Watch: “‘Prince Henry’ An LGBT Fairytale for Children”

This cute video by British actor and filmmaker Olly Pike tells the tale of a prince who has found the man of his dreams—and stands above many other gay prince stories.

The story is the creation of British actor and filmmaker Olly Pike, who has performed in the West End and co-starred in the BAFTA-winning CBBC kids’ game shows Trapped and Trapped: Ever After. His “Pop’n’Olly” Web series already has an episode about family diversity, along with others about non-LGBTQ-related activities. Pike is now hoping to Kickstart a series of LGBT educational videos and books.

I love the goofy energy Pike brings to his films. He’s clearly got a knack for connecting with young audiences. I have to question whether we really need yet another gay prince story, since there are so few LGBT-inclusive kids’ stories to begin with—but the story is actually better than most of its predecessors. It assumes from the start that the prince might be interested in marrying either a man or a woman (unlike King and King, which shows this as a problem); he avoids the stereotypes of women (as object or nag) of The Princes and the Treasure; and he avoids the lack of consent concern in “Papa’s Prince.” The story does include a problem, as do most good fairytales. In this case, it’s about the difference in class between the prince and his beloved—but not about the fact that they’re both men.

If you like this, also check out his “Super Balloon Dude” episode, in which he shows that there are no “girl colors” and “boy colors.”