Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh
Nationality	English
Occupation	Duke of Edinburgh, Laird of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, Lord Warden of the Royal Privies, Archbishop of Canterbury
First appearance	"The Foretelling"
Last appearance	"The Black Seal"
Episode count	6
Played by	Rowan Atkinson

Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh, or The Black Adder was the main character in the first series. He was the son of King Richard IV and, as a Prince of the Realm, was second in the line of succession to the Throne of England. He also served for a time as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

BiographyEdit

Prince Edmund was born in 1461, about eighteen months after his elder brother, Prince Harry.

We first see Prince Edmund at a feast just before the Battle of Bosworth Field, where the King is making a speech. We also see Lord Percy Percy, Duke of Northumberland here, as Edmund turns to speak to him. The two are soon joined by an ex-dung heap employee Baldrick, Bachelor of the Parish of Chigwell, who with a bit of flattery manages to win enough favor with Edmund to be chosen as his squire for the morning battle. At the Battle Edmund beheaded King Richard III when he came upon the King attempting to take his horse. This led to Edmund's father, then the Duke of York, ascending to the throne.

In 1485, at about the age of twenty-four, Edmund was slated to be married to the Spanish Infanta as part of his father's political machinations. But changes in the political climate led to his eventual marriage to the eight-year-old Princess Leia of Hungary.

In 1498, after being stripped of all of his titles except Lord Warden of the Royal Privies, Edmund orchestrated a coup by which he meant to overthrow the King and take the throne for himself. He formed The Black Seal, a band of the most evil men in the Kingdom. However, at the insistance of Edmund's nemesis, Phillip of Burgundy, The Black Seal turns on Edmund and he is strapped to a device that ultimately mutilates his body, fatally injuring him. After Baldrick and Percy's plan to destroy the Seal leaves not only the rebels, but also virtually the entire Court dead, Edmund effectively becomes King just long enough to unknowingly drink poison and die.

Since his wife was only 14 at the time of his death, he must have had an illegitimate relationship which led to his great-grandson, Lord Edmund Blackadder and the rest of his descendants. However, it is somewhat possible Leia could have bore his decendents considering how medieval marriage and childbirth worked.

AppearancesEdit

• "The Foretelling" (First appearance)
• "Born to be King"
• "The Archbishop"
• "The Queen of Spain's Beard"
• "Witchsmeller Pursuivant"
• "The Black Seal"

See alsoEdit

• Prince Edmund (pilot)