Grand Duke

The Grand Duke, or simply Duke, is a character from Disney's classic film, . He made his debut appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. A loyal servant of the King and Prince Charming, he desperately searches for the maiden that left behind a glass slipper at the Prince's royal ball.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
On Terra's visit to the Castle of Dreams, he and the Grand Duke both watch Cinderella and Prince Charming dance at the ball; the Grand Duke is overjoyed that Prince Charming seems to have found the girl he is going to marry. When Lady Tremaine's jealousy attracts Unversed to the upper levels of the castle, the Grand Duke directs Terra to the upper levels so he can dispose of them and calls for the castle guards to assist him in the battle that is to ensue. However, Terra goes on to fight the Symphony Master alone while the Grand Duke escapes the ballroom with Cinderella and Prince Charming. After the massive Unversed's defeat, the Grand Duke thanks Terra for saving everyone, but expresses his disappointment that the Symphony Master ruined the ball by driving the guests away with its appearance. Terra points out Cinderella and Prince Charming, deep in discussion, greatly pleasing the Grand Duke. Terra asks the Grand Duke how long the castle has been infested with Unversed, and the man tells him that they first started appearing after a boy in a mask arrived in the kingdom. The Grand Duke explains that those who saw this mysterious masked boy claimed the Unversed obeyed his every command; when Terra asks if the Grand Duke knows of the boy's whereabouts, he says that he does not, just as the clock strikes midnight. Cinderella flees from the castle and the Grand Duke gives chase.

When Aqua comes to the Castle of Dreams, she arrives in Prince Charming's castle, where she has a discussion with Terra and is caught off-guard by the darkness in the hearts of Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella as they walk past her. The Grand Duke, holding a single glass slipper, runs past Aqua, but she stops him to ask who "those ladies" were. When Prince Charming approaches them, and the Grand Duke shows him the glass slipper that was left behind on the palace stairs. The Grand Duke then states that he will search for the maiden who owns the slipper, for Prince Charming has finally found someone he wishes to marry and he has been ordered to do so by the king. Planning to start his quest at the closest residence, the house of Lady Tremaine, the Grand Duke departs. When Aqua visits Lady Tremaine's estate, the Grand Duke is already in the process of trying the glass slipper on the wicked stepmother's two daughters. Both Anastasia's and Drizella's feet are too large for the slipper, and when the Grand Duke checks to make sure no other young women are present, Lady Tremaine ensures him "there is no one else." Aqua witnesses this, under a shrinking spell cast on her by the Fairy Godmother, but just as the Grand Duke prepares to leave, the spell wears off and Aqua makes her presence known.

To buy Jaq more time as he goes to free Cinderella, the true owner of the glass slipper who was locked in her room for this reason by Lady Tremaine, Aqua asks if she can try on the glass slipper. The Grand Duke states the young Keyblade Master is not the girl the prince is looking for, but Aqua reminds him that she should be able to simply because she is a girl. Lady Tremaine tells the Grand Duke that Aqua does not live with her, thus she should not be permitted to try the slipper on, but regardless, he allows her to. Cinderella appears at the top of the stairs before Aqua has to, however, hoping to prove that she is the lady the prince danced with at the ball. Lady Tremaine tries to prevent the Grand Duke from allowing Cinderella to try on the slipper as well, but again, he ignores her, reminding her his instructions were to try the glass slipper on every maiden. Lady Tremaine trips the Grand Duke as he prepares to give Cinderella the slipper, however, causing him to drop and break it. The Grand Duke is greatly upset by this, but when Cinderella reveals that she has the other slipper, he puts it on her and is overjoyed when he discovers the slipper fits her perfectly. The Grand Duke takes Cinderella with him to the castle to inform Prince Charming that his bride-to-be has been found, but on the way, Cinderella is attacked by a mysterious monster. The Grand Duke runs back to Lady Tremaine's estate and tells Aqua this, prompting the Keyblade Master to rush to Cinderella's aid.

Appearance
The Grand Duke is a thin man that dresses in a high-collared, lilac jacket with pants of the same color. He wears a tasseled, silver pauldron on each shoulder, a silver belt with a blue, seemingly jeweled buckle, a red sash over his left shoulder and right hip, and a monocle on the right side of chest for his right eye. In terms of facial features, the Grand Duke has thinning, black hair with thick mutton chops that form a thin mustache. He has black eyebrows and small, close-set eyes. His neck seems slightly longer than usual, and his nose is a bit large.

Origin
The Grand Duke first appeared in Walt Disney's 1950 animated classic, Cinderella. In the film, he faithfully serves the King, who tends to give him death threats when angered. After Cinderella flees from the royal ball being held at the King's palace and accidentally leaves behind one of her glass slippers, the Grand Duke is ordered to search the entire kingdom for its owner so that Prince Charming may marry her.