The Grand Duke is a character in the 1950 Disney animated feature film, Cinderella. He is the King's prim, yet fussy right-hand man. The Duke is charged with overseeing imperial matters, a job at which he is dutiful out of both loyalty to the Crown, and fear of losing his head to the ill-tempered king.
Personality[]
The Grand Duke presents himself as dignified and intelligent, basing his point of view in realism and logic, a direct foil to the King who, in comparison, is very over-the-top and tends to act on romanticized fantasies. This is ironic, considering the fairy tale setting in which the Duke resides in, establishing his character as an Everyman figure.
Often harried and forced into performing demeaning tasks, the Grand Duke can be fairly short-tempered, and often disapproves of the actions made by the King, though he continues to abide by said actions each time out of fear, which almost questions how genuine his loyalty really is. Nevertheless, despite their contrasting personalities and occasionally bitter relationship, the Duke does appear to have some concern for the king's well-being. This is evidenced by the Duke's continuous concerns over his majesty's blood pressure when the latter is in the midst of a temper tantrum. He also tries his best to act as a voice of reason to the, oftentimes, overly-stressed King and appears to be viewed as a confidante by his majesty as a result of this. Furthermore, there appears to be some form of camaraderie between the King and the Duke, as although their relationship is generally professional, they often act as friendly rivals, as they acknowledge their differences between fantasy and reality, bet against such differences, and taunt one another when one viewpoint reigns superior. An example of this can be seen during the night of the ball, where Prince Charming and Cinderella meet for the first time. The Duke can also be rather boastful in this regard, though he knows humility, and isn't likely to cause a fuss in response to being proven wrong—once again, a direct foil to the King.
Role in the series[]
The Grand Duke reprises his role in the film.