Avatar: The Last Airbender doesn't only have memorable characters and classic life lessons—it also indulges in a great deal of worldbuilding, and the story views this fantasy realm from many different viewpoints. The culture of the Water Tribe was established early on, and Aang also saw what life is like in Ba Sing Se. But how about the Fire Nation?
The Fire Nation has a monarchy and royal family, and during Aang's time, the cruel Ozai was Fire Lord, and he had a son and daughter. These characters prove that while royalty always has its perks, there are also mild to serious drawbacks and harsh realities of being a prince or princess in the Fire Nation. What challenges do Zuko and Azula face?
10 The Fire Lord's Child Faces Pressure To Succeed
Anyone born in royalty or a noble family is expected to succeed in all endeavors, such as statecraft, magical abilities, diplomacy, education, and more. No full-blooded prince or princess is allowed to just coast on their status; they have to put in the legwork, too.
This is easier said than done, since the Fire Lord's children are expected to run a complex and advanced nation someday, and failure may be met with harsh punishment ranging from fire to the face to exile.
9 The Fire Lord Might Punish Their Child With Fire
Some parents in the Avatar world raise their children with gentle care, while others are stern disciplinarians who never hesitate to use the rod. Fire Lord Ozai is quick to punish his children for failure, and the main example is when Ozai challenged his son to a duel.
Ozai inflicted a horrible burn scar on Zuko's face, and Zuko has had this blemish ever since, a clear badge of dishonor and failure. It's easy to infer that other Fire Lords might do something similar to their children under similar circumstances, too.
8 The Fire Lord's Children Must Not Speak Out Of Turn
Any prince or princess of the Fire Nation is expected to mind their manners and behave in a dignified manner, especially when the royal family is in the middle of a strategy meeting or other state affairs. At no point should the royal child speak out of turn, even if they have a valid point to make.
Zuko once made the mistake of speaking out of turn during a strategy meeting, questioning a tactical decision that Ozai and his generals had just made. This, in particular, is what prompted Ozai to duel his son and scar him with fire.
7 The Royal Child Might Have Few Friends
A common problem among wealthy or noble children is a relative lack of friends or people with whom they can identify. Few people are royalty or nobility, and such children are often discouraged from mingling with commoners. So, they tend to be lonely.
Zuko and his sister did have a few friends, but it was hardly a robust social life, and Azula is the type to alienate people with her cruel and self-absorbed personality. She did reasonably get along with Mai and Ty Lee for a time, though.
6 The Prince Or Princess Might Get An Arranged Marriage
Arranged marriages aren't guaranteed to turn out badly; the two people might actually have decent compatibility. But for the most part, arranged marriages are for the good of the families or nations involved, not the two newlyweds, and the Fire Lord's children will probably get arranged marriages.
When he was a young man, Ozai had an arranged marriage with Ursa, a descendant of Avatar Roku, and the relationship soon deteriorated. If things had gone differently, Zuko and/or Azula would have gotten arranged marriages of their own, and they might not have liked their respective partners.
5 The Royal Children Are Major Targets For Kidnapping & Ransom
Another inherent risk to being born into a royal, noble, or wealthy family is the constant risk of getting kidnapped; in fact, there is such a thing as kidnapping insurance, and the Fire Lord's children will need insurance like that, too.
Neither Zuko nor Azula got kidnapped like this in the story, but the possibility always exists, and it's easy to imagine other Fire Nation princes or princesses getting kidnapped by various parties, even domestic ones. Then the kidnappers can squeeze the Fire Lord for ransom money.
4 The Royal Children Are Also Major Assassination Targets
Foreign or domestic parties have all kinds of reasons to kidnap or assassinate the Fire Nation's royal children, and perhaps a group or individual might attempt to kill the prince or princess to take them out of the picture entirely. Some Fire Nation royal family members might be just that unpopular.
If certain parties predict that the prince or princess will be an undesirable Fire Lord, that party will try to capture or even kill them, and send elite assassins to get the job done. Royal children tend to be trained benders, but a Firebender child will probably be overwhelmed by sufficiently skilled assassins.
3 The Fire Lord's Child May Lack Privacy
This is yet another inherent downside to being in a powerful and/or wealthy family: having a relative lack of privacy. Since the Fire Lord's children are highly important and subject to constant training and education, these children hardly ever get any time to themselves.
Azula and Zuko are both seen having free time in their youth, but as a whole, they spent their childhoods under constant supervision for their education, training, and safety alike. They can hardly do a thing without their overbearing father knowing about it.
2 The Fire Lord's Children Might Compete Or Feud With One Another
This particular downside is based partially on the royal children's personalities, but in a competitive environment like this, it's easy to imagine the royal children becoming fierce rivals. Perhaps their parents would even encourage the rivalry to keep their children sharp.
Royal children such as Azula may enjoy the competition, but gentler people like Zuko won't, and the royal children might grow to resent or hate one another or develop an inferiority or superiority complex. This could easily get out of hand.
1 The Fire Lord's Child Might Inherit Problems They Can't Handle
Many people dream of being president, king, or queen, but all this power comes with massive responsibilities, and it means taking on the nation's biggest and trickiest problems head-on; no one else is up to the job. What if the Fire Nation's prince or princess isn't ready?
The Hundred-Year War has been passed down from Fire Lord Sozin to Azulon to Ozai, and the war ended just in time for Zuko to assume the throne. But Zuko did inherit other issues, such as rebuilding after the war, and figuring out how to handle all those Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom's lands. Zuko can't back out of this; he must face these problems, ready or not.