I forgot at least one thing in my previous post about Lord of The Rings.

In the film Denethor gets a somewhat unfair treatment, in somewhat Bad Taste.

In the book he is old, about the same age as Strider, but he has aged of course. Less so than common men, though. His mistake/sin is that he has become prideful enough to think his line might become kings one day. He is dismissive of Aragorn's claim, even, or especially so, when he hears about the sword reforged.

Denethor's pride make him dare look into the palantir, which is the king's prerogative, if any. He is not mind controlled by Sauron (he is still too strong of a man), but he is deceived and falls into despair. He is not demonically possessed, but rather obsessed, if I may amateurishly put a label on it. In one scene in the book, Denethor, despite his age and despair puts on a warrior lord's armor. In the film he seems to have bad table manners. Denethor really got a bad rap in the film. His despair and at the end insanity is also in the book, but the film just loses on the nuances, and frankly, a bit of the story.

I came to think of a similar instance of bad taste. In the film, Theoden seems demonically possessed and corrupted, which he is not. The film makes him a lesser man than he is in the book. In some sense has chosen to believe Wormtounge's whispers, which are Saruman's whispers. He is probably weaker than Denethor, but he is still a man of dignity, but also in despair. In the film, Gandalf makes a dramatic "exorcism", in the book it is not that showy. It is also more "magic" in the film, there is no magic in the books.

Come to think of it, royalty (in it's mythic sense) is downplayed a bit in the films. Even with Aragorn. Merry and Pippin are heirs to fiefdoms. Hobbit fiefdoms, so very moderate, but still. Their "royalty" shows a bit in how they are implicitly recognised by Theoden and Denethor, respectively. And in the Scourging of the Shire chapter. And their end (in the appendices).

Maybe a bit of modernist equity snuck in. Or just a confusion with today's "royalty" 😉