History Main / PrinceCharmingWannabe

A WrongGenreSavvy HopelessSuitor who fantasizes that he's the PrinceCharming or KnightInShiningArmor who will effortlessly sweep the heroine off her feet and rescue her from a life of duldrum and/or misery... all the while ignoring the fact that the girl absolutely hates him.

This trope is similar to the more cynical ways to play a DoggedNiceGuy; both tropes are about well-meaning, sincere love interests with wrongheaded ideas about what constitutes romance and how their object of affection actually wants to be treated. Not to be confused with PrinceCharmless, which refers to literal princes.

!!Examples:

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* Tatewaki Kuno from ''RanmaOneHalf''. Both of the girls he obsesses over can't stand him and clobber him every chance they get.

[[AC:Film -- Animation]]

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

-->"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.

* Mr. Collins from ''PrideAndPrejudice'' - though his motivation is less knight-errant than greatest village parson ever, to [[RunningGag the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh.]]

* In the ''[=~Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends~=]'' 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.]]

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** As is fitting for a {{Deconstruction}} of fairy tales, Prince Charming.

* Jafar from Disney's ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' proposes to Princess Jasmine while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom of Agrabah while offering her a crown to be his queen, so the trope applies.

* Jafar from Disney's ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' proposes to Princess Jasmine while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom while offering her a crown to be his queen, so the trope applies.

* Jafar from Disney's ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' proposes to Princess Jasmine while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom while offering her a crown, so the trope applies.

*** As well as [[RobinHood Monsieur]] [[{{Expy}} Hood]]

* Jafar from Disney's ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' proposes to the princess while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom while offering her a crown, so the trope applies.

* Lord Farquaad from ''{{Shrek}}''.
** As well as [[RobinHood Monsieur]] [[{{Expy}} Hood]]
* As is fitting for a {{Deconstruction}} of fairy tales, Prince Charming from ''{{Shrek}} 2''.

* Jafar from Disney's ''{Disney/Aladdin}'' proposes to the princess while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom while offering her a crown, so the trope applies.

* Jafar from Disney's ''Disney/Aladdin'' proposes to the princess while he manipulates the sultan with his snake staff and then again after he takes over the kingdom while offering her a crown, so the trope applies.

* Tatewaki Kuno from [[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]. Both of the girls he obsesses over can't stand him and clobber him every chance they get.

* Zap Brannigan in {{Futurama}}.

* Played for comedy, Kyonosuke Kaoru is this for Yukiji Katsura in {{Hayate no Gotoku}}. She actually seems to have a fondness for him, but he seems to think he needs to sweep her off her feet, which causes her to reject his advances.

[[caption-width-right:348:Gosh, it disturbs her to see you Gaston.]]

[[caption-width-right:348:[[BlatantLies That look of loathing is just her falling in love.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:348:That look of loathing is just her falling in love...sure.]]

** In the stage version, he even has a song called "Me', extoling his greatness and how lucky she is to be the object of his affections.

-->'''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 behaviour 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]].

* Zap Brannigan in [=~Futurama~=].

A WrongGenreSavvy HopelessSuitor who fantasizes that he's the PrinceCharming or KnightInShiningArmor who will effortlessly sweep the heroine off her feet and rescue her from a life of duldrum and/or misery... all the while ignoring the fact that the girl absolutely hates him. Why can't he see that? Because he's either an egotistical {{hypocrite}} long overdue for a HeelRealization, or he was BornInTheWrongCentury and 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.

Not to be confused with PrinceCharmless, which refers to literal princes.

[[AC:Manga and Anime]]
* Tatewaki Kuno from [[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]. Both of the girls he obsesses over can't stand him and clobber him every chance they get.

* Sir Andrew Aguecheek from Shakespeare's ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TwelfthNight Twelfth Night]'' is an early example of this trope

* Sir Andrew Aguecheek from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" is an early example of this trope