in the movie of a monarch having the royal life as his comfort zone while still being portrayed as a sympathetic character. He and the Queen are understandably confused and possibly even a little offended that FDR is holding a typical American picnic in their honor (this happened in real life) and their panic only increases when they find out that hot dogs are going to be served to them. It's a bit mixed with culture shock, but I think it's a pretty decent example. They also express some distress over how casually the non-royal people around them act in their presence. But while they don't quite 'get' life outside their royal comfort zone, King George isn't necessarily portrayed as wrong or bad in the movie for feeling the way he does about the situation (Queen Elizabeth perhaps not as much). He's still part of the allied forces fighting the Nazis, and at least try to enjoy himself at the picnic in the end even if a little reluctantly at first.

I'll try to find a more fictional example or a better real-life example of a similar situation if I can, and if I do I'll post it. This example was to give more of an illustration of the idea than a concrete example.

 

[Miskatonic]

I'm basing a lot of my political leadership on the middle ages, from beginning to the later period. The only difference is that monotheism does not exist in this world as a wide spread belief system. There are cults that worship specific gods though.

 

[The Greythrone]

I think there is even a noticeable distinction between nobility and royalty. You can have a noble who can be as quirky and eccentric as you want, but the truth is that societies form around stable points. If your royal family is truly the center of the kingdom, (and not just a figure-head for a parliament, etc.) then you will need them to be more or less stable for the kingdom to be doing well.

There are lots of stories about mad kings and evil queens, but these stories generally have a poorly run kingdom that's spiraling into decline. These same stories often have the heroes organizing a revolution that ends up deposing the monarch. Only then does the kingdom begin to return to it's former glory.

People look for stability and protection from their rulers. Without those two things, there is little appeal in being subservient.

 

[Miskatonic]

Look at a historic person like Henry VIII. That guy had an interesting life to say the least. If he were a fictional character it would certainly make for an interesting read.

 

[Russ]

I have a NIW (novel-in-waiting) about Emperor Frederick II. His early years are a wild adventure tale. So, he's royalty, but he grew up on the streets of Palermo and was tossed around like a football until at 18 he decided to go make himself emperor on his own. He was definitely not your typical royal. Then again, I'd argue that before the 17thc, very few royals were typical royals. There are acres of differences between Louis IX of France, William II of England, Henry IV of Germany, Alfonso XI of Castile, just to grab a few famous names.

The best way to write a royal MC, imo, is to read a dozen or so royal biographies. Preferrably medieval rather than early modern ones.

You mean Emperor Frederick II who was crowned King of the Germans at age 2, was crowned king of Sicily by age 2 as well, and had the Pope as his guardian by age 4? The one who was tutored so well he spoke six languages as an adult? IIRC he did not grow up on the "streets of Palermo", his regent only conquered it when he was what 12? He was declared of age at 14 or so taking on his role as King of Sicily, married at 15 to a much older one to get access to her troops for his wars? That Frederick II?

That dude was born and raised to be King and Emperor, and is a classic example of someone trained to rule. There are always some complexities to becoming HRE, considering his father was HRE that dude was primed to that role from the day his mother gave birth to him in public to make sure everyone knew who he was!

 

[skip.knox]

There are stories, mostly by way of Kantorowicz. Fritz was largely ignored as a player because there were real contenders up north (Philip and then Otto), so they held on to him mainly as a pawn. He was passed from one Sicilian contender to another. I'm sure he was in Palermo at a younger age than twelve, but I don't have my source to hand. Anyway, the stories are that he roamed the streets, was fed by locals and, according to legend, was educated in part by a Muslim magician/sorcerer.

Yes, in theory he was destined to be emperor. He was, after all, the ward of Innocent III. That and three coppers will buy you a mug of ale. He took off from Sicily at age 18 with a grand total of three ships and a handful of soldiers. Had to dodge the pope on the way north, got some resources in Genoa, had to cross northern Italy weaving between friend and foe (including a dash across the Lambro River bareback with the Parmese shooting arrows at him), then up through Chur and Konstanz (site of a marvelous scene in the story) and on into Germany. There are plenty of other dramatic moments in the tale as well.

Sure, some of those are doubted or even dismissed by historians. Lucky for me, I ain't writing history! The old stories are the best, especially those from the 18thc-19thc.

But yeah, same guy. Stupor mundi (the wonder of the world)