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"I have searched years to find you. You are the only one who can save us."
"Why me? I'm just a simple country girl. How can I save the kingdom?"
"You, my dear, are the rightful heir. of Cordalia"
Secret members of royalty has been a staple of the fantasy genre for years. Much like the Chosen One trope, it is used most frequently as a gimmick or justification for why the protagonist is the only one who can accomplish the plot. It also pops up when the writer needs a quick, easy fix to a kingdom problem. Need a way to resolve the political turmoil of the evil dictator/king/emperor being killed? Just insert the "rightful king or queen" whose rule will be prosperous simply because of their virtuous nature. Basically, one of the characters will be revealed to be the true heir (sometimes they knew the truth, sometimes they didn't) and must take back their kingdom.
This trope is criticized semi-frequently, but I think there are pretty easy fixes to most of the criticisms.
One of the major issues I see cited with Secret Royalty is the fact that the reveal is often unnecessary for the character. This is quite prominent in YA, in which the protagonist (often female) is already fighting the antagonist or has good reason to before their status is revealed to them or the audience. In many stories, it feels less like an important bit of information, or further development of their character, and instead feels like an extra detail thrown in. Also, the internal conflict is most often limited to whether the protagonist wants to rule or whether they can be a good ruler.
How to fix these cliché elements?
Make the reveal and information crucial to the character's arc. Perhaps the protagonist wants revenge on the royal family because the person who raised her/him says the royals murdered them. The protagonist needs to move on from the past and get out of their abusive situation. Then, at the midpoint, just when they're about to get revenge on the remaining royals, he/she discovers their family was the ruling family. Their parents and siblings were killed and he/she was raised by the revolutionaries to hate them and later be a better ruler than his/her family ever was.
Maybe the protagonist wants to escape. They want to live a normal life, or go to another kingdom. Once they find out about their heritage, they have to wrestle with that responsibility vs. their own desire (or they already know and are trying to ignore that responsibility).
Another complaint is the fact that these stories often use the "rightful heir" to justify a quick or immediate resolution to the political conflict in the novel. The people who previously supported the evil ruler are either imprisoned/demoted/executed, were forced into complicity against their will, or decide to wholeheartedly support the rightful heir simply because this person is the rightful heir. Books like A Song of Ice and Fire subvert this quite a bit, but it's still surprisingly prevalent.
