Gunter originally conceived the play as a drama, but actor Richard Mansfield thought it would work better as a comedy.

[2] In 1887, Mansfield took his company to England, and he opened Prince Karl at the Lyceum Theatre in London's West End on October 10 of that year.

He has agreed to marry Daphne Lowell, an older woman that he believes has a large fortune.

To escape his promised marriage, Karl fakes his own death, then pretends to be his own "foster brother", who happens to look identical to the prince.

The characters and cast from the Boston Museum production are given below:[4] Reviewers were divided as to the merits of the play itself, but generally agreed that Mansfield gave a strong performance.