Valet

> I would die for her!
>       —Henry to the Genie about his daughter

**Prince Henry**, later known as the **Valet**, is a character on ABC's *Once Upon a Time*. He débuts in the second episode of the first season. He is portrayed by guest stars Tony Perez and Zak Santiago, and does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.

## History

### Before First Curse

In one kingdom in the Enchanted Forest, Prince Henry is the son of King Xavier, and is fifth in line to the throne. One day in the castle, he and his father are entertaining a northern princess, Princess Eva, who has come for a visit. He encounters Cora, a lowly daughter of a miller delivering flour. Cora is chastised for spilling the flour all over the floor and ruining Eva's slippers, yet he is the only one to stand up for Cora; saying he does not believe the girl meant any harm. However, he walks away with the rest of the royals when they exit the courtyard after King Xavier forces Cora to kneel and apologize to Eva. Later, he encounters Cora at the masquerade ball being held in Eva's honor, and the two dance until King Xavier cuts in. His hand in marriage is promised to Cora if she can spin straw into gold as she claims she can. Cora proves it by spinning gold in front of the whole court, and a humbled Henry offers his hand to Cora in marriage, and she accepts. Henry and his wife eventually have a daughter, Regina. In front of the king's court, Cora declares that her daughter shall be queen one day. *("The Miller's Daughter")*
Many years later, he serves as his daughter's valet. One day, on their home estate, he proudly watches Regina give a horse-riding demonstration, though Cora finds it to be too unladylike and childish. When he tries to defend Regina, his wife curtly asks him to stop coddling their daughter. Upset by her mother's words, Regina moves to leave, but Cora stops her with magic. Helplessly, Henry watches as Cora levitates and holds Regina in the air until she agrees to be "good". In her quest to install her daughter a queen, Cora purposely sets up a situation in which Regina rescues King Leopold's daughter, Snow White. Later, while Henry is also present, an impressed King Leopold asks for Regina's hand in marriage. Directly after the proposal, a speechless Regina glances at her father for help, but he remains silent as Cora accepts the marriage on her daughter's behalf. *("The Stable Boy")*
As the impending wedding approaches, Regina consults with her father about how unhappy she is about her future. Not wanting to be like her mother, she asks how Cora become this way. Vaguely, Henry recalls there was a man that taught Cora magic through a spell book. *("We Are Both")*
During Regina's marriage to King Leopold, her husband brings home the Genie he has freed with one of his three wishes. The Genie falls in love with her at first sight, and Regina uses his infatuation to her advantage to escape her loveless marriage. She writes of her "love" for him in a diary. King Leopold reads the entry, but is unaware the man she is pining after is the Genie. Angry, he locks her up in the castle. Fearing for his daughter's life, Henry delivers a box with a poisonous vipers inside it to the Genie in the hopes that he will take it to Regina's chambers; saying that this is the only way Regina can be free. In the end, Regina tricks the Genie into killing King Leopold with the vipers. *("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")*
At some point, he is captured by his wife, who has now assumed the role of the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, and is shrunken into a box. Subsequently, Regina rescues him by entering Wonderland with a portal-jumper named Jefferson. After opening the box, she gives Henry a piece of a growth mushroom to restore him to normal size. She entraps Jefferson while she and her father leave for the Enchanted Forest. *("Hat Trick")*
While Regina wages war against Snow White and Prince Charming, she is eventually captured and sentenced to death. Before this, he visits his daughter in the prison cell, and is later a witness at the execution, which is shortly halted by Snow White. After Regina is banished from the kingdom on Snow White's orders, Henry stays with her in a palace. He announces the arrival of Rumplestiltskin, who gives Regina the idea of using the Dark Curse to harm the people she hates most. To this, Henry summons a carriage to take Regina to Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding ceremony. *("The Cricket Game")*
Regina, attempting to cast the curse, collects the hairs of the darkest souls and sacrifices the heart of her favorite horse, but the spell doesn't work. While she seethes over the failure, Henry advises her to talk to the curse creator, Rumplestiltskin. After she does, Regina regroups with her father at the palace. Henry inquiries about how the talk went, and he is stunned when Regina says the curse will only work if she takes the heart of the thing she loves most, which is him. He tries to convince her that she doesn't need to live with hatred all the time, and the two of them can start a new life over again. In tears, she agrees and hugs him. However, Regina then rips out his heart as he collapses to the ground in shock. Resigned to her decision, Regina apologetically explains she could never be happy in this world. Later, she buries Henry with a graver marker that reads, "Henry, Beloved Father" and places a black flower for him. *("The Thing You Love Most")*

## Trivia

* The name "Henry" is of Germanic origin derived from "Heimirich" that means "home ruler".
* In an early concept art sketch by show production designer Michael Joy, the Valet's gravestone marks his name as Harry, not Henry.
* The Valet's name, Henry, is the namesake of Regina's son, Henry. *("Save Henry")*

## Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

* The Valet is mentioned in *Once Upon a Time'*s Season One novelization, *Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale*.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/henry
2. ↑ http://www.michaeljoy.ca/michaeljoy/Once\_Upon\_A\_Time.html#13