King Ralph is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward and starring John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, and John Hurt. The film is about an American who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical accident wipes out the British Royal Family. The story is loosely based on the 1980 novel Headlong by Emlyn Williams. Very little of the story survived the transition to the screen; characters were changed and the story made into a comedy. The film was a minor box office hit but was received negatively by critics. Plot The entire British Royal Family is electrocuted and killed in a freak accident outside Buckingham Palace while having a royal portrait taken. Sir Cedric Willingham leads a search for any surviving heirs to whom to pass the crown. After days of searching, a living heir is found: American Ralph Jones. Shortly after being fired from his job as a lounge singer in Las Vegas, Ralph is informed by Cedric's assistant secretary Duncan Phipps that he has royal blood. His grandmother Constance had a brief encounter with the first Duke of Warren while a hotel waitress in the US. A ring is given as proof, a duplicate of the ring she used to wear that the Duke had given her. Ralph is flown to London, where Cedric gives him a crash course on royal etiquette. On only his second day, he goes to a strip club and meets Miranda Greene, an out-of-luck exotic dancer and aspiring fashion designer. He dares her to go out on a date with him if the British press proves his claim to the monarchy. Meanwhile, Lord Percival Graves is opposed to having an American on the throne and proposes to declare the reigning House of Wyndham at an end and replace it with the House of Stuart, of which he is patriarch. Prime Minister Geoffrey Hale states that Ralph's succession is legitimate unless he commits a grievous error. With this in mind, Graves bribes Miranda to stir up controversy by having a public relationship with Ralph. Despite warnings by Cedric not to commit a mistake similar to that of King Edward VIII, Ralph sneaks out of the Palace to have a date with Miranda in Hyde Park. The next day, she returns Graves' money, but he already has photographs of her with Ralph. To preserve Ralph's reputation, Miranda