When was Strider revealed as the King?

Question

I admit it has been years since reading LOTR but I always thought Strider wasn't revealed as the king until Return of the King.

Is this correct?

Answer 1

I'm not entirely clear on what you mean by "revealed", but he's announced as the rightful king (i.e. the heir of Isildur) in Fellowship:

'And here in the house of Elrond more shall be made clear to you' said Aragorn, standing up. He cast his sword upon the table that stood before Elrond, and the blade was in two pieces. 'Here is the Sword that was Broken!' he said.

'And who are you, and what have you to do with Minas Tirith?' asked Boromir, looking in wonder at the lean face of the Ranger and his weather-stained cloak.

'He is Aragorn son of Arathorn,' said Elrond; 'and he is descended through many fathers from Isildur Elendil's son of Minas Ithil. He is the Chief of the Dúnedain in the North, and few are now left of that folk.'

^{Fellowship of the Ring Book II Chapter 2: "The Council of Elrond"}

And near the end of the book (emphasis mine):

'Fear not!' said a strange voice behind [Frodo]. Frodo turned and saw Strider, and yet not Strider; for the weatherworn Ranger was no longer there. In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect, guiding the boat with skilful strokes; his hood was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light was in his eyes: a king returning from exile to his own land.

^{Fellowship of the Ring Book II Chapter 9: "The Great River"}

That he eventually becomes king is also spoiled in Fellowship, in the prologue (emphasis mine):

That book was a copy, made at the request of King Elessar, of the Red Book of the Periannath, and was brought to him by the Thain Peregrin when he retired to Gondor in IV 64.

^{Fellowship of the Ring Prologue 5: "Note on the Shire Records"}

Later in the book, Elessar is announced as another name for Aragorn (emphasis mine):

'Yet maybe this will lighten your heart,' said Galadriel; 'for it was left in my care to be given to you, should you pass through this land.' Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring. 'This stone I gave to Celebrían my daughter, and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!'

^{Fellowship of the Ring Book II Chapter 8: "Farewell to Lórien"}

Answer 2

The prologue reveals that there is a King Elessar in the future, and Galadriel says to Aragorn:

In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!

That sort of gives it away, but it would be quite difficult to remember this name ~400 pages later, especially in a book with so many names. Putting that aside...

Aragorn studiously avoids making any claim to the kingship for most of the story. Other characters hint that he could make the claim, but Aragorn's claim to the kingship isn't clear-cut. He's the heir of Isildur, but the last king of Gondor was from the line of Isildur's brother, Anárion. That's why the story drops many hints, but never comes out and says that Aragorn is king (until the end): he isn't king until the end.

Strictly speaking, he doesn't become king until the Council of Gondor approves and the Steward (Faramir) surrenders Gondor to him. If he (or any of his ancestors) had waltzed into Gondor earlier, they would have been denied. One of Aragorn's distant ancestors, Arvedui, even tried it. Aragorn's claim is a little better than Arvedui, for various ancestry reasons, but only a little. Anárion had a lot of descendents, so there were quite a lot of people who had some kind of claim to the throne. When the last king left and did not return, no one wanted to start a civil war for the throne, so they allowed the Stewards to continue to rule. Denethor makes his views clear:

I am Steward of the House of Anárion. I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart. Even were his claim proved to me, still he comes but of the line of Isildur. I will not bow to such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity.

Aragorn has a claim, but he needs to win the hearts and minds of the leaders of Gondor. Bilbo's poem suggests that Bilbo thinks Aragorn should be king, but that's not going to make it happen. His first real step is when the corsairs arrive at the Battle of Pelenor fields. For a moment, all hope is lost, and then:

And lo! even as [Éomer] laughed at despair he looked out again on the black ships, and he lifted up his sword to defy them. And then wonder took him, and a great joy; and he cast his sword up in the sunlight and sang as he caught it. And all eyes followed his gaze, and behold! upon the foremost ship a great standard broke, and the wind displayed it as she turned towards the Harlond. There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count.

Everyone in Gondor experiences this as a miracle. Somehow, their enemies' ships have been taken by some unknown ally, rescuing Gondor from certain doom, and that ally raises the banner of Elendil (Isildur and Anárion's father, who had been the high king of Gondor and Arnor).

Rumors about Aragorn as king start to fly, as Gandalf alludes to here:

Then an old wife, Ioreth, the eldest of the women who served in that house, looking on the fair face of Faramir, wept, for all the people loved him. And she said: ‘Alas! if he should die. Would that there were kings in Gondor, as there were once upon a time, they say! For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.

And Gandalf, who stood by, said: ‘Men may long remember your words, Ioreth! For there is hope in them. Maybe a king has indeed returned to Gondor; or have you not heard the strange tidings that have come to the City?’

Aragorn, of course, fulfills Ioreth's words by healing Faramir. Notably, when Faramir awakes, he immediately addresses Aragorn as "King", knowing nothing about him.

At this stage, the politics have changed considerably:

• Denethor, who would have opposed Aragorn, is dead.
• Faramir is the new Steward. Aragorn saved his life by calling him back, and he woke up with "King" on his lips
• Prince Imrahil and the other captains of Gondor have witnessed Aragorn in battle and liked what they saw.
• Aragorn entrance was miraculous and saved Gondor from destruction.
• Aragorn fulfilled Ioreth's words about healing.
• The streets are full of rumors a out the return of the king.

At this point, there is no longer any opposition to his claim. Nevertheless Aragorn delays formally submitting his claim until Sauron is dealt with and the Ring is destroyed. So on top of everything else, Aragorn is given credit for playing a significant part in the defeat of Sauron, who has been Gondor's enemy for thousands of years.

Answer 3

From virtually the moment Strider is introduced, in Bree, he is proclaimed the subject of Bilbo's poem in Gandalf's unsent letter, which says the broken sword (and which Strider shows the hobbits) shall be renewed and the crownless shall be king. 2 + 2 = 4 and Strider, holder of the broken sword, is none other than Isildur's heir.