Do Royals Make Good Leaders?

Please note that while there are many royals, this article will examine the leadership of kings and queens.

Queen Fyora

Queen Fyora is one of the most beloved royals in the history of Neopia. Known for her generosity, Fyora often hands out 10% discounts to the Hidden Tower and quests to all Neopians. Her acceptance of all individuals is admirable, but is it also her fatal flaw? Perhaps her acceptance of everyone, including Dark Faeries, lead to the events of the Darkest Faerie.

Being a powerful faerie herself, Fyora was well aware of the Darkest Faerie’s capabilities. Yet when Fyora was visited by Roberta, she failed to take matters into her own hands, despite knowing the powers of the Darkest Faerie. She sent Roberta to seek help rather than investigate the situation herself. Due to this, Fyora was inevitably captured. As the story goes, Fyora broke free, only to be captured once again. The Faerie Queen was unprepared. Though things turned out alright in the end, could it have all been prevented if Fyora had been more skeptical?

There is a lot of debate surrounding this matter. The Darkest Faerie was not guilty of anything recent prior to her attack and therefore it would have been unjust for Fyora to imprison her. On the other hand, Fyora could have kept a closer eye on the evil sorceress. To this day, Neopians still debate the matter, but it is in my humble opinion that Fyora did not make the best decision. Does this make her an unfit leader? Not exactly, but she is not the perfect queen everyone makes her out to be.

Does Fyora make a good leader? She was in the past, but in the present, she is not. However, she has potential to become one again in the future. Her oversight in regards to the Darkest Faerie may hurt her reputation, but it should make a full recovery.

King Skarl

Grumpy King Skarl has gone through so many jesters that he has enlisted the users of Neopia to humor him. Some days people get him to laugh, but others get kicked out of his castle. When he’s not sitting in his throne, he’s usually at a feast of some sort, indulging himself once again. Yet despite these habits, King Skarl has quite the reputation. His kingdom defeated Darigan in the Battle for Meridell. Presently, King Skarl is nothing more than a figurehead who craves humor and food, but how import was his role as king during the battle?

Despite the warning signs of trouble in Darigan, King Skarl continued on with his days as if all was well in paradise. He was not worried about the invasion, he had failed to prepare for it, and was caught off guard by Lord Kass because he was mesmerized by a Court Dancer. The day of the attack, Jeran, the Champion of Meridell, had only a small troop of soldiers by his side. They were the only force present for the attacks and despite Jeran's calls for reinforcements, he was ignored by his King.

It wasn’t until Lisha snapped out of a trance that King Skarl ever found out about the attacks. The Court Dancer was arrested for putting a trance on the King and it was then that Skarl learned of the attacks. Skarl enlisted Kayla to create new concoctions. One was an enlarging potion that the king determined would be used to super-size turtums. The turtums would be equipped with catapults and they would be put to the task of combatting Kass' ground attack. In the meantime, Jeran would head to the Citadel where they would inevitably lead to Lord Kass and Lord Darigan duking it out.

While one cannot blame Skarl for falling under a trance, once can blame him for his lack of preparation. Rumors swirled for weeks that Lord Kass was up to no good, yet the King still failed to prepare, leaving Jeran and his troops outnumbered. However, King Skarl acted swiftly once the trance was lifted by enlisting Kayla and creating and a game plan. When Meridell needed him most, he was there.

Does this make King Skarl a good leader? Absolutely. Despite his mood and desire to eat, King Skarl the has brains to properly react when needed. While he should learn to be better prepared in the future, his capability to handle a crisis should ease the minds of his citizens.

King Hagan

King Hagan doesn’t have the same history as his brother or Queen Fyora. Brightvale has had a peaceful history. There have been no trying moments for this king. He has not felt the same pressure as his brother, nor dealt with a powerful enemy like Fyora has. What King Hagan is known for is his wealth of knowledge. The man is a walking library. Hagan has a deep seeded desire to ensure his citizens are educated. He is more than willing to listen to their thoughts and share his wisdom with them.

However, there have been reports that King Hagan wants to create a social gap between Brightvale and Meridell. While he prides himself on Brightvale’s wealth of knowledge, he has publicly mocked the farmers of Meridell. Whether his desire to create a social gap stems from a rivalry with his brother or is all a part of a bigger plan has yet to be seen. While most believe he simply wants to outdo his brother, there are several outspoken citizens who have alluded to a potential plot to capture Meridell.

This article intends to report on facts and thus we cannot judge King Hagan based off of speculation. What we can judge him off is his desire to educate and his lack of experience. King Hagan appears to have his head on his shoulders and the trust of his citizens, but how will he act in a time of crisis or war? I feel confident in saying King Hagan has been a decent leader in a time of peace, but the jury is still out on how he will lead in an era of war.

Conclusion

It is fair to say that these royals have all faced different circumstances and they have all handled them differently. What’s evident is that both Fyora and King Skarl were unprepared and that King Hagan could fall down that same path. Perhaps it is coincidence, but perhaps it a larger issue within the royal community.