Hans

## Prince Hans

* Return home as a "hero" to get revenge against his brothers and win his father's love (failed)

### Type of Villain:

Opportunistic Usurper

**Prince Hans of the Southern Isles**, real name **Hans Westergaard**, is a handsome royal from a neighboring kingdom who comes to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation. With 12 older brothers, Hans grew up feeling practically invisible -- and Anna can relate. Hans is smart, observant, and chivalrous. Unlike Elsa, Hans promises he'll never shut Anna out; he just might be the connection she's been waiting for all these years.

He is a charming and sophisticated prince who secretly seeks to rule Arendelle with an iron fist by marrying Anna. Hans is the youngest of the thirteen princes from the Southern Isles, and came to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation. Since he is the youngest in his family, he will be unable to inherit the throne from his brothers, so he plans on usurping the throne of Arendelle. Hans is a handsome royal from a neighboring kingdom who comes to Arendelle for Elsa’s coronation. With 12 older brothers, Hans grew up feeling practically invisible—and Anna can relate. Hans is smart, observant and chivalrous. Unlike Elsa, Hans promises he’ll never shut Anna out; he just might be the connection she’s been waiting for all these years. Hans is a prince from the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, a trade partner of Arendelle.

Not much is known about the prince's past; however, he has mentioned that he is the youngest of the thirteen royal siblings and neglected amongst his brothers. Three of them having pretended he didnt exist for two years.
His past is further explored in "Frozen Hearts" where it shows that he is constanly bullied by his older siblings. He is also looked down by his father due to him being "weaker" than his brothers, therefore does nothing to stop them bullying him. Knowing he would never rule the throne of the Southern Isles, Hans concocted a scheme to marry into monarchy elsewhere, eventually setting his sights on the Kingdom of Arendelle.

Hans' plans changed after realizing how reserved the to-be queen was towards socialization, prompting the prince to instead target her lonely, less mature younger sister Anna, planning to murder Queen Elsa after their marriage, which would result in him becoming king.

## **Physical Appearance**

Hans is of moderate stature and generally good-looking. Whilst he is well-built, he is not as broad-shouldered or as muscular as Kristoff (despite being older than him), though he is definitely physically accomplished, as he was able to defeat the hulking Marshmallow in single combat. He is well-versed in horsemanship and has tremendous sword fighting skills. It is also shown that he is skilled in using crossbows, or at least capable of diverting their fire when needed.

Hans has fair skin and a light dusting of freckles across his nose, auburn hair, sideburns, and "dreamy" green eyes. Throughout the film, he wears navy blue trousers, black boots, a magenta cravat, blue shirt, indigo vest, black epaulets, gold aiguillette, and a light gray-and-black blazer with patterns. This is reminiscent of a naval uniform and would be traditionally in keeping with royal siblings of lower birth entering military service.

During the day and night of the coronation, Hans dons a lighter version of his formal wear. It is a cream blazer with a yellow shirt underneath and red sash, with black boots, white stockings, red and golden designs and patterns, gold and red colored epaulets with golden fringe, and a matching cream ascot. This lighter-colored suit reflects Anna's warmer-colored clothing in turn. It is also worth noting that Hans is seen wearing this lighter-colored suit for a longer time period than his traditional suit, mainly due to him wearing it for the entirety of the coronation day and night, which features him most prominently in the movie.

While he is in control of the kingdom, to protect himself from the harsh winter, Hans dons a cloak resembling the castle guards' uniforms. However, as the patterning differs from the decorations on the Arendelle guardsmen cloaks and instead resembles the decorations on Hans' own gray tailcoat, and the Arendelle crocus emblem isn't seen anywhere on it, it's likely it's his own coat he brought with him from the Southern Isles. It's a dull, gray cloak with wavy patterns and a purple interior. In Elsa's palace, however, it appears to have more of a green shade.

## **Personality and Traits**

Hans is a proud and extremely ambitious prince with a hunger for admiration and chivalrous honor. Despite his desirable appearance and seemingly opulent background, Hans is a victim of severe abuse at the hands of his brothers. This troubled upbringing developed Hans into a remorseless man, bent on bettering his life by acquiring power and the respect that comes along with it.

Hans is a physical representation of a silent killer. With a noble demeanor, he presents himself as someone others can trust and confide—a best friend, a significant other, or a reputable authority figure. By establishing himself as someone of virtue, Hans is able to observe his opponents and examine their deepest insecurities, which he would later use against them as a means of advancing his goals. These false impressions won over Anna, and the entirety of Arendelle, thus allowing Hans to seize the throne without giving any premonition of regicide.

Hans has several motivating factors to his schemes. Firstly, he has a selfish sense of entitlement, remorselessly believing it is his right to be king even if it means usurping someone else's throne. Secondly, he genuinely craves respect and recognition, having been denied both as a child. Lastly, Hans is power-hungry as he covets kingship and gets a twisted sense of pleasure from having someone's submission—as was the case with a vulnerable and deathly ill Anna.

Hans' most powerful asset is quite possibly his vast intelligence and incredible ability to lie, dissemble, and manipulate. He is proven to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and extremely diligent. However, unlike many Disney villains, Hans constantly has to change his plot accordingly with the shifting events that take place in the film without letting loose his villainous nature. This is indeed an interesting challenge for a Disney villain to tackle, thus adding to his level of intelligence, as he comes dangerously close to achieving his goal in spite of unstable circumstances.

Cold and cruel, Hans has a sympathetic origin, but lacks any characteristics one could call redeeming. Instead, he apathetically views others as mere stepping stones to his grand plans, and will callously lie, cheat, and kill his way into a position of sole power, regardless of the casualties made along the way.