Why is royalty so difficult to write?

Do you think that royals actually have this other-wordly bearing? Or that they should be adept at acting as if they do? Royals are just humans, as much as history tries to tell us differently. Honestly, read anything about Nicholas II for someone who thought they were divine but...wasn't in practice.

Also, what is your POV for these scenes? It might help if you want your king to seem "kingly" to have a POV character who totally buys into his hype and can bring that to their narration. Can honestly (for them) describe the king as this incredible presence regardless of the "truth."

PyriteFool said:

Do you think that royals actually have this other-wordly bearing? Or that they should be adept at acting as if they do? Royals are just humans, as much as history tries to tell us differently. Honestly, read anything about Nicholas II for someone who thought they were divine but...wasn't in practice.

Also, what is your POV for these scenes? It might help if you want your king to seem "kingly" to have a POV character who totally buys into his hype and can bring that to their narration. Can honestly (for them) describe the king as this incredible presence regardless of the "truth."

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+1

Rank also affects people's reactions. When Janitor Joe speaks, nobody listens, or if they do they dismiss him. When His Royal Highness Joseph the Clean speaks, everyone shuts up and takes him seriously (or at least pretends to in public.) If people are dismissive of a king, it's a sign of weakness in the monarchy, and likely a king who won't be around much longer.

So, how are people acting around your royalty? Are they acting as they would around a bastion of power (or kin to such a bastion, or potential bastion if a few inconvenient heirs were to somehow disappear or conveniently abdicate)? And how do your royal characters feel about being royalty? Do they honestly believe they are divinely blessed - and, if so, do they see it as a burden and responsibility to lead justly, or as license to abuse their power 'cause they're acting in the name of their gods so it's all good? (And, this being fantasy, is there any truth to special powers in the royal line?) This, too, will affect how they bear themselves, and how others react to them.

Royalty - as in blood royalty, not the opportunists who found future dynasties out of wit and guile and/or sheer brute force - will have been raised to think of themselves as powerful, even divinely gifted. Even the lesser heirs will have had advantages over the average middle class merchant, let alone peasant. They may have been raised to think of others as lesser, or to treat their power as a special responsibility (though whether the lesson sticks depends on the person and circumstances.) Those not in direct line to the throne and thus reasonably assured of a good future may develop particularly cunning social skills - reading people, playing them off each other, seeing advantages and learning how to manipulate others, etc. ... and even those who are in line likely won't last long without some ability to read the intentions of others as ally or enemy.

If royalty automatically had a 'kingly' or 'queenly' air about them, or had some 'holy grace' about them, they wouldn't need crowns and fancy robes, would they? There wouldn't be so much fiction about the identical twin, or vaguely related double that took over for the actual royal, if there really was anything special about them. Or, for that matter, royals disguising themselves as commoners to wander freely about the realm.
(Need a story about a king, taken to sneaking off and wandering about in disguise, who gets impressed into his own army. An alarming change from merely watching them pass by in review.)

They could be anybody, with the training, the clothes, the crown and the army.

Henry VIII was a loud, overindulged, bullyboy with a taste for adultery. If he hadn't been made king, (after his brother's death) he'd have fit right in at any bar, boozing, arguing with his cronies, and chasing women.
Queen Elizabeth II (not to insult her, she's been my queen all my life)
if she took of her hats, and dressed more casually, could be mistaken for anyone's granny. And, yet, she came out to meet the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, when the Prime Minister didn't bother. And brought her grandson with her, because that's how to teach him what a king does.

There are good kings, bad kings, and totally ineffective kings. I suspect the 'aura' is chiefly the result of everyone around staring at them.

I would suggest that if you want them to seem 'kingly',
'kingliness': the effort taken to stand tall and look confident, moving calmly, with dignity. Speaking politely to all, unless making a point. Being affable to those he wants to show favour to, and kindness to 'the little people'. Being just in his rulings, and firm with his enemies, foreign and domestic. Considering his decisions (or, at least, pausing and looking thoughtful). Knowing that eyes are on him. All the time.

Or, have him behave like a total as---le, confident in the knowledge that his minions will get him out of trouble, and cover everything up, because he is king.

Or, a noble looking man in a kingsuit.
There are many different kinds of royalty.

Blinkk said:

I've had issues in the past with writing royalty, specifically kings and queens. My kings always seem lacking. I feel like royalty needs to act different, or hold themselves superior, or have some holy grace about them and it's always been really hard to work that into a character in a natural way.

I know the personality of my kings. The current one I'm struggling with is a clever guy. Along with being well educated, he's got a natural gift with PR. He's able to spin anything in a good light, and he can convince the kingdom that a war is a great idea, or that violating the treaty is in their best interest. He's a gifted with hype and publicity. He's intellectually dangerous.

Going back and reading these scenes, I was able to convey his personality, but he doesn't carry any royal weight. I feel like kings have another layer to them. As a character he's fleshed out, he's got his strengths and weaknesses, but as a king he's lacking. I'm not sure what it is that he lacks.

Kings are difficult to write. I'm not quite sure why. When you're writing a king or queen how do you manage? How do you make them feel kingly?

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What exactly do you mean by "kingly"? And why must they feel that way? Royalty are people just like anyone else. Only their upbringing is different, but even that can vary tremendously.

A king might be endowed with "kingliness" in the eyes of his subjects simply by virtue of his exalted position, rather than any attribute personal to him. The office gives him both authority and power (presumably, unless he's a puppet king), but that doesn't necessarily mean he himself is charismatic or a natural leader or walks about with an "above it all" aura of grace and wisdom.

The best kings are probably the ones with an acquaintance with humility and a healthy knowledge of their own shortcomings.

ETA: ditto to those who mentioned viewpoint. How your reader will perceive your king is dependent on how your characters see him, how he sees himself, and how his actions either confirm or contradict those perceptions.

Most royals don't have any special gifs. What royal do have is access to people that do. Henry VIII has been mentioned. His relationship with Cromwell is well documented. The BBC drama Wolf Hall is worth watching to get an insight into the king's life.

I imagine royals are hard to write because most of us have no contact with them, except for what we see on television or read about in books (or in fictional portrayals via movies, books and television). You may be trying to base your perception of royalty on those public images, which may or may not reflect the way they behave in private.

The thing is, it's hard to know how much that ceremonial or "regal" bearing becomes an ingrained habit that royals exhibit, even with their families and closer associates and friends. I am guessing that they have several different personas they put on--one for public ceremonial appearances, one for when they are with their counsels/cabinets etc., one on the battlefield (if a monarch in a culture where royals lead battles), and one with their families and friends. But it's anyone's guess what those different personas are, aside from the portrayals we see in books and movies.

I'm guessing they're not all the same. Maybe some of them are very controlled and status conscious, even in private. I've never heard that Queen Elizabeth II is an especially warm woman in private, and she supposedly rules the extended family of royals with an iron fist re how they dress, talk, behave etc.

And in a time or place (or fictitious culture) where royals wield a lot of power over the state and over life and death, then that power could affect how they interact with everyone who gets in the way of their ambitions. But that doesn't mean all royals act like they have a stick up their butt when they are away from the camera (or other forms of public scrutiny).

Historically, there are plenty of examples of royals who had serious personality issues as well. Not all of them had a regal bearing or were skilled at putting on a convincingly royal persona. With hereditary monarchies, the job isn't given based on talent. I remember reading that Emperor Hirohito of Japan was an intensely shy and bookish man, though his modest demeanor probably served him and his nation well in the post-WWII era.

Cultures vary in what they expect from a royal as well.

And private behavior is bound to be different for some of them at least. Anyone else remember Prince Charles's extreme embarrassment when some of his private words to Camilla (when they were having an affair) became public? Remember all those tabloids that sneaked cameras into the gym where Princess Diana worked out? She was a charismatic and popular woman, but she didn't look any more regal than anyone else while doing thigh presses.

This is probably an area where some historical study could be helpful. Decide what kind of ruler you need your fictional monarch to be and see what kind of precedent exists and how it played out in different settings.

Blinkk said:

I

Kings are difficult to write. I'm not quite sure why. When you're writing a king or queen how do you manage? How do you make them feel kingly?

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I haven't written scenes with any Kings. I'm writing an Evil Queen scene now. I'm dealing with her as a kind of impressario who doesn't care if you see how she is pulling the strings. She produces an effect and if that doesn't work, she tries another one. I would say shameless -- except she really is without shame.
As for kings. It might be nice to use kings who people could not help but write about -- Henri of Navarre (Henri IV) and Frederick the Great for example. There's a lot about what it was like to fight along side these particular kings. How they dealt with their highs and lows. What their charismatic side (if any) was like. How people adapted to their weirdness (especially Frederick -- a very strange man and not half as "Great" as he gets the "Great" for).

I always thought royalty to be exceedingly easy to write, because you can get away with any characteristic. Especially in an established monarchy there are no checks and balances (apart from those which you write) that keep the crazy out, so you can have characters that are total caricatures and be believable.

Blinkk said:

I've had issues in the past with writing royalty, specifically kings and queens. My kings always seem lacking. I feel like royalty needs to act different, or hold themselves superior, or have some holy grace about them and it's always been really hard to work that into a character in a natural way.

I know the personality of my kings. The current one I'm struggling with is a clever guy. Along with being well educated, he's got a natural gift with PR. He's able to spin anything in a good light, and he can convince the kingdom that a war is a great idea, or that violating the treaty is in their best interest. He's a gifted with hype and publicity. He's intellectually dangerous.

Going back and reading these scenes, I was able to convey his personality, but he doesn't carry any royal weight. I feel like kings have another layer to them. As a character he's fleshed out, he's got his strengths and weaknesses, but as a king he's lacking. I'm not sure what it is that he lacks.

Kings are difficult to write. I'm not quite sure why. When you're writing a king or queen how do you manage? How do you make them feel kingly?

Click to expand...

As a few people have asked, are you writing from the King's POV? Because then you have a chance to showcase how clever he is by having him point out how aloof he is while he acknowledges it's all a 'front' because everything is a front.

Not to put words in your character's mouth, but for example...

"King Poncington III surveyed his court, making sure to keep his scowl properly affixed. Not his execution scowl, nor his bad news from a messenger scowl. Both of those were decidedly different things than the 'you have displeased me' scowl he turned upon the lords and ladies of the land. It was all an act, of course. He was actually quite pleased with the raids some of his nobles had been conducting, pushing the country closer to war."

I dunno. Just musing.

Kings and queens aren't usually interesting to me as a reader, but I understand they are required in many stories. Maybe your king needs a few people in his life who are close confidants - an aide, a councilor, a servant - who can add some of the layering for you, either from their point of view or their words and actions.

Blinkk said:

The MC is interacting with a king right now. The story doesn't take place from the viewpoint of a royal.

Maybe I'm relating this to an experience that isn't actually related. I perform on stage frequently. I like to hang out with the audience and talk to them immediately after shows. People treat me differently when I get off stage. While I'm still in my show makeup and costume, they put me on a pedestal. They’ll say things they wouldn’t normally say and they act in ways they normally wouldn’t act.

It's always been bizarre and it's something I've never gotten used to, but it’s a predictable behavior from the audience. I realize they’re putting me on this pedestal, so I play the role they’re expecting. It’s difficult to describe. They’re treating me like a famous rockstar, so I need to act like a famous rockstar, otherwise I ruin the fantasy they’re expecting. I sounds superficial, but I’m not doing it intentionally. It just sort of happens that way.

When I'm in my regular everyday makeup and clothes going to the grocery store, I'm just a regular person then. People treat me like normal.

I keep thinking of kings in a similar way. They’re put on this pedestal, so they have to act in accordance to all the attention they’re getting. That’s the thing I’ve been struggling with.

Judging by the responses, maybe I’m wrong through. Maybe they are just regular people. I really wanted to capture that air of…superiority? ...higher power? …grandeur? I’m not sure what the word is. Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble writing it – because I’m not really able to identify what exactly my king is lacking.

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Sounds like it's more how your POV character is perceiving him, then - as a Power, someone greater than an ordinary man, perhaps closer to the god(s). So maybe focus on how you're describing this interaction. Make things a little larger than life, giving even the most incidental sigh and blink extra weight and portent. Maybe show how the character guards their own words and actions, to avoid upsetting such a great man (or to keep from appearing foolish), or tries to read into every word spoken or not spoken. The king could be frowning because he just remembered he forgot his wife's birthday, but to the POV character it's a scowl about news just imparted and how it impacts the kingdom, proof that he understands the gravity of the situation and will act accordingly (as a bad quick example.) You might also give the king's dialog and actions a little flair of theatrics; he's being a King now, and acting the part, perhaps behaving a little condescendingly toward the lesser POV character - smiles and remarks the audience can see as empty or patronizing, but the character eats up, etc.

It always helps to have more context.

Blinkk said:

Judging by the responses, maybe I’m wrong through. Maybe they are just regular people. I really wanted to capture that air of…superiority? ...higher power? …grandeur? I’m not sure what the word is. Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble writing it – because I’m not really able to identify what exactly my king is lacking.

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This comes down to the how the viewpoint characters see him. They will, of course, respect his position and his power even if they don't like him. They will, at least at first, put him on that pedastal you spoke of, so you must describe, from their POV, how they experience that. How he is perceived through their eyes. Some of them might eventually see cracks in the facade and glimpse the man beneath the crown.

Blinkk said:

When I'm in my regular everyday makeup and clothes going to the grocery store, I'm just a regular person then. People treat me like normal.

I keep thinking of kings in a similar way. They’re put on this pedestal, so they have to act in accordance to all the attention they’re getting. That’s the thing I’ve been struggling with.

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A king without his royal clothing may look like everyone else--if he gets to sneak away from the palace and does grocery shopping like you would. But chances are he can't, and he knows it. This simple chore may be one of his secret desires.

But there's more than the attention. I recently watched a historical drama in which the emperor laments that he is a sentimental person, but in his role of being the emperor, he has to be heartless to make ruthless decisions. This is the part of his job that he hates the most, but he has no choice. King Albert in The Last Kingdom has shown similar emotions when he has to make tough calls. I think this is a rather common dilemma for these 'privileged' people (those who care to question their souls).

I would try to think about those people you know in high-powered, high-ranking, "professional" positions. There are certain leadership qualities that are considered a sign of strength (confidence, decisiveness, eloquence, the ability to stay calm in the face of disaster). Not every leader is going to have this personality by nature, but they'll at least be expected to act this way publicly.

I read somewhere that writing royalty is difficult because true royals are very hemmed in by tradition and the rigid, structured lives they live. It might not be as easy to bring emotion into their characters or to show them as flawed. And they are usually not able to act independently. I guess the way out of that is to use that rigid life as part of the conflict. And surely there have been many royal characters who are flawed and those who break out of that structure so it can be done.

One of the best writers I know who's incorporated royals into his fiction is the late, great Peter Dickinson. Here's one of the books---a huge favorite of mine, and successful precisely because of the way he handles those royal personages: as if they're real people inhabiting those titles.

Good luck!