Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

Cultural  

  1. A person who has great responsibilities, such as a king, is constantly worried and therefore doesn't sleep soundly. This saying is a line from the play King Henry the Fourth, Part Two, by William Shakespeare.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, of course, and Donovan has always been aware of the criticism he’s taken.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2019

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown!

From Slate • Feb. 17, 2018

Yet he has kept in his hat a carefully lettered reminder of the responsibilities of his new command: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," cries his father.

From Time Magazine Archive

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, uneasy also, lies the wife of that head, and the best friend of the wife.

From Sylvia's Marriage by Sinclair, Upton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.