Harry, Prince of Wales (Blackadder)

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Blackadder character
Prince Henry Plantagenet of York
Nationality	British; some French blood
Occupation(s)	Prince of Wales, Prince Regent, 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-Wardenry, Harbinger of the Doom Tract
First appearance	The Foretelling
Last appearance	The Black Seal
Episode count	6
Played by	Robert East

Prince Henry Plantagenet of York (February/March 1460 - December 1498), known as Harry, was a fictional character in the first series of the popular BBC sitcom The Black Adder, played by Robert East.

His Royal titles included the Prince of Wales, Prince Regent, 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-Wardenry, and Harbinger of the Doom Tract.

He was born in 1460. He was the first son of King Richard IV of England and Queen consort Gertrude of Flanders and great-nephew of Richard III. He had a younger brother, Prince Edmund 'The Black Adder'.

Contents 1 Battle of Bosworth Field 2 Harry as Regent 2.1 The Next Few Years 2.2 Black Plague

[edit] Battle of Bosworth Field

A feast was held on the Eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field. There King Richard III of England (played by Peter Cook) gathered his supporters for the battle against Henry Tudor. Among those present was the Duke of York accompanied by his sons Harry, Earl of March and Lord Edmund Plantagenet.

Edmund arrived late for the battle and accidentally murdered his great-uncle Richard. That night the victorious army swore to the name of their new King Richard IV of England (played by Brian Blessed), the nephew of their deceased leader. Harry and Edmund were promoted to Royal Princes. The accidental murder turned Harry into the first-in-line heir to the English throne. It is mentioned that Harry is a great warrior, killing well over a hundred men in the battle.

[edit] Harry as Regent

In 1486, the second year of his reign and reportedly "the year in which the egg replaced the worm as the lowest form of currency", King Richard IV departed his Kingdom to join a new Crusade against the Turks (presumably the Ottoman Empire under Beyazid II who reigned 1481 - 1512). Prince Harry was appointed Regent for the duration of his absence.

[edit] The Next Few Years

In 1492, according to the narration, "the death of Randolph XII of Saxony and the collapse of the Treaty of Insects" (a probable reference to the Diet of Worms) threw Europe into disarray. "Kingdoms rose and fell; borders, even languages changed; men were killed by their own side and women raped by soldiers from up to seven different nations every week.

England under Richard IV was apparently also involved in the general conflict. King Richard was apparently noted for the cynicism in his military strategy. Informed that the Swiss had invaded France, the King ordered Lord Wessex to take advantage of their absence and pillage Geneva. Reminded of his alliance to the Swiss, Richard merely issued orders for his invading force of 10,000 men to be dressed as Germans. He also took time to sent flowers to the King of France "in sympathy for the death of his son," despite being personally responsible for said death. (The historical King of France at the time was Charles VIII, whose firstborn son, Prince Charles-Orland of France, was actually born in 1492.)

Richard IV did not neglect diplomacy either. He explained to Prince Harry that the secret to the latter lies in fornication and then marriage. He explained his plan to form an alliance with Spain against France, by marrying Harry to the Spanish Infanta. At this point some comments should be offered on the complex historical Spanish-English relations of the late 15th and 16th century. In 1492, "Spain" still consisted of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, under the rule of consorts and co-rulers Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Henry VII Tudor sought an alliance with them, resulting in the marriage of his elder son Arthur, Prince of Wales to their youngest daughter Catherine of Aragon in November, 1501. When Arthur died early, Catherine was married to his younger brother Henry VIII (the historical Arthur and Henry being first cousins to the fictional Harry and Edmund). Henry VII himself offered a marriage proposal to her sister Joanna of Castile late in his life. On June 23, 1516, Spain was united under Charles I, son of Joanna and nephew of Catherine and Henry VIII. On July 25, 1554 Queen Mary I of England, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine, was married to then Crown Prince Philip II of Spain, son of Charles I. The union intended to unite the thrones of Spain and England under their descendants. With the death of Mary on November 17, 1558 and the marriage proposal of by then King Philip to her younger half-sister Elizabeth I of England turned down, this union was prevented. The plan of fictional Richard IV was perhaps intended as a reference to those well-known historical events.

Said plan however could not work. Harry had already been concurrently engaged to several other noble women:

• Princess Leia of Hungary
• Grand Duchess Ursula of Brandenburg
• Queen Beowulfa of Iceland
• Countess Caroline of Luxembourg
• Bertha of Flanders
• Bertha of Brussels
• Bernard of Saxe-Coburg, correction Bertha of Saxe-Coburg (there was some confusion of whether this was a fiancé or a fiancée for Harry).
• Jeremy of Estonia (a definite fiancé to the confused Harry).

Even Richard hesitated to add a ninth concurrent engagement to Harry. "But if I haven't got a son to marry her, then the whole plan falls apart!" However his advisor Chiswick reminded his King of the existence of another son. Edmund, who his father only remembered as "the slimy one". The decision had already been taken, Edmund would marry the Spanish Infanta.

[edit] Black Plague

"By the autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1495, the Black Plague once again howled westwards across Europe from the Indies, carried by seamen and entering England by the South West Passage. Each day, thousands died. Village after village disappeared in its evil wake and not even the best and noblest escaped its horror."

Prince Harry soon informed Edmund that their father was "feeling a bit under the weather". Edmund was somewhat excited, since the death of Richard IV would make Harry King and Edmund himself heir presumptive to the throne. Enquiring on what was the disease, Edmund was informed that it remained uncertain. Harry himself thought it was the Black Plague. Harry also suggested that the King would appreciate a "a little visit" from Edmund. However the currently deranged Richard had taken to welcoming any visitor with a drawn sword. The visiting Edmund had to flee before being stabbed to death by his own father.

Prince Harry soon summoned the Privy Council to discuss the matters at hand. Both Edmund and Lord Percy Percy were apparently among the "Lords of the Council". Baldrick silently attended at the side of his Prince. Harry begun his speech by announcing they jointly faced "the gravest crisis this country has known since the Roman invasion." A statement met with the apparent approoval of the council. However at this point King Richard was reportedly calling for Harry. The Prince of Wales was suddenly nervous but agreed to meet his father. Though only after wearing a helmet and drawing his own sword.

Harry left Edmund in charge of the council. Edmund begun reading from Harry's notes. However in his case the phrase "the gravest crisis this country has known since the Roman invasion" only managed to produce wide protest from his audience. An audience who reminded him of the invasions of the Vikings, Normans and the Swiss. Edmund conceeded that their current situation was only "the greatest crisis for some time".

One of the Lords shouted that they all knew why. Reporting rumors that the King is under spiritual possession. The surprised Edmund was unable to continue his speech. The Lords reported that "The land is full of omens of bewitchment".

These reported strange omens included:

A tale that during the previous week in Cornwall, a man with four heads had been seen taking tea on the beach. (Historically Europeans would not encounter tea until a 1560 visit of Japan by Portoguese sailors. The custom of drinking tea was only introduced to England by Catherine of Braganza, Queen consort of Charles II of England since May, 1662). The claim of two women in Windsor of having been raped by a fish. A tale of raining phlegm in Harrogate. The report of the graves in Edinburgh having opened. The ghosts of their ancestors were reported to have risen up and competed in athletic sports. Lord Percy reporting that a friend of his had an awful pimple on the inside of his nose. The tale of a farmer in Rye having heard a cow reciting Geoffrey Chaucer. The tale of young woman in Shropshire having seen Geoffrey Chaucer in a field, mooing and suckling a young heifer. (Historically Chaucer is believed to have died on October 25, 1400). The Lords saw these as conclusive evidence of witchcraft. Edmund protested that surely they weren't the sort of people to believe in this sort of thing. "I mean, next you will be telling me is that washing your hair in bat's droppings stops you going bald." Only for a Lord to claim this was true, stating that his inability to find enough bats resulted in his own baldness. The lords proceeded in deciding that the way to remove this curse from the kingdom was to send for the Witchsmeller Pursuivant. The protestations of Edmund failed to have an effect. The Lords left the council room to inform Prince Harry.

As he lay on his deathbed, Edmund watched as his family drank wine, accidentally poisoned by Lord Percy, and died. The series chronicled that following the death of the entire Royal Family, Henry Tudor usurped the throne and re-wrote history to eliminate the reign of Richard IV and, therefore, Harry.