false king
Throne's fraudulent occupant
A false king is someone who claims or holds royal authority without legitimate right—a usurper, pretender, or impostor on the throne.
The phrase appears in fantasy literature, historical accounts, and political rhetoric to delegitimize a ruler: The rebels denounced him as a false king.
It can extend metaphorically to anyone whose authority or status is fraudulent: He was exposed as a false king of the industry.
- usurperIllegal power seizer
- pretenderIllegitimate claimant to power
- tyrantCruel, absolute ruler
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
stolen crown · empty throne · crown · deceiver · snake in the grass · puppet · illegitimate · betrayer · coup · power grab · rebellion · overthrow · Macbeth · Game of Thrones · scheming · treachery · regent · claimant
- pretenderspretender, claimant, usurper, disputed heir, Bonnie Prince Charlie
- succession crisessuccession crisis, succession dispute, disputed succession, succession war, war of succession
false, king, falsely, falseness, falsity, falsify, falsification, falsified, falsifier