Why does Vegeta still call himself Prince?

[Cure Dragon 255]

I feel like this is one of those topics where people won't truly be satisfied until Toriyama is sat down and forced by an editor or Toyotaro or whoever to thoroughly explain it

I think the fandom should get over having its hand held.

Can't really become King over a planet that no longer exist

There is no point in calling yourself Prince either. But other than that this post is awesome and I totally agree.

[Scientist Fu]

He is used to his old status and he never really had the chance to get the "king" title officially. Since Goku is still alive (+Broly now) he can still consider himself as their prince because this is how it would be if King Vegeta and the saiyan race were still alive.

[Bloodthroe]

There is no point in calling yourself Prince either. But other than that this post is awesome and I totally agree.

It's a title you have for life, just like Doctor. Doesn't really matter if there is nothing left for him to rule over.

[Zephyr]

There is no point in calling yourself Prince either. But other than that this post is awesome and I totally agree.

It's a title you have for life, just like Doctor. Doesn't really matter if there is nothing left for him to rule over.

To be fair, I believe he calls himself "the prince of the Saiyans", not "the prince of Planet Vegeta". So, since there is always at least one other Saiyan around, he does technically have something (rather, someone) to rule over.

[Y2_O3]

I feel like this must actually be one of the most legitimately frequently asked questions of any possible Dragon Ball FAQs!

No good answer. The two most common thoughts I see out there are:

- "Prince" was the last formal title he had before the decimation of the planet and race, so it's kinda frozen in time there

- He still keeps a fair bit of Saiyan pride and sub-pride of his royalty status is part of that so he keeps referring to himself that way

- There's no population to preside over anymore so he doesn't upgrade himself to "King"

Before gaining real power, Starscream dared not casually claim to be the king. It was only after Megatron was killed that it could do so. The same goes for Vegeta, a king in name only would only be ridiculed. It is determined by the immediate reality.
At the same time, Vegeta was reluctant to let go of his former status, which is very common. Most people in history have found it difficult to accept this kind of gap. Therefore, he always lives in the beautiful dreams of the past. It is determined by his psychological factors.

[funrush]

He should call himself The Saiyan Formerly Known as Prince

LOL.

I always figured he's still Prince cause that's what he was called before and he was never coronated so he can't really be King. Just Vegeta holding on to one of the last surviving pieces of his ethnic identity I guess.