to rise to the importance of the moment

Question

Help me please about the exact meaning of the phrase in bold, please!

Treasury Secretary, who met the king during his tour of the region in mid-November, described him to John as a broken man unlikely to rise to the
  importance of the moment.

I should note the king was encounter a revolution, and the president was trying to persuade him to act firmly.

Thanks endlessly.

Barmar · Answer

It's a variation of this sense of "rise" from Lexico.com

3.1 (rise to) Find the strength or ability to respond adequately to (a challenging situation)
  ‘many participants in the race had never sailed before, but they rose to the challenge’

So it means that the king was unlikely to be able to find the strength to respond to the revolution.

to rise to the importance of the moment

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