The Emperor
protagonist · human
A ruler who has arranged his entire life, his diary and a good deal of his empire around the business of getting dressed.
What they are like
- Kind
- 6/10
- Brave
- 4/10
- Clever
- 5/10
- Honest
- 3/10
- Curious
- 5/10
- Patient
- 7/10
How we meet them
Not on a throne. In a wardrobe, which is where his court has learned to look for him, and where the day's business is genuinely conducted.
Personality
Neither stupid nor cruel. He is a man who has not been contradicted in thirty years and has stopped expecting it. When he is frightened he becomes extremely formal.
What they want
He wants the cloth for a sensible reason first. He wants to know which of his officials are no good. After that he wants to be seen in it.
How they change
Sets out to find the truth about everybody else, finds something out about himself in front of a mirror instead, and decides to walk the rest of the route anyway.
How they speak
In official plurals. He says that a thing he cannot see has our highest approval, because the formal words come out of his mouth more easily than the true ones.
How the story treats them
The city is fond of him. Nobody in the story hates him, which is exactly why it is a comedy. Even the crowd shouting about him keeps calling him the emperor.
One surprising thing
In Andersen's telling he is never punished, never dethroned and never runs away. He hears the crowd, privately decides they are right, and finishes the procession at the correct pace.
If they were real today
The most senior person in the meeting, saying yes, exactly, to a slide he cannot read from where he is sitting.
Things they say
- “It is charming. It has our highest approval.”
- “The procession has started.”
Key moments
In the wardrobe
Of other rulers it is said that they are in council. Of this one it is said that he is in the wardrobe, and it is not meant unkindly. It is simply where he is.
A very small voice
Standing in front of the empty loom, he tells himself silently that there is nothing there, and then says out loud that it is charming.
“It is charming. It has our highest approval.”
He kept walking
The crowd says it out loud and he agrees with them, quite calmly, and then remembers that the procession has already started.
“The procession has started.”
Who they know
The Two Weaversadversary
Two men who never tell the emperor a single lie about the cloth, and one emperor who supplies every lie himself.
The Old Ministerally
Forty years of trust, spent in a single afternoon, by both of them at once and neither of them out loud.
The Childstranger
They never speak to one another. She says one sentence about him, in an ordinary voice, and he hears it and agrees with it and keeps walking.
Characters like The Emperor
Personalised stories are coming soon
A brand new story with your child as the main character, illustrated on every page. We are not taking orders yet. Join the waitlist and we will email you when it opens.