The foremost art of kings is the ability to endure hatred.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The king goes as far as he may, not as far as he could.
—Spanish Proverb
The law says what the king pleases.
—French Proverb
Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
Don’t forget your great guns, which are the most respectable arguments of the rights of kings.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) Prussian Monarch
Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.
—Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926) Queen of United Kingdom
Picture the prince, such as most of them are today: a man ignorant of the law, well-nigh an enemy to his people’s advantage, while intent on his personal convenience, a dedicated voluptuary, a hater of learning, freedom and truth, without a thought for the interests of his country, and measuring everything in terms of his own profit and desires.
—Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469–1536) Dutch Humanist, Scholar
Even the king does not dine twice.
—French Proverb
An unjust king is like a river without water.
—Arabic Proverb
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
The multitude is stronger than the king.
—African Proverb
The metaphor of the king as the shepherd of his people goes back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the use of this particular convention is due to the fact that, being stupid, affectionate, gregarious, and easily stampeded, the societies formed by sheep are most like human ones.
—Northrop Frye
I’d like to be queen of people’s hearts.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
Divine right of kings means the divine right of anyone who can get uppermost.
—Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) English Polymath, Philosopher, Sociologist, Political Theorist
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison, steal lands and you are a king.
—Japanese Proverb
Vulgarity in a king flatters the majority of the nation.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
A crown, golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns; brings danger, troubles, cares, and sleepless nights, to him who wears a regal diadem.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
I am your anointed Queen. I will never be by violence constrained to do anything. I thank God I am endued with such qualities that if I were turned out of the Realm in my petticoat I were able to live in any place in Christendom.
—Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) British Monarch
It is hard for an ex-king to become a night watchman.
—Indian Proverb
They say that kings are made in the image of God. If that is what he looks like, I feel sorry for God.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) Prussian Monarch
I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. She is, to my mind, a very gallant lady, victimized by whoever it is who designs the tops of her uniforms.
—Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian Singer, Songwriter, Poet, Novelist
The king is but a man, as I am; the violet smells to him as it doth to me; the element shows to him as it doth to me; all his senses have but human conditions; his ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man; and though his affections are higher mounted than ours, yet when they stoop, they stoop with the like wing.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
If you shoot at a king you must kill him.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
When a king makes a mistake, all the people suffer.
—Chinese Proverb
He on whom Heaven confers a sceptre knows not the weight till he bears it.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
A sovereign’s great example forms a people; the public breast is noble or vile as he inspires it.
—David Mallet (c.1705–1765) Scottish Poet, Dramatist
Call me Diana, not Princess Diana.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
In sovereignty it is a most happy thing not to be compelled, but so it is a most miserable thing not to be counselled.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
Every man is the king of his own beard.
—Persian Proverb
Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
We live in what virtually amounts to a museum—which does not happen to a lot of people.
—Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021) Consort of Queen Elizabeth II
A man without a child is a king without sorrows.
—Persian Proverb
A cat may look at a king.
—Common Proverb
The king inherits a country—the people only hard work.
—African Proverb
Kings fight for empires, madmen for applause.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Happy the kings whose thrones are founded on their people’s hearts.
—John M. Ford (1957–2006) American Novelist, Writer, Poet
I am every day more convinced that we women, if we are to be good women, feminine and amiable and domestic, are not fitted to reign; at least it is they that drive themselves to the work which it entails.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
A family on the throne is an interesting idea. It brings down the pride of sovereignty to the level of petty life.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Kings’ titles commonly begin by force, which time wears off and mellows into right; and power which in one age is tyranny is ripened in the next to true succession.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Kings, in this chiefly, should imitate God; their mercy should be above all their works.
—William Penn (1644–1718) American Entrepreneur, Political leader, Philosopher
Kings have no friends.
—African Proverb
Kings have many ears and eyes.
—Common Proverb
Majesty and love do not consort well together, nor do they dwell in the same place.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
He that can work is born to be king of something.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
If the king says that it is night in the middle of the day, look up at the stars.
—Arabic Proverb
The thief that is not caught is a king.
—Indian Proverb
The example of a vicious prince will corrupt an age, but that of a good one will not reform it.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist