While in prison, the disguised Prince Edward befriends two kind women who have been imprisoned for being devout Baptists. He cannot imagine other than that they will be freed soon, and is horrified at the prospect that they may be whipped... only to find out that the truth is much worse, as he sees them being burned alive at the stake in the middle of the courtyard and is unable to stop it happening. Worse, a young daughter of one of the women frantically (and unsuccessfully) tries to join her mother in burning to death.
Edward: That which I have seen, in that one little moment, will never go out from my memory, but will abide there; and I shall see it all the days, and dream of it all the nights, till I die. Would God I had been blind!
The moment when Tom Canty, posing as the prince, is forced to deny his own mother when she rushes out of the crowd to embrace him and is violently pulled away by a guard.
The Deadly Distant Finale. It's not dwelt on at length, but after everything he goes through during his time as a pauper, which sets him up to be a remarkably good, compassionate king, Edward is doomed to reign only six years before dying at age fifteen.
Then there is Mickey's promise to safeguard the kingdom in his stead; he just sounds so broken, watching his friend's father pass away before him and knowing full well that only the Prince can see his promise through. He nevertheless honors the king's wish, letting him die peacefully and from then on works to restore his friend to his rightful throne.
It also applies to the Prince who didn't find out about his father's death until a passing boater informed him. The grief of losing his father was hard enough, but it was also coupled with the fact that he wasn't there to say good-bye. His long silence after hearing the news made it apparent. A book adaptation of this version has him crying about this while imprisoned with Donald, who tries to comfort him.
