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Harry, Prince of Wales (Blackadder)
Encyclopedia
Prince Henry "Harry" Plantagenet, Earl of March (1460-1498) was a fictional character
played by Robert East
in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder
(series 1
).
His Royal titles were the Prince of Wales
, Earl of March, Captain of the Guard, Grand Warden of the Northern and Eastern Marches, Chief Lunatic of the Duchy of Gloucester, Viceroy of Wales, Sheriff of Nottingham
, Marquess of the Midlands, Lord Po-Maker-In-Ordinary, and Harbinger of the Doomed Rat.
A member of the House of York
, Harry is the first son of King Richard IV of England (Brian Blessed
) and Queen consort
Gertrude of Flanders
(Elspet Gray
) and great-nephew of Richard III (Peter Cook
). He has a younger brother (possibly his half-brother), Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
(Rowan Atkinson
).
was in the pilot episode which was shot in 1983 but never broadcast. In this episode, which is set sometime during the Elizabethan Era
, Harry's character is one of two sons of the King and Queen of England. Although monarchs are not explicitly named, Harry may be intended as a fictional offspring of Queen Elizabeth I. This version of the character was played by the actor Robert Bathurst
.
Prince Harry made his first televised appearance (played by Robert East) in episode 1 of The Black Adder, entitled "The Foretelling
", in which the events of the first series are set up by rewriting
a period of English history
and telling the story of a fictional ruling monarch who succeeds Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth Field
. In this version of history, Richard III, King of England
, is supported in the battle against Henry Tudor
by his nephew Richard, Duke of York, along with the latter's sons Harry, Earl of March and Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh. Edmund arrives late for the battle and accidentally slaughters King Richard, his great-uncle, by decapitating him in a comedic incident of mistaken identity when he thinks he is trying to steal his horse. Despite this, Henry Tudor loses the battle and the victorious Plantagenet
army swears allegiance to their new King Richard IV of England, the nephew of their deceased leader. Harry and Edmund are promoted to Royal Princes. With the death of Richard III, Harry becomes first-in-line heir
to the English throne.
", for example, Edmund knows perfectly well that the "accidental" deaths of the previous Archbishops of Canterbury
were arranged by the king, but Harry remains in the dark, claiming passionately that each death is "A tragic accident!" despite the impracticality of, as an example, a man tripping and falling onto the top of a church tower.
", King Richard IV departs his Kingdom to join a new Crusade against the Turks
. Prince Harry is appointed Regent for the duration of his absence. In this capacity, he greets a royal visitor, Dougal McAngus (Alex Norton
), who schemes with Edmund behind his back to expose him as the product of an affair between McAngus' father and the Queen. When Edmund reveals papers supposedly proving Harry's illegitimacy, however, Harry deduces that it is in fact Edmund who is illegitimate, and it is revealed that, as a prank, McAngus set Edmund up to say that. MacAngus' "accidental" death a few days later, occurring while sticking his head in a cannon at Edmund's suggestion, helps put the matter to rest. Following the episode, Harry conveniently (or kindly) forgets the matter of Edmund's illegitimacy. It is mentioned in this episode he was born in early 1460.
", King Richard plans to wed Harry to the Infanta of Spain
(Miriam Margolyes
) in order to form an alliance. Said plan could not work, however; Harry had already been concurrently engaged to several other noble women including Princess Leia of Hungary, and (apparently in an extreme act of diplomatic expediency) Jeremy of Estonia
. King Richard then decides to marry Edmund to the Infanta instead (though as often happened, he had to be reminded of Edmund's existence), setting the episode's plot in motion.
, and calls for a famous witch hunter (Frank Finlay
). Following a rigged test, the Witchsmeller announces that Edmund is a witch; Harry stands by idly as his brother is judged in a show trial and condemned to burn at the stake. He is eventually saved by the Queen, who secretly practices witchcraft.
", Harry is given several titles while his brother Edmund loses his Duchy and Scottish lands and is reduced to "Warden of the Royal Privies". Outraged, Edmund hatches a plan to usurp the throne with the help of "the most evil men in the land". The plan eventually backfires, however, when an old enemy of Edmund usurps control of them and Edmund is tortured and mutilated to the brink of death. As he lies on his deathbed, Edmund watches as his family drinks wine, accidentally poisoned by Lord Percy when he tried to poison the evil men, thereby finally attaining his lifelong ambition of becoming king. He then makes the mistake of tasting the wine himself to see if that was what caused everyone to die simultaneously, with predictable results.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Robert East
Robert East (actor)
Robert Gwyn East East is an accomplished theatre and tv actor. He also wrote Incident at Tulse Hill, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre in December 1981 under the direction of Harold Pinter....
in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
(series 1
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
).
His Royal titles were the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Earl of March, Captain of the Guard, Grand Warden of the Northern and Eastern Marches, Chief Lunatic of the Duchy of Gloucester, Viceroy of Wales, Sheriff of Nottingham
Sheriff of Nottingham
The Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is...
, Marquess of the Midlands, Lord Po-Maker-In-Ordinary, and Harbinger of the Doomed Rat.
A member of the House of York
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
, Harry is the first son of King Richard IV of England (Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice and "hearty, king-sized portrayals".-Early life:The son of William Blessed, a socialist miner, and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born in the town of Goldthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England...
) and Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
Gertrude of Flanders
Gertrude of Flanders
Gertrude of Flanders is a fictional character in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder . She was played by Elspet Gray.In the series, she is the Queen of Flanders in her own right and the wife of King Richard of England and Scotland and mother of Princes Harry and Edmund.In attitude, Gertrude mainly...
(Elspet Gray
Elspet Gray
Elspeth Jean Gray, Baroness Rix is a Scottish actress, known for her work on British television in the 1970s and '80s...
) and great-nephew of Richard III (Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
). He has a younger brother (possibly his half-brother), Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Edmund (Blackadder)
Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh is a fictional character in the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Character overview:...
(Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
).
Background
The first portrayal of Prince Harry in the Blackadder story worldSetting (fiction)
In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...
was in the pilot episode which was shot in 1983 but never broadcast. In this episode, which is set sometime during the Elizabethan Era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
, Harry's character is one of two sons of the King and Queen of England. Although monarchs are not explicitly named, Harry may be intended as a fictional offspring of Queen Elizabeth I. This version of the character was played by the actor Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
.
Prince Harry made his first televised appearance (played by Robert East) in episode 1 of The Black Adder, entitled "The Foretelling
The Foretelling
"The Foretelling" was the first episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder . It introduces Edmund Blackadder , and opens with a narrative dispelling the popular depiction of King Richard III of England as a scheming murderer...
", in which the events of the first series are set up by rewriting
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
a period of English history
History of England
The history of England concerns the study of the human past in one of Europe's oldest and most influential national territories. What is now England, a country within the United Kingdom, was inhabited by Neanderthals 230,000 years ago. Continuous human habitation dates to around 12,000 years ago,...
and telling the story of a fictional ruling monarch who succeeds Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth Field
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
. In this version of history, Richard III, King of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, is supported in the battle against Henry Tudor
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
by his nephew Richard, Duke of York, along with the latter's sons Harry, Earl of March and Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh. Edmund arrives late for the battle and accidentally slaughters King Richard, his great-uncle, by decapitating him in a comedic incident of mistaken identity when he thinks he is trying to steal his horse. Despite this, Henry Tudor loses the battle and the victorious Plantagenet
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
army swears allegiance to their new King Richard IV of England, the nephew of their deceased leader. Harry and Edmund are promoted to Royal Princes. With the death of Richard III, Harry becomes first-in-line heir
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the English throne.
Personality
Unlike Edmund, Prince Harry is very kind to the ordinary people, and is his father's favorite. His brother hates and envies him, and schemes in every episode to have him killed or otherwise taken out of the way. Harry is far too gullible to realize this, however, as he seems incapable of detecting treachery in anyone. In "The ArchbishopThe Archbishop
"The Archbishop" is the third episode in of the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder .- Plot :In November 1487, the dying Duke of Winchester , the greatest landowner in the kingdom, leaves his lands to the Catholic Church, prompting King Richard to have Godfrey, the Archbishop of Canterbury,...
", for example, Edmund knows perfectly well that the "accidental" deaths of the previous Archbishops of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
were arranged by the king, but Harry remains in the dark, claiming passionately that each death is "A tragic accident!" despite the impracticality of, as an example, a man tripping and falling onto the top of a church tower.
Harry as Regent
In "Born to be KingBorn to be King
"Born to Be King" is the second episode of The Black Adder, the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.- Plot :In autumn 1486, King Richard IV departs on a Crusade...
", King Richard IV departs his Kingdom to join a new Crusade against the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
. Prince Harry is appointed Regent for the duration of his absence. In this capacity, he greets a royal visitor, Dougal McAngus (Alex Norton
Alex Norton
Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
), who schemes with Edmund behind his back to expose him as the product of an affair between McAngus' father and the Queen. When Edmund reveals papers supposedly proving Harry's illegitimacy, however, Harry deduces that it is in fact Edmund who is illegitimate, and it is revealed that, as a prank, McAngus set Edmund up to say that. MacAngus' "accidental" death a few days later, occurring while sticking his head in a cannon at Edmund's suggestion, helps put the matter to rest. Following the episode, Harry conveniently (or kindly) forgets the matter of Edmund's illegitimacy. It is mentioned in this episode he was born in early 1460.
The Next Few Years
In "The Queen of Spain's BeardThe Queen of Spain's Beard
"The Queen of Spain's Beard" was the fourth episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.- Plot :In 1492, Richard IV's court is in disarray. In order to secure Spain's allegiance in a war with France, the king tries to get Harry to marry the Spanish Infanta...
", King Richard plans to wed Harry to the Infanta of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
) in order to form an alliance. Said plan could not work, however; Harry had already been concurrently engaged to several other noble women including Princess Leia of Hungary, and (apparently in an extreme act of diplomatic expediency) Jeremy of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. King Richard then decides to marry Edmund to the Infanta instead (though as often happened, he had to be reminded of Edmund's existence), setting the episode's plot in motion.
Black Plague
In "The Witchsmeller Pursuivant", Harry tells Edmund that their father is "feeling a bit under the weather" with what he thinks may be the Black Plague. Harry summons the Privy Council to discuss the matters at hand. The Council concludes that the Plague is the product of witchcraftWitchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
, and calls for a famous witch hunter (Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
). Following a rigged test, the Witchsmeller announces that Edmund is a witch; Harry stands by idly as his brother is judged in a show trial and condemned to burn at the stake. He is eventually saved by the Queen, who secretly practices witchcraft.
Death
In "The Black SealThe Black Seal
"The Black Seal" is the final of six episodes of the first series of the BBC One sitcom Blackadder .- Plot :On Saint Juniper's Day, 29 January 1498, King Richard IV snubs Prince Edmund, taking away his Duchy and leaving him with the sole dignity of Lord Warden of the Royal Privies, while awarding...
", Harry is given several titles while his brother Edmund loses his Duchy and Scottish lands and is reduced to "Warden of the Royal Privies". Outraged, Edmund hatches a plan to usurp the throne with the help of "the most evil men in the land". The plan eventually backfires, however, when an old enemy of Edmund usurps control of them and Edmund is tortured and mutilated to the brink of death. As he lies on his deathbed, Edmund watches as his family drinks wine, accidentally poisoned by Lord Percy when he tried to poison the evil men, thereby finally attaining his lifelong ambition of becoming king. He then makes the mistake of tasting the wine himself to see if that was what caused everyone to die simultaneously, with predictable results.
Titles and honours
- Lord Henry Plantagenet (1460–1485)
- The Earl of March (1460–1499)
- Captain of the Guard (1498–1499)
- Grand Warden of the Northern and Eastern Marches (1498–1499)
- Chief Lunatic of the Duchy of Gloucester (1498–1499)
- Viceroy of Wales (1498–1499)
- Sheriff of Nottingham (1498–1499)
- Marquess of the Midlands (1498–1499)
- Lord Po-Maker-In-Ordinary (1498–1499)
- Harbinger of the Doomed Rat (1498–1499)