>>714747601 (OP)Subversion of expectation? Royalty, in general, has always had a case of huge egos so everything around them would be pompous and grand, even if the royalty in question wasn't deserving of it (specially if they weren't deserving of it, rather).
So the lesser crowd would see that and expect the royalty to be big and imposing (which was true to an extent cause having money at that time made it so you developed yourself more physically).
The people that saw through the lies, or just as a way to mock them, would often depict them the opposite way that they would like, as short and powerless. This way of picturing royalty and generally powerful figures in history became popular through time and it's almost as common as any other way of doing so.
I know you just want to talk about your pig waifu, but it's a good question