Today, it is an expectation that the ruler of the people (whether democratic or otherwise) should behave in a way acceptable to the people... or face revolution when did this trend begin?

by The_Noob_OP

What event(s) lead to the empowerment of the people to challenge the divine right of kings?

In ancient times, no peasant would willingly challenge their king, as the monarch was seen to have been given the position by god.

The monarchy had their tradition-based power, and did not have to have the majority support of the people to remain in power. It appears that as the ages have progressed, the monarchy had to rely more-so on charismatic power, and a general support of the people in order to stay in power.

At the moment, it is my understanding that this trend started with the French Revolution... is this the starting point of such a trend?

ParkSungJun

China's Mandate of Heaven has been argued to be this. The idea behind the Mandate was that if the country underwent calamity (ex. earthquakes, rebellions, and such), that the rulers clearly no longer had the favor of heaven, and should thus be overthrown and replaced with a new dynasty.