Prince Henry

## Prince Henry of France

**Prince Henry of France** is a main character in the 1998 film *Ever After: A Cinderella Story*. He is the only child of King Francis I of France and Queen Marie, making him heir to the throne of France. Almost nothing is known about him before 1512. He is portrayed by Stephen Dougray Scott.

## Biography

### Before 1512

When Henry was a child, the royal family lived at the Château d'Amboise where he would play in the courtyard among some little trees. However, after what he calls "the war", the residence was abandoned, and by 1512, it is a ruin.

### 1512

In 1512, Henry is a young man. However, according to his father, he is "floundering" in life. Therefore, King Francis has betrothed him to Princess Gabriella of Spain, though both the prince and princess are reluctant to the arrangement.

#### His first meeting with Danielle

Henry resists the betrothal decision and, at night, intends to run away to Genoa. His horse slips its shoe on the way, so he steals the horse of Danielle de Barbarac's late father to escape the Royal Guard who are chasing him. He does not get far, though, because Danielle catches him and knocks him off the horse with an apple. After he reveals his identity, he pays Danielle twenty francs for her silence and continues on horseback.

In the forest, he runs into Leonardo da Vinci, who, en-route to the royal palace, is mugged by gypsies. Henry stops and considers whether to help or to continue his journey, and he nearly chooses the latter, but da Vinci sees him and begs him to recover a painting. Henry relents and chases after the thief. A horseback chase ensues, and Henry is victorious, although he and the thief fall into a nearby river in the process. He returns the painting, which turns out to be the *Mona Lisa*, and is apprehended by the Royal Guard led by Captain Laurent. Laurent tells Henry who da Vinci is, and, realizing that he could help him, Henry begs da Vinci to help him with talking his father out of the arranged marriage with Gabriella.

#### His first meeting with Marguerite

On the way back to the castle with the Royal Guard and Leonardo da Vinci, Henry stops at the manor where Danielle lives to return the horse he stole. He describes his encounter with Danielle to Rodmilla before Marguerite and Jacqueline stumble out of the house, Marguerite wearing her obscenely large brooch on her chest. Henry compliments the girls. He then tells Rodmilla that there were new developments as regards to his engagement to the Spanish princess. His eye is drawn by Marguerite's brooch, and he compliments it before leaving.

#### His second meeting with Danielle

At the castle, Henry encounters Danielle again, this time while she is unsuccessfully negotiating the release of her servant, Maurice. Henry does not recognize her, but, struck by her courage and outspokenness, he orders Maurice's release. Then, he follows her across the courtyard, intrigued by her quoting of Thomas More's *Utopia*, and he asks for her name repeatedly until she gives him the alias Comtesse Nicole de Lancret. They are interrupted by Henry's mother, Queen Marie, and Danielle escapes, leaving Henry puzzled and disappointed.

Marie takes Henry to his father, King Francis, who scolds Henry for not taking his duties to his country seriously and demands that he marry Princess Gabriella. Henry argues that it is his life and refuses his position as Crown Prince of France before storming off.

#### Planning the ball

That evening, Henry and his mother walk in the gardens together. Henry tries to find out from her who "Comtesse de Lancret" is, but fails. Francis joins them, announcing that he is throwing a masked ball in honour of da Vinci. The king offers Henry a compromise: either he finds love before the masque, or he marries Gabriella. Henry accepts this offer.

At a river, Henry discusses the nature of soul mates with Leonardo da Vinci. Then, they try out da Vinci's latest creation: shoes with which to walk on water. Da Vinci comes back with a wet Danielle, and Henry offers his cloak to her. He and Danielle talk, and they begin to fall in love. Henry is once again disappointed when Danielle leaves in a hurry.

It also turns out later that Henry got his father to stop the enslaving of criminals and debtors as a result of "Comtesse Nicole"'s speech about the wrongs of society.

#### The market

The next day, Henry plays tennis with the Marquis de Limoges. During the match, he falls backwards into the watching crowd. He is immediately rushed by a dozen women who stuff his doublet full of handkerchiefs in the hope that he might return them. Disgruntled, Henry instead picks them off him and throws them on the ground. Marguerite hands him the ball, thus once more catching Henry's attention.

Later, at the market, Henry walks with Marguerite. He offers her chocolate and is discomforted when Marguerite, instead of taking the chocolate herself, opens her mouth, forcing the Prince to put the chocolate into her mouth himself out of politeness. When Henry meets the de Ghents' servants, Louise and Paulette, he gets a chicken thrown into his face before he can recognize Danielle in the stall.

#### His third meeting with Danielle

That Sunday, Henry avoids church due to the large number of suitors flocking there to see him. While looking for da Vinci, he spots the inventor's kite, which is being flown by Danielle. He rides up to Gustave, asking for da Vinci, and is thrilled when the young painter tells him that "Nicole" is home alone at Rodmilla de Ghent's manor. He immediately rides there and asks Danielle to accompany him to the monastery. There, he is enraptured by Danielle's passion for books and learning.

On the way home, the carriage wheel breaks. At first, Henry scoffs at Danielle's suggestion that they walk, but after a little persuasion, he agrees to it. However, they get lost, so Danielle climbs a cliff in her undergarments to locate the castle. Henry is impressed at her Amazonian qualities. Then, the gypsies ambush him from behind. After a swordfight with one of them, Henry surrenders as to make them let Danielle go. He is once again embarrassed and impressed when Danielle, after striking a deal with the gypsy leader, carries him away on her back. The gypsies invite them to a meal, and he and Danielle talk, drink, and play games that evening before Henry escorts her home. Just before they part, Henry asks Danielle to meet him the next day at the ruins of Amboise.

#### His fourth meeting with Danielle

The next morning, Henry wakes his parents up and declares that he wants to build a university for the people and that the gypsies are invited to the ball.

Later, he meets with Danielle. He is completely ignorant of Danielle's upset countenance and excitedly recounts his childhood in Amboise and his project for building a university before declaring his love for Danielle, whom he still thinks is "Nicole".  He is confused when Danielle hurriedly leaves. When he gets home, his mother the Queen informs him that, according to Rodmilla, "Nicole" is engaged to a Belgian. Henry is furious and upset.

#### The ball

Henry does not attend the ball at first, instead choosing to sulk in an empty corridor. Back at the masque, he is about to announce his engagement to the Princess of Spain when Danielle arrives in a stunning costume. However, when Rodmilla announces to the entire assembly who Danielle really is, Henry is embarrassed and coldly rejects her. Da Vinci finds him sulking on the battlements of the castle and chews him out for having treated Danielle badly. After da Vinci leaves, Henry contemplates Danielle's shoe, which the artist left behind.

After the ball, he is about to marry Gabriella, but realizes that the reason that she is crying is because she loves another man. Inspired by this, he leaves the church to find Danielle and is horrified to learn that she has been sold to Pierre le Pieu. He is not surprised to see that she has rescued herself already, and begs her forgiveness before proposing to her.

#### Epilogue

When Rodmilla is taken to the court and gets her punishment from Danielle, Henry smirks. And also, he disappoints Marguerite that he's already been married to Danielle. After Leonardo gives Danielle his wedding present, she and Henry kiss.

## Physical Appearance

Henry has wavy, shoulder-length hair. Typically, he wears a purple cloak; a royal colour. He also usually wears brown clothing, but when he aims to make an impression at an event, he wears striking colours such as red or white.

## Personality

At first, he seems arrogant, spoiled and inconsiderate, but this may be less his personality and more a result of his lack of direction in life. With Danielle's influence, he becomes more open-minded and kind.

In contrast to the original fairy-tale, this prince is not so charming. In general, he likes to take the mickey out of things, and he lets the opinions of others influence his actions quite easily.

## Relationships

* King Francis I
* Queen Marie
* Danielle de Barbarac
* Captain Laurent
* Leonardo da Vinci
* Marguerite de Ghent
* Jacqueline de Ghent
* Rodmilla de Ghent
* Princess Gabriella

Francis is Henry's father and the king of France. Henry's relationship with his father seems to be rocky at first, and in the first few scenes in which they speak together, they mainly argue. However, later, Francis takes Henry's wishes seriously and compromises on a subject they argued about, which takes Henry completely by surprise. This implies that usually, Francis and Henry are at odds with each other. In general, Henry does not seem close to his father.

Marie is Henry's mother. Henry has a good relationship to his mother. She is his confidant, and she always takes his side.

Henry is astonished and intrigued by Danielle from the start, both when he meets her as a servant and when he meets her as "Nicole". He consistently tries to spend as much time as possible with her before the ball when he must announce his engagement, and he enjoys teasing her and discussing philosophy.

Henry and Laurent are friends, and the two tend to go on their adventures together.

Henry is in awe of Leonardo da Vinci, but also thinks that he is a bit crazy.

At first, Henry is taken by Marguerite's beauty and seemingly good manners. However, his interest in her is superficial, and he quickly turns his attentions to Danielle instead. In the end, Henry does not like Marguerite for the way she treated Danielle.

Henry does not have a direct relationship to Jacqueline, but he respects her because she is Danielle's friend.

At first, Henry's relationship to Rodmilla is formal, but by the end, Henry does not like Rodmilla for the way she treated Danielle.

Gabriella is a princess of Spain and Henry's betrothed for much of the film before Henry marries Danielle. Henry does not meet Gabriella until they are getting married in church. His impression of her is that she is very emotional, but her commitment to her partner, Don Pepito, and quite public displays of affection towards him, inspire him to also pursue his own happiness and seek out Danielle.

## Trivia

* Henry loves the colour blue, according to Rodmilla de Ghent. Ironically, Danielle is the only character who consistently wears blue clothing.
* During his almost-wedding to Princess Gabriella, Henry refers to her as "madame" instead of "mademoiselle"; a word used only for married women. He is therefore with that word acknowledging that she is already taken (by Don Pepito).

## Quotes

* "I used to think that if I cared about anything, I'd have to care about everything, and then I'd go stark-raving mad. But! Now I've found my purpose."  - to Danielle