King Ralph - John Goodman Comedy

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 a fired American lounge singer who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical accident wipes out the British Royal Family.

The entire British Royal Family who are the house of Wyndham is electrocuted and killed in a freak accident outside Buckingham Palace while having a royal portrait taken following a rainstorm. 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 heritage. His grandmother Constance had a brief affair with the first Duke of Warren while a hotel waitress in the US. Constance had a son, Ralph's father. Since he, his father and grandmother are dead Ralph is sole heir to the throne. 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 his second day, he goes to a strip club and meets Miranda Greene, a timid 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 attempts 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 heinous act. 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 protect Ralph's reputation, Miranda breaks up with him.