The king is dead, long live the king!
1. A traditional announcement of the accession of a new monarch following the death of the previous one. King Reginald IX has breathed his last, to be succeeded by his son, hereafter crowned King Reginald X. The king is dead, long live the king!
2. By extension, said when a person or thing has been replaced by someone or something else as the most powerful, popular, influential, etc. Sales for the new smartphone have exploded, even overshadowing the long-dominant device on the market, the MyPhone. The king is dead—long live the king!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
the king is dead, long live the king!
A rapid succession of power has taken place. Allegedly this expression was used in France on the death of Charles VII in 1461, Louis XIV in 1715, and Louis XVIII in 1824. This allusion to the concept of royal succession, far less important in the present day, is now more often applied to other bastions of power—chief executives of large corporations, leaders of political parties, and the like.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer