- “Well, I guess I gave her the wrong tea.”
- ―King Harold to Fairy Godmother.
King Harold, also known as the Frog King, is a major character in the DreamWorks Shrek franchise. He was Fiona's father, Queen Lillian's husband, Shrek's father-in-law, and the late King of Far Far Away.
Appearances[]
Shrek 2[]
When Fiona arrives at the castle with her new husband, King Harold is surprised that they are both ogres and immediately despises Shrek. King Harold had secretly made a promise to the Fairy Godmother that her son Prince Charming would marry Fiona. King Harold hires Puss in Boots to assassinate Shrek. King Harold then succumbs to guilt when he sees that Fiona is truly in love with Shrek and doesn't love Prince Charming. King Harold at first refuses when the Fairy Godmother asks him to give the love potion to Fiona that will make her fall in love with Prince Charming, because he recoils from this invasion of her free will, but he is forced to acquiesce by some dark threat of disclosure; in the event, when Fiona states that she loved the old Shrek (rather the "new" one that Prince Charming is pretending to be), King Harold swaps the cup which contains the potion for his own, thereby consuming the potion himself. At the ball toward the end of the film, King Harold protects Shrek and Fiona from a blast of magic from Fairy Godmother's wand. He is finally transformed into his original form of the Frog Prince when he is hit by the Fairy Godmother's magic wand. Queen Lillian seems not at all unhappy about this turn of events. After this, he apologizes to Shrek and accepts him into the family, his wife saying he is more of a man for accepting Shrek and Fiona's marriage than he ever was when he was actually human.
Shrek the Third[]
King Harold makes a very brief appearance in Shrek the Third as a frog king where he sadly dies of a sickness (it is stated in other materials, such as The Legend of Shrek, a storybook, that the transition between human to frog mixed up his age and accelerated the aging process). On his deathbed, King Harold admits his past mistakes and admits how proud he is to have Shrek as a son. He then tells Shrek that he and Fiona are next in line for the throne of Far Far Away, and Shrek refuses as he can't imagine an ogre as king (and because he doesn’t want to abandon his swamp). King Harold peacefully dies after telling Shrek about Fiona's cousin Arthur.
Shrek Forever After[]
In Shrek Forever After, he appears very briefly in a couple of flashbacks; the first one shows him and Queen Lillian about to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, but they break it off at the last moment because they find out of the saving of Fiona by Shrek.
In the alternate reality of the second flashback, King Harold and Queen Lillian literally disappear after signing over the kingdom to Rumpelstiltskin.
At the end of the movie, the original timeline is restored, leaving the current time a year or so after King Harold's death. However, there is a large painting of him in which the face moves, indicating that his spirit inhabits the picture. His portrait is seen jealously glaring at Queen Lillian while she dances and flirts with an ogre at the end of the film.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The king's role was a partly reference to another character John Cleese once starred: Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. The king once makes a reference to "his old war wound" to avoid his wife. This is obviously based on Fawlty's character, who often uses his "honorable war wound" (a shrapnel shot from the Korean War) as an excuse to rescue himself from displeasing situations. Also, both Harold and Fawlty are very cynical and sarcastic at times.
- It is possible that Fiona's curse was due to the fact King Harold was actually a frog. Or maybe it was part of the plan for Prince Charming to rescue and marry Fiona.
- In Shrek 2, the Fairy Godmother mentions to King Harold about helping him with "his happily ever after". And him being transformed into a frog by the Fairy Godmother's wand. So, it could be that King Harold was not born as a human at all, was not of royal blood, and was actually a frog. This could also mean that he was transformed him into a human-being, married Queen Lillian, and gave birth to Fiona.
- Despite his true form possibly being a frog, Queen Lillian accepts him for who he really is.
- It is unknown what sickness caused King Harold (in frog form) to die.
- King Harold is played by John Cleese, who later voiced King Gristle Sr. in the Trolls.
