Prince Charming - Wikipedia

Theme in storytelling, often used as a stock character For other uses, see Prince Charming (disambiguation).

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Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character archetype who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella" even if in the original story they were given another name, or no name at all.

Elements of the Prince Charming character date at least back to Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty, published in 1697. Often handsome and romantic, these characters are essentially interchangeable, serving as a foil to the heroine; in many variants, they can be viewed as a metaphor for a reward the heroine achieves for the decisions she makes.[1] The prominence of the character type makes him an obvious and frequent target for revisionist fairy tales, usually portraying him as narcissistic, dimwitted, and solely focused on romance, and often as a foil to either the heroine or their true love interest. "Prince Charming" is also used as a term to refer to the idealized man some people dream of as a future spouse.[2]

History of the term

[edit]

Charles Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty, published in 1697, includes the following text at the point where the princess wakes up: "'Est-ce vous, mon prince? lui dit-elle; vous vous êtes bien fait attendre.' Le prince, charmé de ces paroles, ne savait comment lui témoigner sa joie et sa reconnaissance." ("'Is it you, my Prince?' she said; 'You made me wait a long while.' The Prince, charmed with these words, and much more with the manner in which they were spoken, knew not how to show his joy and gratitude.") It has sometimes been suggested[by whom?] that this passage later inspired the term, "Prince Charming", even though it is the prince who is charmed (charmé) here, not who is being charming (charmant).

In the 17th century, Madame d'Aulnoy wrote two fairy tales, The Story of Pretty Goldilocks, where the hero was named Avenant ("Fine", "Beautiful", in French), and The Blue Bird, where the hero was Le roi Charmant ("The Charming King"). When Andrew Lang retold the first (in 1889) for The Blue Fairy Book,[3] he rendered the hero's name as "Charming"; the second, for The Green Fairy Book, as "King Charming". Although neither one was a prince and the first was not royal, this may have been the original use of "Charming".

In the early Disney animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), when Snow White tells the dwarfs about her prince, she says, "Anyone could see that the prince was charming, the only one for me." However, he is never referred to specifically as "Prince Charming". Andreas Deja initially struggled with the concept of animating a handsome villain in Beauty and the Beast. Deja ultimately based Gaston's appearance on those of handsome soap opera actors in order to create a grotesque version of the Prince Charming stock character.

In other languages, like Spanish and Italian, he is called the "Blue Prince". In Portuguese, a translation mistake occurred and he is called "Charmed Prince" (Príncipe Encantado; the correct term for "Charming" should be Encantador or Charmoso), coincidentally closer to the sense in Perrault's story.

Modern usage

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• The Broadway musical Into the Woods (first produced in 1986) explores the character as lecherous, and where there are not one, but two Prince Charmings. Here, they are shown as brothers pursuing Cinderella and Rapunzel, then later, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, after they have married their first wenches. Cinderella's Prince has an affair with the Baker’s wife as well, and when confronted about his womanizing, states "I was raised to be charming, not sincere." The princes are portrayed by Robert Westenberg and Chuck Wagner in the original Broadway cast and by Gavin Creel and Joshua Henry in the original 2022 Broadway revival cast, Andy Karl played both princes for limited runs in the revival and Cheyenne Jackson played Cinderella's Prince for a limited run as well. In the 2014 Disney film adaptation of Into the Woods, the Prince Charmings are portrayed by Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen.
• As implied by the title, the 1991 fantasy novel Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley includes sharp satire of the traditional fairy tale theme.
• Prince Charming is a prominent character in the Fables comic book (2002–2015). Polygamy is explored again: in that version, he successively married Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella with each marriage ending in divorce due to his compulsive womanizing. He himself comments: "I always truly love a woman when I first pursue her...I'm just no good at the happily-ever-after part." He parlays his charm into election as the mayor of Fabletown, the underground "Fable" community, and finds the job more difficult than he had anticipated. He died in the Battle for the Homelands by activating a bomb to End the War.
• The character of Prince Charming is deconstructed in the 2004 movie Shrek 2 and its 2007 follow-up Shrek the Third, wherein he is the son of the Fairy Godmother and has an unpleasant and ruthless personality unfitting for a fairy-tale prince.
• In the fantasy novel series The Sisters Grimm (2005–2012), Prince Charming is the mayor of Ferryport Landing, a town inhabited by fairy-tale characters- or everafters. He is shown to be rude, arrogant and boastful, but turns out to be a valuable ally to the protagonists of the series. He is shown to have married and slept with many of the girls in this town, among them Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. But he clarifies that he truly loves Snow White and proposes to her. He then separates himself from her for her protection.
• The concept of the Prince Charming is parodied in the 2007 film Enchanted when Edward is looking for Princess Giselle in the New York City. While knocking the doors he finds a pregnant housewife holding three kids, who tells him, in a scoffing voice, "You're too late."
• The Ever After High franchise features the three siblings sons of Prince Charming: Daring, Darling, and Dexter Charming.
• In the television series Once Upon a Time (2011–2017), Prince Charming (portrayed by Josh Dallas) is the husband of Snow White, though neither of them remembers this in the cursed Storybrooke, where the character's name is David Nolan ("Charming" is the nickname given to him by Snow White). In his previous life, David is actually the brother of the real prince James (also portrayed by Josh Dallas) who died and was replaced with his twin. Both brothers were born to a poor farm couple who made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to save their farm; they gave up one son to King George, whose wife could not conceive. After James's death his brother found out the truth and took his place, becoming engaged to Abigail, daughter of King Midas (reluctantly, after his family is threatened by King George) in a deal that unites two kingdoms with Midas giving King George gold in exchange for the prince defeating a dragon. Later, the prince meets and marries Snow White with whom he has a daughter named Emma. In Storybrooke, David is a John Doe with amnesia who meets and falls for Mary Margaret, who is really Snow White, before recovering his memory and working at the Storybrooke Sheriff Department. He later has another child with Snow White named Neal.
• In the book series The Land of Stories (2012) by Chris Colfer, there are four Prince Charmings, who are brothers named Chance, Chase, Chandler and Charles Charming who are married to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Red Riding Hood respectively.

References

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1. ^ Orenstein, Catherine (2002). Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale. New York: Basic Books. p. 121. ISBN 0-465-04125-6.
2. ^ "Prince charming". Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
3. ^ "The Fairy Tales of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy". SurLaLune Fairy Tales. Archived from the original on 2020-01-05. Retrieved 2010-07-27.

External links

[edit]

• Merriam-Webster.com: Prince Charming

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince charming.

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Others Adolescent clique Donor Fool Identity formation Imaginary friend Innamorati Magical Negro Mole people Redshirt Shoulder angel Sidekick Straight man Tokenism Town drunk Tragic mulatto Truck-kun Village idiot White savior

v t e "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm
"Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree" "Snow-White-Fire-Red" "Richilde" "The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights" "Nourie Hadig" "Myrsina" "Bella Venezia" Disney franchise
Characters	Snow White Snow White (Disney) The Queen Evil Queen (Disney) Queen of Fables The Seven Dwarfs Prince Charming
Objects	Magic Mirror
Films	Snow White (1902) Snow White (1916) Betty Boop in Snow-White (1933) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943) The Seven Dwarfs to the Rescue (1951) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1955) Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961) Snow White (1961) The New Adventures of Snow White (1969) A Snow White Christmas (1980) Neberte nám princeznú (1981) Snow White (1987) Happily Ever After (1989) The Magic Riddle (1991) Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001) 7 Dwarves – Men Alone in the Wood (2004) 7 Dwarves: The Forest Is Not Enough (2006) Snow White: The Sequel (2007) Sydney White (2007) Happily N'Ever After 2: Snow White—Another Bite @ the Apple (2009) Blanche Neige (2009) Grimm's Snow White (2012) Mirror Mirror (2012) Blancanieves (2012) Snow White: A Deadly Summer (2012) Snow White: The Power of Dwarfs (2014) The Seventh Dwarf (2014) Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (2019) In the Mirror (2020) Snow White (2025) The Death of Snow White (2025) The Huntsman film series Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) soundtrack The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016) Other film references Shrek (2001) Happily N'Ever After (2007) Shrek the Third (2007) Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha (2009) Descendants (2015) Charming (2018)
Televisionseries	The 10th Kingdom (miniseries) The Charmings (sitcom) White Snow (1995) The Legend of Snow White (anime series) Prétear (anime series) Once Upon a Time (drama series) "Four Great Women and a Manicure" (The Simpsons episode) The 7D (TV series)
Stage	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912 play) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (musical) A Snow White Christmas (musical)
Ballet	The Magic Mirror (1903)
Other media	Fables (comics) Mira, Mirror (novel) Mirror Mirror (novel) Red as Blood (short story) Schneewittchen (opera) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (attraction) Snow White's Enchanted Wish (attraction) Snow White Grotto (attraction) Snow White: Happily Ever After (video game) "Snow, Glass, Apples" (short story) The Serpent's Shadow (novel) Fairest (novel) Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (short story collection) Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. (OVA) Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (video game) Fairytale Fights (video game) Snow White with the Red Hair (manga) RWBY (TV series) The Wolf Among Us (video game) Dark Parables (video game) Six-Gun Snow White (novel)
Non-media	Snow White Cafe
Category

v t e "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm
Universe Characters Cinderella Cinderella's stepsisters Fairy godmother Wicked stepmother Prince Charming Buttons Maleversions Askeladden or Boots (Norwegian) Fire Boy (Japanese) Nationalvariation Bawang Merah Bawang Putih (Malay and Indonesian) Beauty and Pock Face (Chinese) Chūjō-hime (Japanese) Fair, Brown and Trembling (Irish) Finette Cendron (French) The Green Knight (Danish) Katie Woodencloak (Norwegian) Kongjwi and Patjwi (Korean) Maria (Philippines) Ochikubo Monogatari (Japanese) "Rhodopis" (Greek) Rushen Coatie (Scottish) The Sharp Grey Sheep (Scottish) The Story of Tấm and Cám (Vietnamese) Sumiyoshi Monogatari (Japanese) The True Bride (German) The Wonderful Birch (Russian) Ye Xian (Chinese)
Media Films Cinderella (1899) Cinderella or the Glass Slipper (1912) Cinderella (1914) A Lowland Cinderella (1921) A Kiss for Cinderella (1925) Ella Cinders (1926) The Magic Shoes (1935) First Love (1939) Princess Cinderella (1941) Cinderella (1947) The Glass Slipper (1955) Cinderella (1955) Cinderfella (1960) Stop! Look! and Laugh! (1960) More Than a Miracle (1967) Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973) The Slipper and the Rose (1976) Cinderella (1979) Cinderella '80 (1984) Maid to Order (1987) Lua de Cristal (1990) If the Shoe Fits (1990) Ever After (1998) Ella Enchanted (2004) Cinderella (2006) Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale (2010) Rags (2012) Cinderella (2021) Sneakerella (2022) Once upon a Crime (2023) Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) The Ugly Stepsister (2025) A Cinderella Story series A Cinderella Story (2004) Another Cinderella Story (2008) Once Upon a Song (2011) If the Shoe Fits (2016) Christmas Wish (2019) Starstruck (2021) Disney's Cinderella Cinderella (1950) Dreams Come True (2002) A Twist in Time (2007) Cinderella (2015) Animation Cinderella Blues (1931) Poor Cinderella (1934) Cinderella Meets Fella (1938) Swing Shift Cinderella (1945) Ancient Fistory (1953) Señorella and the Glass Huarache (1964) Cinderella (1979) The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981) The Magic Riddle (1991) Happily N'Ever After (2007) Year of the Fish (2008) Cinderella the Cat (2017) Charming (2018) Cinderella and the Secret Prince (2018) Television Hey, Cinderella! (1968) Cindy (1978) Cinderella Monogatari (1996) Cinderella (1997) CinderElmo (1999) Cinderella (2000) I Was a Rat/Cinderella and Me (2001) La Cenicienta (2003) Bawang Merah Bawang Putih (2004) Floricienta (2004) Floribella (2005 Brazil) Floribella (2006 Portugal) Grazilda (2010) Aik Nayee Cinderella (2012) Literaryadaptations Celestina (1791) Ella Cinders (1925–1961) Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1954) Nine Coaches Waiting (1958) The Coachman Rat (1989) Witches Abroad (1991) Ella Enchanted (1997) I Was a Rat!: or, The Scarlet Slippers (1999) Just Ella (1999) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999) Chinese Cinderella (1999) The Fairy Godmother (2004) Phoenix and Ashes (2004) Bella at Midnight (2006) Ash (2009) Princess of Glass (2010) Cinder (2012) Opera Cendrillon (1810 Isouard) La Cenerentola (1817 Rossini) Cendrillon (1899 Massenet) Cendrillon (1904 Viardot) La Cenicienta (1966 Hen) Cinderella (2016 Deutscher) Ballet Cinderella (1893 Fitinhof-Schell) Aschenbrödel (1900 Strauss-Bayer) Cinderella (1945 Prokofiev) Cinderella (1948 Ashton) Musicals Cinderella and the Prince, or The Castle of Heart's Desire (1904) A Stubborn Cinderella (1909) Mr. Cinders (1929) Cinderella (1957) Cindy (1964) The Penny Friend (1966) The Slipper and the Rose (1984) Into the Woods (1987) Sisterella (1996) Soho Cinders (2008) Cinderella (2013) Cinderella (2020) Other Cinderella About to Try on the Glass Slipper (1842 painting) Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire (1843 painting) A Kiss for Cinderella (1916 play) Comics Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love Cinderalla Ella Cinders (1925–1961) Cinders (2012 video game) Pantomime Sinderella Songs "Spread a Little Happiness" (1929) "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (1949) "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (1950) "Cinderella" (1987) "Hey Cinderella" (1993) "It's Midnight Cinderella" (1996) "Cinderella" (2001) "Cinderella" (2002) "Cinderella" (2003) "Stealing Cinderella" (2007) "Cinderella" (2007) "C\C (Cinderella\Complex)" (2008) "Bad Cinderella" (2020) "Million to One" (2021) "Bibbidiba" (2024) Albums Cinderella (1957 original television cast recording) A Cinderella Story (2004 soundtrack) Disney's Princess Favorites (2002) Cinderella (2013 cast album) Cinderella (2015 soundtrack) Cinderella (2021 soundtrack) Sociology Cinderella complex Cinderella effect The Cinderella Movement Commercials A Coach for Cinderella A Ride for Cinderella Adult Cinder Ellen up too Late Cinderella (1977) Naughty Cinderella Related Catskin Into the Woods Into the Woods (2014 film) Politically Correct Bedtime Stories Disney's characters Stop! Look! and Laugh! Waltz Suite Black Cinderella Two Goes East Cinderella's Stepsister Lying to Be Perfect Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha (2009) Cinderella's Eyes (2011) Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Category

v t e "Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm
Theatre	La belle au bois dormant (opera) La belle au bois dormant (opera) The Sleeping Beauty (ballet) Hex (musical)
Variants	Sun, Moon, and Talia The Young Slave The Glass Coffin
Retellings	Alinda of the Loch Beauty Briar Rose Enchantment The Light Princess "Little Daylight" The Ordinary Princess The Sleeping Beauty Quartet Spindle's End
Films	Sleeping Beauty (1949) Sleeping Beauty (1955) Sleeping Beauty (1959) Some Call It Loving (1973) How to Wake a Princess (1977) Sleeping Beauty (1987) Keys to the Kingdom (2007) Sleeping Betty (2008) The Sleeping Beauty (2010) Maleficent film series Maleficent (2014) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) The Seventh Dwarf (2014) The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016) Charming (2018)
Music	"Once Upon a Dream" (song) Maleficent (soundtrack) Mistress of Evil (soundtrack) "You Can't Stop the Girl" (song)
Characters	Prince Charming Wicked fairy Disney's Sleeping Beauty characters Aurora Flora, Fauna and Merryweather Maleficent
Related	Disney's Sleeping Beauty franchise The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast The Sleeping Beauty (1841 painting)
Category

v t e "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Grimm
Literature	Grimms' Fairy Tales (1812) Rapunzel (1998)
Related myths	Danaë Rudaba
Adaptations	Film Barbie as Rapunzel (2002) Tangled (2010) soundtrack Tangled Ever After (2012) Tangled: Before Ever After (2017) Literature Rapunzel (1998) Cress (2014) Television The Mind Robber (1968) "The Tower" (2014) Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017) Video games Tangled: The Video Game Kingdom Hearts III
See also	Prince Charming Märchenbilder Golem in the Gears Rapunzel (Tangled) Rapunzel syndrome Into the Woods (stage) Into the Woods (film) Into the Woods (soundtrack) Into the Woods (cast recording) Shrek the Third
International variants	Petrosinella (Italy) Snow-White-Fire-Red (Italy) Persinette (France) Anthousa, Xanthousa, Chrisomalousa (Greece)