King

Up until World War 1, Kings were the leaders of many European countries. Kings, and their conquests, were the foci of the Middle Ages.

In Age of Empires II
In the campaigns, kings often represent historical characters. The Mongols encounter a king (the Persian Shah) in their campaigns; the Spanish meet two (Kings Sancho and Alonso).

In the skirmish and multiplayer modes, kings appear only appear in the Regicide game mode. Although they are weak and possess no attack, players that lose their king automatically loses the game. However, kings move very quickly, and are useful for scouting in the early game. Later, they are best kept behind walls or garrisoned inside castles.

Kings may be converted; when this happens, the player that lost his king loses the game, while the player who gained the king gains no benefit; if his/her original king were to die, he/she would still lose the game.