# The King — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn character guide

> The King in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the old doctor, William Fourth

**First appearance:** 0020-xviii

## Snapshot

A bald-faced impostor who claims to be the lost King of France, weeping on cue and fleecing river towns with theatrical shamelessness.

## Who they are

He attaches himself to Huck and Jim's raft as a self-proclaimed monarch, and with the Duke turns the journey into a rolling series of frauds. His oily charm and total absence of conscience make him a foil to Jim's honest decency and Huck's growing moral unease. When he impersonates a dead man's brother before grieving relatives, the story's tension between performance and real feeling sharpens.

## In the story

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xix)

An older man who claims to be the Dauphin (Louis XVII), the rightful King of France; demands to be called 'Your Majesty.'

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xx)

Attends a camp-meeting to scam attendees; argues with the Duke over sleeping arrangements; is described as drunk.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxi)

Rehearses Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet's soliloquy, learning lines from the Duke.

### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxiii)

The King performs the absurd 'tragedy' by prancing naked and painted, contributing to the swindle.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxiv)

Dresses in fine black clothes and impersonates Harvey Wilks, a preacher from England.

### [Chapter XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxv)

Pretends to be Harvey Wilks, delivers a tearful speech, and orchestrates the scam to win the townspeople's trust.

### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxvi)

The King dismisses the Duke's plan to flee, insisting they stay to exploit the family further.

### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxvii)

Sells the Wilks family's slaves, separating a mother from her children, and pressures Huck about the missing gold.

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxviii)

The King participates in the auction, adding Scripture and sayings, while the Duke seeks sympathy.

### [Chapter XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxix)

The king continues to impersonate Harvey Wilks, attempting to bluff his way through the investigation despite mounting evidence against him.

### [The King and Duke's Quarrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxx)

The King accuses Huck of trying to give them the slip, then quarrels with the Duke over who hid the gold in the coffin. He eventually confesses after being choked, and later drinks himself to sleep with the Duke.

### [Chapter XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxxi)

The King sells Jim for forty dollars and gets drunk in a doggery; his actions set the stage for Huck's rescue plan.

### [Chapter XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/chapters/xxxiii)

Tarred and feathered by a mob along with the Duke; Huck feels sorry for them.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/characters/king
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/huckleberry_finn_se/characters