- “My son, from the day you were born, I have tried to prepare you for this moment. I shall be gone soon, and you will be King. You must promise, promise me that you will rule the land from your heart, justly and wisely.”
- ―The King's final words when he speaks to his "son"
The Dying King was a minor character in Disney's The Prince and the Pauper. He was the ruler of the Kingdom of England.
The Prince and the Pauper[]
In the beginning of the film, the Narrator describes the King as a wise and good king who ruled his kingdom, with fairness and kindness but soon the King becomes very ill to which cause darkness to fall all over the kingdom and soon the King's Captain of the Guards, a ruthless and greedy man named Pete, sees his chance to rob and terrorize the people of England in the King's name.
The King's only appearance is toward the middle of the film to which his final hours have arrived and he tells his assistant Horace that he wishes to see his son, the Prince, to which Horace fetches Mickey, the Prince's doppelgänger who switched places with the real Prince. Mickey enters the King's chambers and tries to tell the King that he's not his son but the King tells him that this is the moment he's been preparing his son for and tells him that he will be gone soon and asks Mickey (whom he thinks is his son) to promise him to rule the land justly and wisely to which Mickey who now doesn't have the heart to tell the King the truth, takes the King's hand and sadly promises. As the King dies, the candle goes out.
When the real Prince gets the news that his father has died, he rushes off to the palace to takes his proper place as King of England, but is captured by Captain Pete and the Weasel Guards and thrown into the dungeon with Donald, but manages to escape with help from Goofy and they manage to fight off Captain Pete and the Weasel Guards and stop Mickey from being crowned. In the end, the Prince gets crowned King of England and has Captain Pete and the Weasel Guards arrested. He makes Goofy the new Captain of the Guards, and Mickey the royal provisionary. The Prince never forgot what happened on the day he switched places with Mickey, so as his father before him, he rules the kingdom with justice and compassion for all.