Poor old king, it’s recalled, put in river (9)
I believe the answer is:
destitute
'poor' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'old king it's recalled put in river' is the wordplay.
'old king' becomes 'tut' (King Tut).
'recalled' says the letters should be written backwards.
'put in' indicates putting letters inside.
'river' becomes 'Dee' (River Dee).
'tut'+'its'='tutits'
'tutits' back-to-front is 'stitut'.
'stitut' put within 'dee' is 'DESTITUTE'.
(Other definitions for destitute that I've seen before include "In utter want" , "Poverty-stricken" , "Penniless, without any means" , "Absolutely broke, without money or goods" , "Totally impoverished" .)