Edmund Blackadder
He is also generally dismissive of the contemporary arts and culture in the various eras in which he lives, such as medieval folk pageants, Shakespeare, Romanticist poetry, and Charlie Chaplin films.
He is the second son of the fictional King Richard IV of England (Brian Blessed), who, it is claimed at the beginning, was cast from all historical references by his successor, Henry Tudor (Peter Benson).
Prince Edmund is one of the many Blackadders to be killed on screen: he dies after accidentally drinking poisoned wine, although he had already been severely mutilated by his childhood nemesis, the Duke of Burgundy (Patrick Allen).
His main concerns are pleasing his Queen (Miranda Richardson), a childish, spoiled tyrant who usually threatens to execute anyone who displeases her, usually by decapitation, and in outwitting his various contemporary rivals, usually in the form of Lord Melchett (Stephen Fry), for her favour.
However, after the end credits have aired, it is shown that Ludwig has returned and murdered Blackadder, the real Queenie, Melchett, Nursie, Percy and Baldrick.
The character shift from Prince Edmund in the first series to Lord Blackadder in the second is credited to the involvement of Ben Elton, who joined as the show's co-writer alongside Richard Curtis.
Set during the English Civil War, Sir Edmund is (apparently) a loyal royalist and friend of Charles I, played by Stephen Fry.
His family having fallen on hard times, he is reduced to a life of servitude, a fall made even more insufferable by his position as butler to the oafish and uncouth George (Laurie), the Prince Regent.
This Blackadder is the only one of the main four incarnations not to be killed onscreen (the first one accidentally poisoned himself, the second was murdered, whilst the fourth is presumed to have died in battle).
Unlike his cold-hearted, cynical ancestors and the Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge he is a parody of, he is by repute the nicest man in Victorian England.
A long-time soldier, early in his career Blackadder was "The Hero of Umboto Gorge", a fictional battle that took place in French Sudan in 1892, during which he saved the life of Douglas Haig.
Prior to the outbreak of World War I, Blackadder found life in the British Army agreeable, as he had enjoyed a relatively danger-free existence.
However, in World War I, Blackadder is astute to the gravity and slaughter of trench warfare, and unlike his superior officers, realises that the earlier colonial battles produced wildly unrealistic expectations about future conflict.
Characteristically reluctant to meet his end in the mud of the trenches of the Western Front, Blackadder's sole goal is to escape his inevitable fate.
In the present day, a news report shows the popular King Edmund III and his queen, Marian of Sherwood (Kate Moss), being greeted by the prime minister, Baldrick.
In 2002, during the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, trailers for the Party at the Palace featured the Keeper of Her Majesty's Lawn Sprinklers, Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder, who was against the idea.
Blackadder is a genuine surname, its usage in the UK currently documented back to the 15th century, which may explain the choice of the name, with the first series being set in this time period.
The late Dr Eric Blackadder, Chief Medical Officer at the BBC at the time of the first programme, made the unlikely claim that the series is named after him.
[5] Among historical members of the Clan, in 1502, Robert Blackadder Archbishop of Glasgow presided over a botched ceremony where James IV of Scotland swore to keep perpetual peace with England.
