The Prince and the Pauper

Edward Tudor’s uncle. When Edward trades clothes with a young beggar named Tom Canty, Edward is mistaken for a beggar and the guards refuse to let him back into the palace after he goes out to scold them for hurting Tom. The Earl of Hertford, like Edward’s father, King Henry VIII, and the rest of the people living in the palace, believe that Tom is Edward even though Tom tries to tell them who he really is—they think Edward has simply gone mad. Henry, convinced that Edward’s sanity will come back on its own, tells everyone to ignore the symptoms. Hertford, however, senses that something is off about “Edward” and wonders if his story about actually being a beggar is true but he convinces himself that Henry is right and that the boy is just mad. Hertford and another nobleman, Lord St. John, stay close to the young prince, gently reminding him how to act and what to say and when. When Henry dies and Tom (as Edward) has to act as king, Hertford becomes Tom’s official protector, although Tom feels like he’s just Hertford’s mouthpiece. Hertford, like Tom and the real Edward, has a kind heart and so he supports Tom when he starts abolishing unjust laws. Tom, acting as king, tries to make Hertford a duke, but when Edward comes back and proves that he’s the real Edward Tudor by telling them where he hid the Great Seal before he was mistaken for Tom, Hertford tries to have Tom arrested. Edward stops Hertford and says that if Hertford wants to keep his new title then Tom will have to persuade Edward that Hertford deserves it. At this, Hertford relents and is allowed to keep his new title.