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Prince Charming is a stock character
Stock character

A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics....
 who appears in a number of fairy tale
Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folklore characters such as Fairy, goblins, Elf, trolls, giant , and talking animals, and usually enchanted, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events....
s. He is the prince
Prince

Prince, from the Latin root princeps, is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe's highest nobility....
 who comes to the rescue of the damsel in distress
Damsel in distress

The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a young, nubile woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue....
, and typically must engage in a quest
Quest

In mythology and literature a quest ? a journey towards a goal ? serves as a Plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures....
 to liberate her from an evil spell
Magic (paranormal)

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
. The name has been given to the hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
es of a number of traditional folk tales, including Snow White
Snow White

Snow White is the title fictional character of a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm....
, Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma M?re l'Oye .While Perrault's version is better known, an older variant, the tale Sun, Moon, and Talia, was contained in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone ....
, and Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella , is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world....
.

These characters are often handsome and romantic, a foil to the heroine, and are seldom deeply characterized, or even distinguishable from other such men who marry the heroine.






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Princecharming
Prince Charming is a stock character
Stock character

A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics....
 who appears in a number of fairy tale
Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folklore characters such as Fairy, goblins, Elf, trolls, giant , and talking animals, and usually enchanted, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events....
s. He is the prince
Prince

Prince, from the Latin root princeps, is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe's highest nobility....
 who comes to the rescue of the damsel in distress
Damsel in distress

The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a young, nubile woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue....
, and typically must engage in a quest
Quest

In mythology and literature a quest ? a journey towards a goal ? serves as a Plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures....
 to liberate her from an evil spell
Magic (paranormal)

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
. The name has been given to the hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
es of a number of traditional folk tales, including Snow White
Snow White

Snow White is the title fictional character of a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm....
, Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma M?re l'Oye .While Perrault's version is better known, an older variant, the tale Sun, Moon, and Talia, was contained in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone ....
, and Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella , is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world....
.

These characters are often handsome and romantic, a foil to the heroine, and are seldom deeply characterized, or even distinguishable from other such men who marry the heroine. In many variants, they can be viewed more as rewards for the heroine rather than characters."

"Prince Charming" is also used as a term to refer to the idealized man some women dream of as a future significant other.

History of term

In the eighteenth centurey, Madame d'Aulnoy
Madame d'Aulnoy

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baronne d'Aulnoy was a France writer known for her fairy tales. When she termed her works contes de f?e , she originated the term that is now generally used for the genre....
 wrote two fairy tales, The Story of Pretty Goldilocks
The Story of Pretty Goldilocks

The Story of Pretty Goldilocks or The Beauty with Golden Hair is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book....
, where the hero was named Avenant, and The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird (fairy tale)

"The Blue Bird" is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy, published in 1697. An English translation was included in The Green Fairy Book, 1892, collected by Andrew Lang....
, where the hero was Le roi Charmant ("The Charming King," in French). When Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang was a prolific Scotland man of letters. He was a poet, novelist, and literary critic, and contributor to anthropology. He now is best known as the folkloristics of folklore and fairy tales....
 retold the first (in 1889) for The Blue Fairy Book, 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."

Then, Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish people playwright, Irish poetry and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest Celebrity of his day....
's 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890....
 refers ironically to "Prince Charming," perhaps the earliest use of the exact term. The main character, Dorian, is supposed to be a young actress's "Prince Charming," but he abandons her and in despair she commits suicide.

The Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
 animated version of Cinderella that appeared in 1950 further popularized the name in English. In the Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault

File:ChPerrault.jpg'Charles Perrault' was a France author who laid foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, and whose best known tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , La Belle au bois dormant , Le Ma?tre chat ou le Chat bott? , Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre , La Barbe bleue , Le Petit Pouce...
 version of Cinderella, and in most pre-Disney versions, the prince is not specifically identified as Prince Charming. Nor is the character of the Prince named Prince Charming - or for that matter anything else - in the earlier Disney animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American film based on the Snow White by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full length animation feature film to be produced by Walt Disney, and the first American animated feature film in movie history....
 (1937). Since that film appeared, the name has been bestowed upon the highly similar characters who appear in Snow White. In fact, the princely status of Prince Charming is more important to the plot of Snow White, since it is his royal status that enables Prince Charming to break the curse
Curse

A curse is any manner of adversity thought to be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell , a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic , witchcraft, a god, a natural force, or a spiritual being....
 that keeps Snow White in her supernatural sleep. In Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) the Prince is named Phillip and never referred to as "Prince Charming".

Frog Prince

In another variant
The Frog Prince (story)

The Frog King or Iron Heinrich , also known as The Frog Prince, is a fairy tale, best known through the Brothers Grimm's written version; traditionally it is the first story in their collection....
, Prince Charming is the victim of a curse that has transmogrified
Shapeshifting

Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a :wikt:metamorphosis of a person or animal....
 him into a frog
Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
 or toad
Toad

A toad can refer to a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura. A distinction is often made between frogs and toads by their appearance, prompted by the convergent evolution among so-called "toads" to dry habitats....
. In this version, Prince Charming has to be kissed by a princess
Princess

Princess, is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or her daughters.For many centuries, the title "princess" was not regularly used for a monarch's daughter, who might simply be called "Lady" or a non-English equivalent; Old English language had no female equivalent to "prince", "earl"...
 while in his amphibian form for the curse to be broken; only then can he be restored to his human form as a handsome prince.

Adaptations

The prominence of the character type makes him an obvious target for revisionist fairy tales.

The character of Prince Charming is deconstructed
Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a term used in philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, popularised through its usage by Jacques Derrida in the 1960s....
 in the 2004 movie Shrek 2
Shrek 2

Shrek 2, released in the United States on 19 May 2004, is the 2004 in film Academy Award nominated sequel to the 2001 in film computer animation DreamWorks film Shrek in the Shrek ....
 (wherein he is a Bad Fiancé, he has a personality not unlike that of Gaston
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

Gaston is a canonical fictional character and a villain in Walt Disney Pictures Beauty_and_the_Beast_. Introduced in the Beauty_and_the_Beast_, Gaston's desire to marriage Belle leads him to evolve from a harmless, humourous buffoon to the primary antagonist of the film....
 in Disney
Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was found as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since the death of Walt Disney were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney Productions....
's Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 Cinema of the United States animated cartoon family film. It is the thirtieth List of Disney animated features produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation....
, although he is rather more metrosexual
Metrosexual

Metrosexual is a neologism of the 2000s generally applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance, and/or whose lifestyles display attributes stereotypically attributed to gay men....
). "Prince Charming
Prince Charming (Song)

Prince Charming was a UK number one single for four weeks in September 1981 for Adam & The Ants. Written by Marco Pirroni and Adam Ant it was their second number one single....
" is the title of a 1981 album and song by Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants

Adam and the Ants were a New Romantic band during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were one of the bands at the time that marked the transition from the 70s punk rock era to the New Wave music/post-punk era....
. Prince Charming is also the title of a 1999 movie starring Andy Lau
Andy Lau

Andy Lau Tak-Wah Medal of Honour, Justice of the Peace is a Hong Kong China Cantopop star, movie actor, and Film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the 1990s....
 and Michelle Reis
Michelle Reis

Michele Monique Reis is a Hong Kong Actor....
. Meet Prince Charming is the title of a 1999 movie starring Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere

Tia Carrere is an United States actor, model , and Grammy Award winning singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2 and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter....
 and David Charvet
David Charvet

David Charvet is a French actor and singer....
.

Prince Charming is a prominent character in the Fables comic book
Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
; in that version, he successively married Snow White
Snow White

Snow White is the title fictional character of a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm....
, Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma M?re l'Oye .While Perrault's version is better known, an older variant, the tale Sun, Moon, and Talia, was contained in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone ....
 and Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella , is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world....
, 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
Fabletown

Fabletown is the fictional, clandestine community of "Fables" resident in New York in the Fables comic book universe. It exists in two locations, one being Bullfinch Street -- as in Bullfinch's Mythology -- in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the other on a large farm, protected with magical spells that repel non-Fables in upstate...
, the underground "Fable" community, and finds the job more difficult than he had anticipated.

This aspect of his character is also explored in the Broadway musical Into the Woods
Into the Woods

Into the Woods is a Musical theatre with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway theatre in 1987....
, where there are not one but two prince Charmings, brothers going after Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella , is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world....
 and Rapunzel
Rapunzel

"Rapunzel" is a German culture fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales....
, then, later, Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma M?re l'Oye .While Perrault's version is better known, an older variant, the tale Sun, Moon, and Talia, was contained in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone ....
 and Snow White
Snow White

Snow White is the title fictional character of a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm....
 after they marry their first loves. Cinderella's Prince even has an affair with the Baker's Wife, and when confronted about his womanizing, states "I was raised to be charming, not sincere."

The concept of the Prince Charming is also parodied in Enchanted when Prince Edward looking for Princess Giselle in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
. While knocking the doors he finds a pregnant housewife holding 3 kids, who tells him, in a scoffing voice, "You're too late."

See also

  • Fat-Frumos
    Fat-Frumos

    Fat-Frumos is a knight hero in Romanian folklore, usually present in fairy tales.Akin to Prince Charming, he possesses such essential attributes as courage, purity, justness, physical and spiritual strength, cleverness, passion, and unshakable love....