# Rupert Hentzau — The Prisoner of Zenda character guide > Rupert Hentzau in The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope. **Role:** major **Also known as:** young Rupert Hentzau, young Hentzau, young Rupert, Rupert, Rupert of Hentzau, Master Rupert **First appearance:** 0003-iv-the-king-keeps-his-appointment ## Snapshot Black Michael's brilliant, beautiful, and utterly conscienceless lieutenant, who fights with a smile and escapes death as if the devil himself were in his saddle. ## Who they are Rupert Hentzau is the most dangerous of Duke Michael's men, a swordsman and horseman whose charm is as lethal as his blade. He leaps a moat under a hail of bullets and lives to taunt his enemies again, and his casual cruelty makes him the perfect instrument for a usurper's dirty work. He is the story's most electric antagonist because he enjoys the game for its own sake, and his presence turns every encounter into a contest of nerve. ## Relationships ### [Black Michael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/black_michael) _psychological_ Michael employs Rupert as a dangerous, unpredictable henchman, but Rupert's ambition and cunning make him a volatile tool. ### [Antoinette Mauban](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/antoinette_mauban) _psychological_ Antoinette is both repelled and fascinated by Rupert's charm and ruthlessness, caught in a web of manipulation and desire. ### [Princess Flavia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/princess_flavia) _rivalry_ Flavia views Rupert as a treacherous villain and a threat to the kingdom and her beloved. ### [Colonel Sapt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/colonel_sapt) _rivalry_ Sapt sees Rupert as a cunning and deadly enemy, directly opposing his efforts to save the king. ### [Fritz von Tarlenheim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/fritz_von_tarlenheim) _rivalry_ Fritz despises Rupert as a treacherous scoundrel and opposes him in the struggle for the throne. ### [Black Michael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/black_michael) _psychological_ Michael employs Rupert as a dangerous, unpredictable henchman, but Rupert's ambition and cunning make him a volatile tool. ### [Colonel Sapt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/colonel_sapt) _rivalry_ Sapt sees Rupert as a cunning and deadly enemy, directly opposing his efforts to save the king. ### [Colonel Sapt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/colonel_sapt) _rivalry_ Sapt sees Rupert as a cunning and deadly enemy, directly opposing his efforts to save the king. ### [Princess Flavia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/princess_flavia) _rivalry_ Flavia views Rupert as a treacherous villain and a threat to the kingdom and her beloved. ### [Princess Flavia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/princess_flavia) _rivalry_ Flavia views Rupert as a treacherous villain and a threat to the kingdom and her beloved. ### [Black Michael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/black_michael) _psychological_ Michael employs Rupert as a dangerous, unpredictable henchman, but Rupert's ambition and cunning make him a volatile tool. ### [Fritz von Tarlenheim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/characters/fritz_von_tarlenheim) _rivalry_ Fritz despises Rupert as a treacherous scoundrel and opposes him in the struggle for the throne. ## In the story ### [A New Use for a Tea-Table](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/ix-a-new-use-for-a-tea-table) Mentioned as one of Michael's six henchmen stationed at Zenda Castle. ### [XII: I Receive a Visitor and Bait a Hook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xii-i-receive-a-visitor-and-bait-a-hook) Leads the embassy from Michael, delivering a mocking speech about scarlet fever. ### [An Improvement on Jacob's Ladder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xiii-an-improvement-on-jacob-s-ladder) Delivers a message from Black Michael, attempts to assassinate Rassendyll with a hidden dagger, then escapes on horseback. ### [A Night Outside the Castle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xiv-a-night-outside-the-castle) Flogs Johann, is heard laughing at Zenda, leads a cavalry patrol, fights Rassendyll and escapes. ### [XV: I Talk with a Tempter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xv-i-talk-with-a-tempter) Escorts his friend's body and proposes a plan to betray Black Michael in exchange for power and Flavia. ### [XVI: A Desperate Plan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xvi-a-desperate-plan) Guards the king by day, mocks Black Michael, and remains a dangerous adversary. ### [Young Rupert's Midnight Diversions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xvii-young-rupert-s-midnight-diversions) Flirts with Antoinette de Mauban, taunts Black Michael, and later climbs down the wall, swims the moat, and unlocks a door. ### [XVIII: The Forcing of the Trap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xviii-the-forcing-of-the-trap) Fights off several men in Madame de Mauban's room, leaps into the moat, and later laughs triumphantly from the other side. ### [XIX: Face to Face in the Forest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xix-face-to-face-in-the-forest) Kills Black Michael, escapes across the bridge, steals a horse from a peasant girl, and flees into the forest. ### [The Prisoner and the King](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xx-the-prisoner-and-the-king) Fights and mortally wounds Black Michael; escapes through the window. ### [XXII: Present, Past—and Future?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prisoner_of_zenda_se/chapters/xxii-present-past-and-future) Mentioned as still alive and plotting; Rassendyll anticipates a future confrontation with him. ## 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