The king is a playing card with a picture of a king on it. The usual rank of a king is as if it were a 13, that is, above the queen. In some games, the king ranks high; in others, it ranks below the ace; in yet others, such as Pinochle, it ranks below the 10. In the standard English playing card deck, the king and the other face cards represent no one in particular (though the king of hearts is sometimes referred to as the suicide king due to the illusion that he is sticking his sword into his head). However, the court cards in a French deck do have names. Because manufacture of playing cards was illegal in the UK during the Interregnum, when the English Restoration came and the court began playing card games, the suits in an English deck came from the French deck, but without all of the lore. In the French deck, the kings have traditionally been assigned personalities, though this tradition arose after their design. The most common modern ones are as follows:
- King of Spades: David (a biblical king)
- King of Hearts: Alexander the Great (king of Macedon)
- King of Diamonds: Julius Caesar (dictator of the Roman Republic)
- King of Clubs: Charlemagne (Holy Roman Emperor)
Example cards
| King of Spades | King of Clubs | King of Hearts | King of Diamonds |
|---|---|---|---|
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