I think this is more akin to a king choosing to not be a patron of someone at the time (Spotify paying $100 million), not a king censoring criticism of himself,

I think this is more akin to a king choosing to not be a patron of someone at the time (Spotify paying $100 million), not a king censoring criticism of himself, even if not becoming a patron of his ideological enemies has an arguably similar effect to censoring them.