---
title: "The Strategy of the Crown"
description: "Greene's method of acting royal so that others treat you as royal."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/the-strategy-of-the-crown/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# The Strategy of the Crown

> Greene's method of acting royal so that others treat you as royal.

Robert Greene's framework, from 48 Laws of Power, pp. 419 to 431.

Framework 19 of 27 from [48 Laws of Power](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/index.md) by Robert Greene. Category: Offers and pricing.

## The steps

1. **Believe in your own greatness.** Be overcome by self-belief so that it radiates outward and others assume you have reasons for your confidence.
2. **Keep your dignity.** Act with dignity whatever the circumstance and avoid caving in under threat.
3. **Make a bold demand.** Set your price high and do not waver (the Columbus Strategy).
4. **Go after the highest person.** Challenge the top figure in a dignified way to be seen as an equal (the David and Goliath Strategy).
5. **Give a gift.** Give those above you a gift to imply equality instead of begging.

## Where it comes from

From chapter: LAW 34, pp. 419–431

The way you carry yourself determines how you are treated, so act like a king and you are treated like one. Louis-Philippe, the bourgeois king with his grey hat and umbrella, dissolved the aura of kingship and was despised by nobles, workers and bankers alike until he fled in 1848, whereas Columbus, a cheese seller's son, asked for the title Grand Admiral of the Ocean and won Queen Isabella's backing by projecting calm noble confidence. Greene calls this the Strategy of the Crown: be overcome by your self-belief, keep your dignity under attack as Haile Selassie did, and set your price high. The reversal is that arrogance, looming too high or humiliating others undoes you, as Charles I found.

## The animation

24 seconds, 4:5, no sound.

- MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/the-strategy-of-the-crown.mp4
- MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/the-strategy-of-the-crown-dark.mp4
- Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/the-strategy-of-the-crown.png
- Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/48-laws-of-power/the-strategy-of-the-crown-dark.png