Harry, Prince of Wales (Blackadder)
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| Prince Henry Plantagenet of York | |
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| Blackadder character | |
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| First appearance | The Foretelling |
| Last appearance | The Black Seal |
| Portrayed by | Robert East |
| Episode count | 6 |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Prince of Wales, 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, Harbinger of the Doomed Rat |
| Nationality | English |
Prince Henry Plantagenet of York, known as Harry, was a fictional character played by Robert East in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder (series 1).
His Royal titles included the Prince of Wales, 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 despite his Lancastrian-associated Christian name (Henry), 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 (technically his half-brother), Prince Edmund, 'The Black Adder' (Rowan Atkinson).
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[edit] Battle of Bosworth Field
A feast is held on the Eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field. There King Richard III of England gathers his supporters for the battle against Henry Tudor. Among those present are the Duke of York accompanied by his sons Harry, Earl of March and Lord Edmund Plantagenet.
Edmund arrives late for the battle and accidentally murders his great-uncle Richard. That night the victorious army swears to the name of their new King Richard IV of England, the nephew of their deceased leader. Harry and Edmund are promoted to Royal Princes. The accidental murder turns Harry into the first-in-line heir to the English throne.
[edit] Personality
Prince Harry is far more popular with the subjects and the ladies than Prince Edmund. Unlike the Blackadder, he 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 Archbishop", 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! tragic!.... Oh lord, you do work in mysterious ways!"
[edit] Harry as Regent
In "Born to be King", 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. 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.
[edit] The Next Few Years
In "The Queen of Spain's Beard", 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. (It is never explained why, if he could be engaged to a number of women simultaneously, one additional engagement would be considered a problem.) 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.
[edit] 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 witchcraft, and calls for a famous witch hunter, the titular character (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.
[edit] Death
In "The Black Seal", Harry is given several titles while his brother Edmund loses his Duchy and is reduced to "Lord 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, 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, 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.
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