The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word CLEOPATRA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
L
E
O
P
A
T
R
A
More clues leading to the result CLEOPATRA
- Upset or placate female ruler
- In moving cart, big cat, no way a queen
- One of the Pieridae who gave the needle and ended it all
- Damaged pectoral area does for tragic royal
- Flying to palace inhabited by king and queen
- Feature of ancient sewer visible on the Embankment?
- Pale actor abysmal as tragic queen
- Queen gives Cameron initial sign: “Party almost broken by one”
- Lo, a carpet laid out for a queen!
- Queen‘s unusual palace tour, not suitable for children!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "old ruler" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old ruler = cleopatra.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does CLEOPATRA mean?
CLEOPATRA noun- The butterfly Gonepteryx cleopatra of the family Pieridae.