History Main / PrinceCharmingWannabe

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'':
** The BigBad of the first film, Lord Farquaad, hopes to marry and swoon Princess Fiona but is ultimately a power-hungry egomaniac who simply seeks to become king. Princess Fiona, for her part, is already in love with Shrek.

** Ironically enough, Prince Charming himself in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}}''. While he does have the looks of a Prince Charming, his [[PrinceCharmless personality]] is anything but, although [[TheEvilPrince his motives behind his mask]] were completely different.

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Anna thinks Prince Hans is the PrinceCharming she thinks he supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather as]] they're the SpareToTheThrone in their respective kingdoms and were shunned by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Hans is actually a two-timing egomaniac who seeks power at all costs by being a VillainWithGoodPublicity. He ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart, showing what she could have been had she sought attention while selfishly forsaking all relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna moves on with Kristoff, an ice harvester with a HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

Why can't he see that? Because he's either an egotistical {{hypocrite}} long overdue for a HeelRealization or he was BornInTheWrongCentury and [[OldSchoolChivalry his ideas of what it takes to woo and win the girl are outdated]] and insulting. Contrary to what he thinks, she is not PlayingHardToGet and she's not flattered by the fact that ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou. Nevertheless, he insists he's the answer to all her dreams and hopes and desperately wants her to let him whisk her away to live HappilyEverAfter, unable to see that he's not a welcome PrinceCharming, but an unwelcome StalkerWithACrush.

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* Tatewaki Kuno from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Both of the girls he obsesses over can't stand him and clobber him every chance they get.
* Played for comedy, Kyonosuke Kaoru is this for Yukiji Katsura in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. She actually seems fond of him, but he seems to think he needs to sweep her off her feet which causes her to reject his advances.

* Jean-Bob from ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'', albeit because he thinks he's a Frog Prince who needs a kiss to turn back to his non-existent human state.

* Hal from ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' thinks that Roxanne will automatically swoon into his arms after he gains superhero powers and shows them off to her. When she doesn't and displays an interest in another man instead, he snaps and becomes a full-blown villain.

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Anna thinks Prince Hans is the PrinceCharming she thinks he supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather as]] they're the SpareToTheThrone in their respective kingdoms and were shunned by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Hans is actually a two-timing egomaniac who seeks power at all costs by being a VillainWithGoodPublicity. He ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart, showing what she could have been had she sought attention while selfishly forsaking all relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna moves on with Kristoff, an ice harvester with a HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

"Never! while heaven spares my reason, replied I, snatching away the hand he had presumed to seize and press between his own. But he was in for it now; he had fairly broken the barrier: he was completely roused, and determined to hazard all for victory."\\
"I must not be denied!" exclaimed he, vehemently; and seizing both my hands, he held them very tight, but dropped upon his knee, and looked up in my face with a half-imploring, half-imperious gaze. You have no reason now: you are flying in the face of heaven's decrees. God has designed me to be your comfort and protector - I feel it, I know it as certainly as if a voice from heaven declared, "Ye twain shall be one flesh" - and you spurn me from you -"\\
-->"Let me go, Mr. Hargrave!, said I, sternly. But he only tightened his grasp."

* ''Series/GroundFloor'': Harvard is convinced that Jenny will eventually realize that she is truly in love with him, ignoring the fact that she only sees him as a friend and that ''everyone'' is genuinely put off by his attempts at wooing her.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' episode "Frankie My Dear", an imaginary PrinceCharming is left at the home to be adopted, but falls in love with Frankie and tries to woo her. Unfortunately, he has to compete with Mac, Bloo, and a pizza boy, all of whom have a crush on her as well. They all crash Frankie's dinner date with her actual boyfriend [[spoiler:who turns out to be a jerk.]]
* Parodied in ''The Best Night Ever'' of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' when Rarity, after an entire season of telling herself Prince Blueblood was her OneTrueLove PrinceCharming, meets him and finds he's a [[PrinceCharmless boorish rich jerk]]. However ''she's'' the one who sticks to ''him'' like glue while he basically has no interest in her whatsoever outside of feeling entitled to admiration, and it's ''her'' vapid interest in him that puts her on the receiving end of slapstick and his dickish behavior while he basically just goes about his business at the gala. He was certainly no prince charming, but it's Rarity rather than he who wanted him to be one, and the second she's learned her lesson and storms off, they never see each other again.
* Zap Brannigan in ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' fancies himself a brave heroic ladies man, but anyone who's ever spent time with him knows he's a flabby, wimpy, whiny, repulsive, misogynistic, sexual predator who treats women as objects at best. Unfortunately, the universe is a very ''very'' big place so the vast majority of people genuinely do believe he's as heroic a PrinceCharming as he fancies himself, most notably Leela who's suckered in enough to sleep with him [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten which haunts her for the remainder of the series]]. Pretty much the only woman he actually seemed to genuinely care about and treat with respect was Leela's mother, and even ''then'' he's driven her away with his disgusting lack of ethics within one episode.

* Sir Brad Starlight in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. He gets Wander and Sylvia to back him on a quest to rescue "his" princess from a dragon he claims is pulling the AndNowYouMustMarryMe gambit on her, but when they get to the wedding [[spoiler:it quickly becomes clear that [[InterspeciesRomance it's wholly consensual]], and Brad invented the story because he's NotGoodWithRejection. The princess urges him to accept the situation and become her friend, but he tries to kidnap her instead.]] He subsequently blames Wander for the whole thing and never really learns his lesson, although "The Hot Shot" implies an eventual redemption for him beyond the series as [[spoiler:he finds a less conventional princess and TheStinger depicts them HappilyMarried with several children.]]

[[caption-width-right:348:No one refuses to take hints like Gaston.]]

* Biff Tannen from the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy seriously has the hots for Lorraine, Marty's mom, seen especially when they're still teenagers in 1955. While it's clear that the feelings themselves are genuine--Biff even insists that he's going to marry her someday--he primarily expresses them in the form of sexual harassment (such as lifting Lorraine's skirt up and trying to grope her) and isn't willing to take no for answer, making him very much an AbhorrentAdmirer to her. In some timelines, he takes it to horrific extremes, such as [[AttemptedRape trying to rape her while drunk]] or [[spoiler:murdering her husband and marrying her, then becoming an [[DomesticAbuse abusive spouse and stepfather to her]] [[AbusiveParents and her kids]]]].

* ''Literature/DealingWithDragons'': Therandil is an odd example. He knows Cimorene doesn't want to marry him, and he doesn't want to marry her either. But they're still supposed to be in an ArrangedMarriage, so he continues pursuing her out of a sense of honor and duty even after she runs away from home to be a dragon's captive princess. [[spoiler:Cimorene gets rid of him in the end by having him rescue a different dragon's captive princess.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Anna thinks Prince Hans is the OneTrueLove she thinks [[PrinceCharming he]] supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather given]] they're the SpareToTheThrone in their respective kingdoms and were shunned by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Hans is actually a two-timing egomaniac who seeks power at all costs by being a VillainWithGoodPublicity. He ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart and ShadowArchetype, showing what she could have been had she sought attention and power at the cost of forsaking all relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna eventually moves on with Kristoff, an ice harvester with a HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

-->'''Henry:''' I will make her very happy, Mary; happier than she has ever yet been herself, or ever seen anybody else. ...Yes, Mary, my Fanny will feel a difference indeed: a daily, hourly difference, in the behavior of every being who approaches her; and it will be the completion of my happiness to know that [[RescueRomance I am the doer of it, that I am the person to give the consequence so justly her due]]. Now she is [[CinderellaCircumstances dependent, helpless, friendless, neglected, forgotten]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Anna thinks Prince Hans is the OneTrueLove she thinks [[PrinceCharming he]] supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather considering]] they're the SpareToTheThrone in their respective kingdoms and were shunned by their older siblings. [[spoiler:the Hans is actually a two-timing PrinceCharmless who seeks power at all costs by being a VillainWithGoodPublicity, and he ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart and ShadowArchetype, representing what she could have been had she sought attention at all costs while forsaking any familial relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna eventually moves on with Kristoff, who [[NiceGuy has a]] HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Inverted with Anna, who thinks Prince Hans is the OneTrueLove she thinks [[PrinceCharming he]] supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather considering]] they're the SpareToTheThrone for their respective kingdoms and felt ignored by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Turns out [[PrinceCharmless Hans]] actually subverts the PrinceCharming trope and his [[TheEvilPrince true motives]] were much different, as he used both the real and feigned similarities to convince Anna they were a good match and get close to the throne. The real ones end up not enough to sustain the relationship, and he ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart and ShadowArchetype, representing what she could have been had she sought attention at all costs while forsaking any familial relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna eventually moves on with Kristoff, who [[NiceGuy has a]] HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Inverted with Anna, who thinks Prince Hans is the OneTrueLove she thinks [[PrinceCharming he]] supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather considering]] they're the SpareToTheThrone for their respective kingdoms and felt ignored by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Turns out [[PrinceCharmless Hans]] actually subverts the PrinceCharming trope, as he faked his romance with Anna just so he can seize control of Arendelle. His [[TheEvilPrince true motives]] were completely different, as he used both the real and feigned similarities to convince Anna they were a good match and get close to the throne. The real ones end up not enough to sustain the relationship, and he ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart and ShadowArchetype, representing what she could have been had she sought attention at all costs while forsaking any familial relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna eventually moves on with Kristoff, who [[NiceGuy has a]] HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Inverted with Anna, who thinks Prince Hans is the OneTrueLove she thinks [[PrinceCharming he]] supposedly is, [[BirdsOfAFeather considering]] they're the SpareToTheThrone for their respective kingdoms and felt ignored by their older siblings. [[spoiler:Turns out [[PrinceCharmless Hans]] is actually subverts the PrinceCharming trope, as he faked his romance with Anna just so he can seize control of Arendelle. His [[TheEvilPrince true motives]] were completely different, as he used both the real and feigned similarities to convince Anna they were a good match and get close to the throne. The real ones end up not enough to sustain the relationship, and he ends up being Anna's EvilCounterpart and ShadowArchetype, representing what she could have been had she sought attention at all costs while forsaking any familial relationships. Having realized the jerk Hans turned out to be, Anna eventually moves on with Kristoff, who [[NiceGuy has a]] HiddenHeartOfGold despite his gruff exterior]].

* Henry Crawford of ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' -- self-affirmed LadykillerInLove...[[spoiler:who runs away with the already-married cousin of the girl he considers himself engaged to (regardless of said girl's thoughts on the matter).]]

* Walter Hargrave of ''Literature/TheTenantOfWildfellHall'':

* Lord Arlington from Louisa May Alcott's ''The Inheritance'', who finally experiences a HeelRealization long after causing the heroine plenty of grief with his unwelcome advances and repeated marriage proposals.
* Mr. Collins from ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' - though his motivation is less knight-errant than greatest village parson ever, to [[RunningGag the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh]].
%%* Geis in ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground''.
* Brian de Bois-Guilbert in ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' just can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that "[[ScarpiaUltimatum Marry me, and I'll save your life; refuse, and I'll let you die]]" is something ''villains'', not ''heroes'', do.
* Genderswapped - because gender roles in general are given a thorough StereotypeFlip - in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice''. Kij Porter thinks she can have Jerin eating out of her hand, but... he can't stand her. It doesn't help that she insults his family and condescends to him. [[spoiler: She kidnaps him later.]]
* The wealthy Jim Taggart of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' loves promoting how he heroically raised Cherryl from the slums by marrying her... while psychologically abusing her until [[spoiler:he [[DrivenToSuicide drives her to suicide]].]] He likes the fantasy, but he likes the power he gets from harming others just as much.

* Sir Brad Starlight in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. He gets Wander and Sylvia to back him on a quest to rescue "his" princess from a dragon he claims is pulling the AndNowYouMustMarryMe gambit on her, but when they get to the wedding [[spoiler:it quickly becomes clear that [[InterspeciesRomance it's wholly consensual]], and Brad invented the story because he couldn't take being rejected. The princess urges him to accept the situation and become her friend, but he tries to kidnap her instead.]] He subsequently blames Wander for the whole thing and never really learns his lesson, although "The Hot Shot" implies an eventual redemption for him beyond the series as [[spoiler:he finds a less conventional princess and TheStinger depicts them HappilyMarried with several children.]]

* Sir Brad Starlight in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. He gets Wander and Sylvia to back him on a quest to rescue "his" princess from a dragon he claims is pulling the AndNowYouMustMarryMe gambit on her, but when they get there [[spoiler:it quickly becomes clear that said dragon and princess [[InterspeciesRomance are happily engaged]], and Brad invented the story because he couldn't take being rejected. She urges him to accept the situation and become her friend, but he tries to kidnap her instead.]] He subsequently blames Wander for the whole thing and never really learns his lesson, although "The Hot Shot" implies an eventual redemption for him beyond the series as [[spoiler:he finds a less conventional princess and TheStinger depicts them HappilyMarried with several children.]]

* Sir Brad Starlight in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. He gets Wander and Sylvia to back him on a quest to rescue "his" princess from a dragon he claims is pulling the AndNowYouMustMarryMe gambit on her, but when they get there [[spoiler:it quickly becomes clear that said dragon and princess [[InterspeciesRomance are happily engaged]], and Brad simply couldn't take being rejected. She urges him to accept the situation and become her friend, but he tries to kidnap her instead.]] He subsequently blames Wander for the whole thing and never really learns his lesson, although "The Hot Shot" implies an eventual redemption for him beyond the series as [[spoiler:he finds a less conventional princess and TheStinger depicts them HappilyMarried with several children.]]

[[caption-width-right:348:No one refuses to take the hint like Gaston.]]

* Roland from ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'' who'd might be able to pull off an Elvis-flavored version of {{Prince Charming}} except for the girl he's trying to woo was the girl he [[YourCheatingHeart cheated on]] right before their wedding, meaning she's not having any of it.

[[folder: Comics]]