Who is Prince Charming?
Prince Charming is a character appearing in numerous fairytales. He is mentioned not as a prince but Le roi Charmant or King Charming in a fairytale written by Madame d’Aulnoy, a 17th century French writer. She also refers to simply a Charmant, in a second fairytale. However, stories including a Prince Charming type figure predate d’Aulnoy’s work. The Prince Charming title has often been applied to male characters or to real men who seem to possess all the qualities that would make women fall in love with them. In The Portrait of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde in 1890, a poor but gifted actress refers to Dorian as Prince Charming. However, Wilde turns the concept on its ear when Dorian decides to abandon Sybil, showing himself to be no true Prince, and merely charming on the surface.
