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Well, I guess I gave her the wrong tea.
―King Harold to Fairy Godmother.

King Harold is a major character in the DreamWorks Shrek franchise. He was Fiona's father, Lillian's husband, Shrek's father-in-law, and the King of Far Far Away.

Appearances[]

Shrek 2[]

When his daughter Fiona arrives at the castle with her new husband, Harold is surprised that they are both ogres and immediately despises Shrek. Harold had secretly made a promise to the Fairy Godmother that her son Prince Charming would marry Fiona. Harold hires Puss in Boots to assassinate Shrek. Harold then succumbs to guilt when he sees that Fiona is truly in love with Shrek and doesn't love Prince Charming. 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 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 Charming is pretending to be), 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, Harold protects Fiona and Shrek 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. The wife 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[]

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, 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 cannot imagine an ogre as king (and because he doesn’t want to abandon his swamp). The king 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 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, Harold and 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 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 Lillian while she dances and flirts with an ogre at the end of the film.

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 Harold was actually a frog. Or maybe it was part of the plan for Charming to rescue and marry Fiona.
  • In Shrek 2, the Fairy Godmother mentions to 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 Harold was not born as a human at all and was actually a frog. This could also mean that he was transformed him into a human-being, married Lillian, and gave birth to Fiona.
  • Despite his true form being a frog, Lillian accepts her husband for who he really is.
  • It is unknown what sickness caused Harold (now a frog) to die.

Gallery[]

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v - e - d
Shrek-logo
Media
Films: ShrekShrek 2Shrek the ThirdShrek Forever AfterPuss in BootsPuss in Boots: The Last WishShrek 5

TV Specials: Shrek 4-DShrek the HallsScared ShreklessPuss in Boots: The Three Diablos
TV Series: The Adventures of Puss in Boots
Shorts: Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party!Far Far Away IdolDonkey's Christmas ShrektacularThriller NightThe Pig Who Cried Werewolf
Books: ShrekPuss in Boots
Video Games: ShrekShrek 2Shrek SuperSlamDreamWorks Super Star Kartz
Theatrical Plays: Shrek The Musical

Characters
Protagonists: ShrekDonkeyFionaPuss in BootsKitty SoftpawsPerrito

Allies: DragonPinocchioGingerbread ManThree Little PigsWolfThree Blind MiceQueen LillianKing HaroldArthur PendragonSnow WhiteCinderellaSleeping BeautyFarkle, Fergus and FeliciaDronkeysDorisBrogan
Villains: Lord FarquaadTheloniousMonsieur HoodMerry MenFairy GodmotherPrince CharmingRumpelstiltskinFifiJack & JillHumpty DumptyRapunzelCaptain HookEvil QueenHeadless HorsemanCyclopsPied PiperBloodwolf"Big" Jack HornerDeathGoldilocksPapa BearMama BearBaby BearSerpent Sisters
Spin-Off: DulcineaImeldaTalking CricketMama LunaPhoenixThe TerrorThe SphinxTimmyPerlaGonzaloDoctorCallistaAlessandra Belagomba

See also
Locations: DulocFar Far AwayOgre SwampPoison Apple InnPotion FactoryWorcestershire Boarding School

Songs: BarracudaRoyal PainWelcome to Duloc

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