50 King Quotes That Will Give You A Majestic Feel

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published March 1, 2023

Just like the life of a king, most of the king quotes below are also majestic and have broader meanings.

Here, we have compiled the best king quotes that will engage you.

Apart from this, we have also discussed the following:

How a king is made
Is there any difference between a king and an emperor?

So, let’s start without any further ado!

How a king is made

Usually, a king comes into power once the previous king passes away.

Since kingship is a hereditary right, the new king is usually a family member of the deceased king.

Most of the kings came to power through this process.

However, there are certain instances where a king is elected, as was the case in medieval Germany.

In the past, a king was referred to as the representative of the gods or a mediator between his people and the gods.

Is there any difference between a king and an emperor?

Both the king and emperor are the ruling authority of a monarch.

However, certain aspects make them different from each other.

For instance, the first difference relates to the powers they hold.

An emperor rules over an empire that consists of more than one kingdom.

A kingdom is a province or state that is independent of a part of an empire.

On the other hand, a king or queen rules a kingdom that falls under a larger setup known as the empire.

In simple terms, the emperor is a CEO of an empire, while the king acts as the regional manager of that empire.

A king or queen exercises total control over his/her kingdom.

Nevertheless, there has been a slight distinction in some areas of the world.

There are certain instances where large kingdoms were also referred to as empires.

Yet only one king/queen ruled these empires.

Here are a few of the most noteworthy examples:

King George V
Edward VIII
George VI

All these kings were the emperors of India, but at the same time, they were the kings of the United Kingdom.

Apart from this, when a king conquers the neighboring kingdoms, he can unite them all to create an empire.

Hence, the king can become the emperor of the whole region under his command.

So, we can conclude that an emperor enjoys control over a vast area. In contrast, the powers of a king are limited.

You will also enjoy our article on queen quotes.

Top 10 King quotes

Enjoy reading these ten best King Quotes from our awesome collection.

1. “The king reigns but does not govern.” — Louis Adolphe Thiers

2. “The king must die so that the country can live.” — Maximilien Robespierre

3. “A teardrop on earth summons the King of heaven.” — Charles R. Swindoll

4. “I die the king’s faithful servant, but God’s first.” — Thomas More

5. “I am, indeed, a king because I know how to rule myself.” — Pietro Aretino

6. “If the king loves music, there is little wrong in the land.” — Mencius

7. “I’ve always said, if you treat yourself like a queen, you’ll attract a king.” — Pepa

8. “It is not a sign of arrogance for the king to rule. That is what he is there for.” — William F. Buckley, Jr.

9. “You have to beat the king to be the king. No one is going to hand you a gold medal.” — Donovan

10. “He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king.” — John Milton Bailey

Idiomatic King quotes

‘King’ often refers to someone superior and with authority. You’ll love reading these metaphorical and idiomatic King Quotes.

11. “Let the dogs bark; the lion will always be the king.” — Unknown

12. “It must be terribly lonely to be a king instead of a man.” — Oriana Fallaci

13. “In the land of the skunks, he who has half a nose is king.” — Chris Farley

14. “Create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave.” — Constantin Brancusi

15. “I’ve always felt the man is the king of the house and should be amused and treated well.” — Jerry Hall

16. “I live by this rule – breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” — Suniel Shetty

17. “He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.” — Saint Augustine

18. “A king is a thing men have made for their own sakes, for quietness sake. Just as in a family, one man is appointed to buy the meat.” — John Selden

19. “The day of the sun is like the day of a king. It is a promenade in the morning, a sitting on the throne at noon, a pageant in the evening.” — Wallace Stevens

20. “There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character, his self-respect, or his self-confidence. He is still a King.” — Orison Swett Marden

King quotes by royalties

Let’s see what these popular royalties have to say on the subject.

21. “A king should die on his feet.” — Louis XVIII of France

22. “Were I, not a king, I would be a university man.” — King James I

23. “You had better have one King than five hundred.” — Charles II

24. “Kindness and faithfulness keep a king safe; through kindness his throne is made secure.” — King Solomon

25. “My role as king will be much like my mum’s as queen, so long as I remain in tune with the people.” — Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark

26. “In a few years, there will be only five kings in the world — the king of England and the four kings in a pack of cards.” — King Farouk

27. “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too.” — Elizabeth I

28. “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.” — Edward VIII

29. “Not one foot will I fly, so long as breath bides within my breast; for, by Him that shaped both sea and land, this day shall end my battles or my life. I will die King of England.” — Richard III of England

30. “My child, you are going to be a great king; do not imitate me in the taste I have had for building or in that, I have had for war; try, on the contrary, to be at peace with your neighbors.” — Louis XIV

Perceptive king quotes

Enjoy reading these intuitive king quotes and discover the deeper meaning in them.

31. “He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

32. “In political and social analysis, we still have not cut off the head of the king.” — Michel Foucault

33. “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

34. “We’re all expendable. We think the world’s going to stop when a pope dies, or a king. And then… life goes on.” — Sylvester Stallone

35. “Time is the king of all men; he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave.” — Pericles

36. “World belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader, or that king or prince or religious leader. The world belongs to humanity.” — Dalai Lama

37. “The enemies cannot destroy the king who has at his service the respect and friendship of the wise men who can find fault, disagree, and correct him.” — Thiruvalluvar

38. “The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.” — Chanakya

39. “A king, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A father can do neither. If only sons could see the paradox, they would understand the dilemma.” — Marlene Dietrich

40. “One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities. One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.” — Abraham Maslow

Bitter king quotes

We’ve brought you some cynical and ironic king quotes as well. So, let’s see what we’ve got here.

41. “Authority forgets a dying king.” — Alfred Lord Tennyson

42. “A king without power is an absurdity.” — James Monroe

43. “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” — Desiderius Erasmus

44. “I’d rather be the king of kids than the prince of fools.” — Jack Black

45. “The people under our system, like the king in a monarchy, never dies.” — Martin Van Buren

46. “That a peasant may become king does not render the kingdom democratic.” — Woodrow Wilson

47. “My tastes are not those of the king, who has none, except for hunting and mechanic’s labor.” — Marie Antoinette

48. “Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” — Denis Diderot

49. “That the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution.” — William Blackstone

50. “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