Sorry this post is coming a bit late to you all. I have been out of the house and then Heroes caught my attention and, well, you know. At any rate. Here's more info on traditions!
The crown is passed to the first born son of the standing king. Of course, as I explained in yesterday's blog, the Quest of Kings must first be completed by the prince by his twenty-first birthday. In the case that the first son does not complete his quest, the second son will attempt the Quest of Kings. You can imagine the kind of hostility that would create between sons. If the current king does not have any sons, a daughter may take the thrown, but only after she is wed to a prince from another kingdom. This is definitely not what any of the families want, since it would mean creating an alliance with another kingdom that may or may not be stable. It could be a good thing and it could be horrible.
There is of course, the theoretical notion that if the king has any illegitimate sons, they may be up for the crown if they step forward with proof that they are royalty. They too would have to complete the quest. A hostile take over has never occurred, but it isn't completely insane to think that it might. That is only the most extreme cases.
This is a quick post today! Hopefully it was worth reading and tomorrow you will get some information on the legend of the Oracle and it's origins. No comment discussion today, but hopefully you comment anyway!
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I like this. I enjoy that the crown is not reservewd strictly for sons of the king. Although part of me rails at the marriage to a prince from another kingdom stipulation, it makes sense. Would that prince then be considered a consort, or King to her Queen, in that event? And has it ever happened? Would the Queen, then be the one to set the crown prince the quest?
ReplyDeleteI also like that illegitimate sons could take the crown, in theory.
I still likes it. Although how epic would it be if a princess went all Queen Elizabeth on them?! Oh well. Thanks for the update! :D
ReplyDeleteMeiri, I'll answer you first.
ReplyDeleteYes, the princess thing was something that I knew would get my feminist readers up in arms (not that you are a feminist). I wanted to try and keep the kingdom fairly old world. So, that was mostly the reason. In the case that a princess marries and takes the crown, the husband does become king. He takes equal part in decisions for the kingdom. It has occurred once in the past. The standing king and queen had no sons and the oldest daughter married a prince from a neighboring kingdom; the kingdom was small with significant resources and was quickly *ahem* purchased, of sorts, by our kingdom. Man, i really need to name this place. The next prince is then sent on the quest, given his father's family sword and his father's family crest, not that of the mother, even though she is from the native royal family.
Hilary, the Queen Elizabeth bit would be epic! I considered writing this story, but with a female character being the one of the journey, but decided that I would reach a wider audience if the main character was male. Women are more likely to read a book about a boy than men are likely to read about a girl. That, and I already have some girls planned that make-up for it.