Prince Charming

"There's more to life than living for the next fight. Life is made up of moments. Good ones, bad ones, but they're all worth living."

- David Nolan to Emma Swan

Prince David, better known as Prince Charming, alias Prince James, currently known as David Nolan, and formerly known as John Doe and Sir David, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the first season and is portrayed by special guest star Josh Dallas and co-star Luke Roessler. He is the main reality version of King David.

Prince Charming is based on the Prince from the fairytale "Snow White", the Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the fairytale "Rapunzel", as well as the Pauper from the novel, The Prince and the Pauper.

David Nolan also takes the place of Hamlet from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

Trivia

 * -|Character Notes=

Etymology

 * The name "David" is of Hebrew origin derived from the word "dwd" that means "beloved".
 * Prince Charming shares his name with another former shepherd, King David of the Bible. Ruth was the name of King David's great-grandmother and also the name of Charming's mother. Prince Charming was betrothed to Princess Abigail. King David's third wife was also named Abigail.
 * The name "James", which is a variant of Jacob, can mean "follower" or "supplanter". A supplanter is someone who takes the place of another person, place, or thing. This is fitting, as Prince Charming supplanted his twin James.
 * Strictly speaking, "Prince Charming", in Disney canon, refers to Cinderella's prince, while Snow White's prince is credited simply as "The Prince". Both are variations of the stock character in fairy tales.
 * This is alluded to when Cinderella asks if Prince Thomas is charming, which causes Snow White to mention that the name "Charming" is already taken by somebody else.
 * Snow White was the one who gave Prince Charming his nickname.
 * The surname "Nolan" is of Irish origin derived from the word "nuall" that means "noble, famous".
 * David is one of the few characters from the first curse who is confirmed to have the same real name in Storybrooke as his Enchanted Forest counterpart; the others being Regina, Jefferson and Mother Superior.

Character Notes

 * He is the first character to appear in the series. The opening scene of the pilot features him rushing to meet Snow White.
 * Prince Charming is at least four years younger than his wife, Snow White. This is proven in "Murder Most Foul", where David is six years old and Rumplestiltskin uses a crystal ball to locate his twin brother James. This is the exact same crystal ball that Jefferson acquired for Rumplestiltskin in "The Doctor", an episode which takes place after the events of "The Stable Boy", where Snow was ten years old, according to "Shattered Sight" and "Sympathy for the De Vil".
 * According to the Storybrooke Daily Mirror, David is in his early thirties by the time he wakes up from his coma.
 * His cell number is 555-0105.

Storybook Notes

 * Henry's storybook contains an excerpt from the story about Charming and Snow White trekking through the woods in "Snow Falls:


 * The storybook contains an untold story about how Prince Charming set the trap for Snow White:


 * The storybook contains an excerpt from the wedding scene from "Pilot":


 * The storybook contains an untold story about how Prince Charming found Snow White's hideout. Note that the last sentence is repeated earlier in the text:


 * Another scene from "Snow Falls" reads (note that the opening words, are repeated later in the text):


 * A retelling of a scene from "Pilot" reads:


 * The final page that the Author was transcribing, says:


 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * Prince Charming was originally supposed to die in the first episode in the first season. According to Edward Kitsis, ABC president of entertainment Channing Dungey, who was ABC head of drama during the show's development, is at the origin of this change. She sent a note to Kitsis and Horowitz saying that for a series about hope, there is not a lot of hope in killing Charming.
 * David Anders, who plays Dr. Whale and his Enchanted Forest counterpart Victor Frankenstein, auditioned for the role of Prince Charming.
 * David was supposed to be mentioned in the Season Seven premiere as having agreed on Henry's plan to leave Storybrooke after realizing that "stubborness runs in the family". That part of the dialogue, however, did not make to the final cut.
 * The press release for Leaving Storybrooke credits Josh Dallas exclusively as Prince Charming despite the fact only David Nolan appears in the episode.
 * This is the only time that he is credited as Prince Charming but not as David Nolan or John Doe.


 * -|Cultural References=

Lost

 * David asks Mary Margaret to meet him by the Toll Bridge at 8 P.M, a reference to the second Lost number.
 * As he and Mary Margaret discuss their dark secret involving Maleficent, David pours himself a glass of MacCutcheon Scotch Whiskey, a fictional brand featured on Lost.
 * There is a close-up of Snow White and Prince Charming's eye when the they touch the unicorn's horn. This is a recurring theme from Lost.
 * There is a close-up of David's eyes as he awakens from the coma, a recurring theme on Lost.

Popular Culture

 * The book David is reading in Granny's Diner is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. This book is a tragic story about a married aristocrat and her affair with another man. David, who is, at the time, married to Kathryn and having an affair with Mary Margaret, even remarks that he can't wait to see how the book ends.
 * David mentions the ice cream flavor Rocky road when he offers to give Regina a ride home with her groceries.
 * After being warned not to drink Regina's tea that is to be used for a seance, David states he prefers Earl Grey.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * David drives a brown Ford F-Series from the early sixth generation, 1973-1975.
 * The Valentine's Day card David buys for Mary Margaret has a prince and princess on it.

Set Dressing

 * King George's coat of arms is argent (silver/white) with a chevron (V-shaped pattern) gules (red). It depicts a lion rampant (depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised) langued (having the tongue visible), surrounded by seven heraldic roses (a rose with five symmetrical lobes, five barbs and a circular seed). The roses are red with a blue border. The royal knights' armor, and King George's own armor, is emblazoned with a modified version with white roses. When Prince Charming and Snow White take over the kingdom, they adopt the same coat of arms, with the white roses.
 * In heraldry, the white rose symbolizes love and faith, charm and innocence. The flower crest is similar to Emma's wrist tattoo.
 * If you look closely at the exterior of the Duke's castle, which Rumplestiltskin breaks into to steal the dagger, you can see the same coat of arms on a flag sitting at the top of a tower.
 * The rampant lion is a common motif in real-world heraldry, and also in the Enchanted Forest. King Leopold's 's father's coat of arms, Robin Hood's tattoo and King Arthur's armor also feature this motif.

Costume Notes

 * Prince Charming's cuffs are made by Vancouver's Oceandrive Leather, which also designed several of Emma's leather jackets.
 * The doublet, west and undershirt worn by Prince Charming at his honeymoon in "The New Neverland" are the same as the ones that adult Henry wears for the royal ball in "Hyperion Heights". Note that the shoulder pieces on Charming's west were shortened for Henry.
 * The brown doublet and white undershirt worn by Prince Charming in several episodes, starting with "The Tower", was later worn by Robert in "Greenbacks". Robert's west is closely modeled on the west Charming wears over the doublet in the same episodes.
 * The ensemble Prince Charming is wearing during and after the events of the sleeping curse that was placed on Snow White is the same attire worn by his Storybrooke counterpart in "Leaving Storybrooke".
 * Despite the fact that Prince Charming wore a wedding ring for his wedding in "Pilot", "The Thing You Love Most" and "The New Neverland" and David wears one during his marriage to Kathryn during the first curse, he does not wear a wedding band after the curse is broken and his memories about his real wife are returned. When asked about this, Josh Dallas said that David and Mary Margaret never got it back in Storybrooke and he does not know why.
 * The jacket worn by David during Season Two is known as a B30/Dallas leather jacket and was custom made by Oceandrive Leather. It is available for purchase on the company's website, for a hefty price.
 * The shirt David is wearing during his son's announcement ceremony is also worn by him in "A Tale of Two Sisters", "Rocky Road", "Breaking Glass", "Heroes and Villains", "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Unforgiven", "Enter the Dragon", "The Brothers Jones" and "Our Decay."
 * His grandson Henry also wears the shirt in the Season Seven episodes "Knightfall" and "The Girl in the Tower".
 * The ensemble David is wearing during Roni's coronation is the same attire worn by his Enchanted Forest counterpart in "Pilot" and "A Land Without Magic".
 * -|Goofs=

Goofs

 * In "The Shepherd", in camp, David is preparing for the journey to fight the dragon and unsheathes his sword for King Midas to see. When King Midas says, "You do this and you'll be a legend", the camera zooms for a close-up of David's face, which shows a visible scar on the right side of his chin. Before and after this scene, he has no scar.
 * In "Murder Most Foul", while under the sleeping curse, David has been being seen taking deep breaths, even though it is said that one cannot show any sign of life under that curse.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.