User blog comment:Bunnyllove/If Igneel is king of the fire dragons what would that make Natsu?/@comment-24066070-20131112085000

According to me Igneel is still alive and he now resides/ is trapped in a volcanic area. That would mean Igneel is still the "King". Furthermore, we don't know if there are still any Fire Dragons alive for Igneel to rule over.

Besides, the term "King" doesn't always refer to a ruler. Elvis Presley didn't rule over a country, but people still call him "King" because they consider his music to be really good/important/etc. It is possible that Igneel is simply the strongest Fire Dragon, but that he doesn't give a f*** about ruling over the other Fire Dragons.

I doubt Acnologia is accepted as a "King" by the other Dragons, but that he is merely the strongest. The impression I get from Igneel is that he wants humans (Dragon Slayers to be more precise) to "surpass" Dragons, which would mean being able to defeat/kill them. This may hint at Igneel wanting Acnologia out of the way and certainly not seeing him as a "King".