Kings, queens, princes, and princesses, royalty comes in many forms. Some are kind and strong leaders, some are cruel and tyrannical, and others even leave their kingdom behind, either in the hopes of saving it or just going into hiding. Some of those royals end up revealing themselves at some point, really throwing a twist into the ongoing story.
There have been quite a few anime characters who at first seem normal, but in time are revealed to have secretly been royalty the whole time. While some decide to divulge that info earlier than others, their true identities are no less shocking.
10 Krista Was Actually Historia, Of The Reiss Royal Family (Attack On Titan)
When first viewers meet Krista Lenz in Attack on Titan, she appears to be a kind but slightly timid member of the 104th Training Corps and later Survey Corps, but as the story goes on, Krista's true identity becomes a major factor in the plot. In truth, she ends up being Historia Reiss, the last remaining member of the Reiss royal family and the only one who could inherit the first king's will.
After being thrown into the political turmoil that could decide humanity's fate, Historia decides to reject her father's wishes, letting humanity choose its own path forward free of Karl Fritz's ideology. Soon after defeating her father's titan form, she's crowned the new queen.
9 King Turned Out To Be, In Truth, An Actual King (The Seven Deadly Sins)
The true identity of Seven Deadly Sins' King starts out as something of a tangled web, but his alias turns out to be on the nose as well since he turns out to be an actual king. As Fairy King Harlequin he is the ruler of the Fairy King's Forest, however, his estrangement from his kingdom is a tragic tale.
King left the forest in order to save his best friend Helbram and a number of other fairies that were captured by humans but failed and ended up being critically wounded and losing his memories. Because of his long absence, the fairies despised King and believed that he abandoned his people.
8 Melty Reveals To Be The Heir To The Melromarc Throne (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
The royals of Melromarc in Rising of the Shield Hero at first come off as spiteful and corrupt, as Naofumi's subjected to torment and accusations of crimes he didn't commit by the King and his daughter Malty (aka Myne). So from the start, he has no reason to trust another member of this family again, this sentiment doesn't change when he finds out Melty is the heir to the kingdom's throne.
Despite his harsh treatment of her, especially since she didn't reveal her royal status at first, Melty does prove herself to be trustworthy and a reliable ally to Naofumi and his party.
7 Despite First Impressions, Ling Is A Crown Prince Of Xing (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Introduced in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ling Yao is first seen by Ed and Al when they discover him starving in an alleyway. As it would happen, despite Ling's rather comedic demeanor, he turns out to be the twelfth crowned prince of the nation of Xing who came to Amestris was to uncover the secret to immortality, more accurately, the Philosopher's Stone.
Through Xing's constant political discourse, Ling's life was constantly under threat and yet he still retains a strong sense of duty to his people. Even crazier, he goes on to become the host for the homunculus, Greed.
6 Pecorine Is A Princess That Nobody Even Remembers (Princess Connect! Re:Dive)
The bubbly sword-wielding, bottomless stomach-having Pecorine from Princess Connect! Re:Dive may at first seem just as she appears, but in truth, there is more to this member of the Gourmet Guild than meets the eye. Unbeknownst to the viewer and the rest of Landsol, Pecorine is actually the rightful princess of the kingdom.
Her real name is Eustiana von Astraea, who went on a journey only to return to the kingdom forgotten even by her parents and accused of being an imposter by Mana Senri who took her place, forcing her to go into exile.
5 Exiled & Vengeful, Lelouch Is One Of The Many Children Of Charles Zi Britannia (Code Geass)
When Code Geass starts, Lelouch is introduced as Lelouch Lamperouge, but his true name was actually Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince of the Britannian Empire. After the assassination of his mother and the paralyzing and blinding of his sister Nunally, Lelouch and Nunally were exiled to Japan and taken hostage for a time.
These events are what would eventually drive Lelouch to take on his quest of vengeance against his father and the Britannian Empire, and after gaining his Geass, he would overthrow it and remake the world as the masked vigilante, Zero.
4 Vivi Joins The Straw Hats To Save Her Kingdom From Crocodile & Baroque Works (One Piece)
Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat crew end up getting a little more than what they bargained for shortly after entering the Grand Line. Targeted by the syndicate known as Baroque Works, the Straw Hats find out that one of its members Ms. Wednesday is actually a double agent and the princess of Arabasta, Vivi.
Vivi joins Luffy's crew through One Piece's "Arabasta Saga", as she and the Straw Hats fight against Baroque Works and its leader Crocodile in order to save the Arabasta Kingdom. Though Vivi couldn't continue voyaging with her pirate friends, traveling along with them had a lasting impact on her.
3 Saber's True Identity Is Actually That Of The Famous King Arthur (Fate/Stay Night)
The Heroic Spirits of the Fate series that act as servants for the participants of the Holy Grail War come in many forms from history and myths alike. The most instantly recognizable among them is the armor-clad Saber who appears in multiple incarnations throughout the series. This particular member of the saber class' true identity is Artoria Pendragon, aka King Arthur.
While history believed Artoria was a man in her original life, she actually had to hide her real gender and a select few individuals knew. On top of being the face of the Fate franchise, Artoria definitely started a trend for reimagining famous figures in new ways across the series.
2 Vegeta Boasts To Be The Prince Of All Saiyans, To Which He Is (Dragon Ball)
Originally an antagonist of Dragon Ball Z's "Saiyan Saga," Vegeta wastes no time boasting about his superiority and how elite he is compared to his foes, especially Goku. His reasoning is pretty straightforward because he is the prince of all Saiyans and he makes that known to everyone at every opportunity.
Despite his father, King Vegeta, being killed, his planet being destroyed and serving under the tyrannical Frieza, Vegeta keeps his large sense of pride and his royal title with a death grip, despite having no actual kingdom to rule over.
1 Yugi's Other Half Is Actually An Ancient Pharaoh (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Upon completing the Millenium Puzzle, Yugi Muto begins to swap places with a spirit that sleeps within the ancient artifact in times of danger or to play the game of Duel Monsters. Originally referred to as "Yami Yugi", this other half of Yugi spends the bulk of Yu-Gi-Oh! helping Yugi and friends defeat villains and win card games (mostly at the same time), but as time goes on, it turns out that Yami is actually the spirit of a long-dead pharaoh.
Having no memory of ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh's past does come back to haunt him throughout the series, and eventually, he does regain his memories and even his real name, Atem.