- “You're a prince! And you're going to marry a princess!”
- ―King Hubert reminding his son of his arranged marriage
King Hubert is a supporting character in Disney's 1959 feature film Sleeping Beauty. He is the father of Prince Phillip and King Stefan's longtime friend.
Background
Personality
King Hubert seems to be a fairly jolly bloke; however, no one knows the whereabouts of his queen. But he has one son by far, Prince Phillip, and is shown to be best friends with King Stefan, Princess Aurora's suave father. Hubert is also caring and clearly cares for Phillip, even if they disagree on arranged marriages that Phillip prefers to marry the girl he loves, though Hubert disapproved it at first and neither of them knew that she’s actually Aurora until later in the film after Phillip saves his father, Aurora, her parents, and everyone in the kingdom from their slumber. Like Stefan, Hubert is also prone to being wrathful, temperamental and quarrelsome at times, as shown when he becomes angry at Stefan because of a perceived slight against his son, leading to the beginnings of a fight between himself and Stefan, using fish as one of the primary weapons instead of swords. However, he comes to see the ridiculousness and hilarity of the scene and quickly makes up with his debonair friend.
Physical appearance
King Hubert is an obese man with fair skin, thick gray eyebrows, gray hair, a fully grown gray mutton chop and goatee and black eyes. He wears a red puffy-sleeved robe with a black shawl collar over a blue and yellow tunic with a brown stripe and blue diamond-shaped necklace.
Appearances
Sleeping Beauty
King Hubert first appears at Aurora's christening along with his young son, Phillip, announced by the royal herald. It is revealed that Hubert was the long time friend of King Stefan, as well as the king of a neighboring kingdom. He and Stefan decide to betroth their children, Aurora and Phillip, in the hopes that they will marry and unite their two kingdoms. Unfortunately, during the festivities, an evil fairy named Maleficent arrives and crashes the party. As revenge for not being invited, Maleficent curses the baby to die by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, leaving Aurora’s family and the other royals in the court horrified about the doomed future of Aurora. Although one of the three fairies, Merryweather, was able to soften the curse so Aurora would not die, but just fall into an enchanted sleep and be awakened by true love's kiss, Stefan was still fearful and had no choice but to let Aurora live with the good fairies in a cottage deep in the woods until her sixteenth birthday.
Sixteen years later, Hubert is seen at Stefan's castle, awaiting Aurora's return eating in the dining room. As he summons their maître d’, Minstrel to serve wine to them, Hubert quarrels with Stefan over the future of their children. After being insulted by Stefan, Hubert grabs a fish by mistake trying to strike Stefan and they burst out laughing when Hubert finally realizes what he is holding and helps himself and Stefan reconsider. Hubert then receives a visit from Phillip, who reveals that he has fallen in love with a peasant girl, and intends to marry her. Hubert is bereft upon hearing this, but neither Hubert, Stefan, or the others realize that the peasant girl is actually Aurora, who has been in a hiding place because of the threat of Maleficent's curse.
Unfortunately, Maleficent's curse on Aurora is fulfilled, so Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather decided to make everyone asleep until Aurora awakens. Hubert attempts to tell Stefan of his son's plan, but falls into enchanted sleep before Stefan can hear him. However, Hubert's words as he falls asleep help the fairies to realize that Phillip was the young man that Aurora had met earlier and fallen in love within the woods. As a result, the fairies leave to find Phillip in order to break the curse and save Hubert, Aurora, her parents, and the whole kingdom from their respective slumber.
Like Aurora, King Stefan, and Queen Leah, King Hubert is not seen again until the end of the film when he, along with Aurora, her parents, and the other royal subjects are all freed by Phillip from their indefinite sleeping curse after Maleficent’s death. Hubert attempts to tell Stefan of Phillip's intentions. However, he does not finish as the fanfare interrupts and Phillip descends down the staircase, arm in arm with Aurora. He is confused by the scene, but appears to be happy regardless as he was unaware that Aurora is indeed "a peasant" in disguise and somewhat unaware that Phillip defeated Maleficent and saved him, Aurora and the rest of the kingdom residents. Along with Stefan and Leah, Hubert watches Phillip dance with Aurora.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
Hubert is one of the characters from Sleeping Beauty that return in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams. He attends a Royal Conference along with Phillip, Stefan and Queen Leah, in which Hubert is due to give a speech. However, Hubert realizes he has forgotten his speech at Stefan's castle only when he is already at the Royal Conference. Hubert tries to find it everywhere until the fairies arrive and deliver him his speech. Hubert is next seen at the end of the film, along with Stefan, Leah, Phillip, the fairies, and Lord Duke, attending a royal banquet organized by Aurora.
Other appearances
King Hubert appears in the episode "Clarabelle's Christmas List" of the series House of Mouse with Aurora.
Gallery
Trivia
- While not making any viewable appearances in the Disney theme parks, Aurora has mentioned that he attends the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, eating at all the restaurants.
- There was originally a scene that could have taken place in the beginning where King Hubert and King Stefan argue about the future of their children and compare portraits of their young children, a demo song called "It Happens I have a Picture" (heard in the second disc of the 2008 Platinum Edition DVD of Sleeping Beauty and The Legacy Collection: Sleeping Beauty), sung by Bill Thompson and Hans Conried. While Taylor Holmes took over Conried's voice role as Stefan for the final version, Bill Thompson was finalized as Hubert in the final cut of the film.
- King Hubert's wife was not seen or mentioned in the original film. His wife made her first appearance in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and was given the name "Ingrith".
- The way Hubert and Stefan were laughing after fighting and arguing over the future of their children was repeated in The Sword in the Stone by Sir Ector and Sir Pellinore.
