The Whipping Boy

Short Answer

1. One of the main characters in The Whipping Boy is Prince Horace, heir to a kingdom. What are some places where, at some point, power passed down from a king or queen to their children? How is power passed down in other forms of government?

Teaching Suggestion: As students identify different countries or regions where monarchies existed, encourage them to check whether or not monarchies still exist in these regions. If not, students can identify when these monarchies ceased to exist, and any historical context for this change (for example, the French Revolution). Students could also explore restrictions or practices related to succession in monarchies (for example, the practice of the eldest child inheriting, the possible exclusion of female heirs, etc.) Students might also like to research cases in which the children of elected leaders were subsequently elected themselves (for example, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau) and discuss how these examples differ from hereditary rulers.

For younger groups who may not have as much historical or world studies background, it might be beneficial to open the question to include places in stories and films.

• This History article introduces the idea of hereditary monarchies and how royal succession has functioned at different times.