Crossword Genius

In trouble, a king's miserable (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bleak

'miserable' is the definition.
(bleak can mean miserable or unfortunate)

'in trouble a king's' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'BLEAK' is hidden within 'trouble a kings'.

(Other definitions for bleak that I've seen before include "Austere" , "Book by Dickens" , "Desolate, hopoeless" , "Unpleasantly cold" , "Cold and raw" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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