Prince of Hyrule
Artwork of the Prince of Hyrule and his sister, Princess Zelda
First appearance	The Adventure of Link (1988)
Sex	Male
Homeland	Hyrule
Kindred	King of Hyrule (father) Princess Zelda (sister)
Race	Hylian
Affiliation(s)	Royal Family of Hyrule

The Prince of Hyrule is a character from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Though he is never seen in-game, he is mentioned in the game's prologue. He was the son of the King of Hyrule and brother to Princess Zelda. The Prince's father was the one who broke up the unified Triforce and concealed the Triforce of Courage into the Great Palace.

The Prince of Hyrule's main contribution to the mythos of The Legend of Zelda is the naming of the princess. In memory of the tragedy which befell his sister, he issued a decree that all daughters born to the Royal Family of Hyrule would be given the name of Zelda.

Biography Edit

When the Prince ascended his throne, he was puzzled by his inability to inherit the entire Triforce. A Magician of the court told the new King that his sister, Princess Zelda, was entrusted by their dying father with a secret that she would not divulge. It is believed that this secret was the location of the Triforce of Courage, although the game manual does not explicitly say so. The Princess was questioned by her brother, but refused to tell him their father's secret. The Magician threatened to curse her if she did not give up this knowledge, and when she again refused, he put her into an enchanted sleep, the effort of which caused the Magician's own death. The brother, grief-stricken, had his comatose sister locked in the North Castle, where she remained until Link recovered the Triforce of Courage many years later and awakened her.

Theory Edit

In the artwork accompanying the scene where the prince and Magician are interrogating Zelda for the location of the remaining Triforce piece, the Magician is shown to be partially merged with the prince's shadow, implying that the Magician might have possessed the prince into interrogating Zelda.