Wooden object under a glass bell jar

The title refers to Macbeth Act3 Scene 1 Verse 62:

„When first they put the name of king upon me,
And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like
They hail’d him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,…“

Macbeth notes here that if the witches’ prophecy is true, his will be a “fruitless crown,” by which he means that he will not have an heir (3.1.62). The murder of Duncan, which weighs so heavily on his conscience, may have simply cleared the way for Banquo’s sons to overthrow Macbeth’s own family. [https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/section5/]

You are invited to see parallels to modern times.