King George (Once Upon a Time)

"You should've killed me when you had the chance ~Albert Spencer to David"

King George, later known as Albert Spencer, is the quaternary antagonist in the first season of the TV show Once Upon a Time, and also the first half of the second season. He is a king in the Enchanted Forest and a district attorney in Storybrooke. He is the adopted father of Prince Charming, also known as David Nolan, the adopted grandfather of Emma Swan, and the adopted great-grandfather of Henry Mills and was also an ally of the evil Queen Regina. He is portrayed by Alan Dale. He is based on King Henry VIII from the novel, The Prince and the Pauper.



Biography
During his rule, King George had no heir due to the fact that his wife couldn't have children so he asked Rumpelstiltskin to get a child. The child he got was named James, a twin separated at birth. He grew up to be a arrogant prince. During this time, George went bankrupt due to a deal Rumpelstiltskin made with the Queen Regina. Under the King's orders, James and his girlfriend Jack was the cause of the giant's downfall. He later died as he lost to a duel with a dragon. He then asks Rumpelstiltskin to resurrect his son. However, Rumple couldn't do it and instead found a replacement for James. In exchange, George gave Rumple the whereabouts of his patron, The Fairy Godmother. Ironically, It turned out to be his twin brother, Prince Charming, who was just a Shepard at that time. King George later arranges for Charming to marry the King Midas' daughter Princess Abigail, to secure an alliance with the king.

However, after Charming meets Snow White and develops feelings for her, tensions grow between him and George. George tries to get Charming to forget her. Charming sends a letter to Snow telling how he feels about her. The king captures the princess as she snuck in his castle to visit the Prince. She tries to escape with two dwarves named Grumpy and Stealthy. They are stopped by the king's men. Stealthy is killed and Grumpy is let go. He then forces her to reject the prince's feeling threatening to kill him if he doesn't, shocking her. He then lets her go after she did what he asked.

Just as the wedding approaches, Prince Charming escapes to Snow White's hideout Red Riding Hood. King Georges tracks him down and a reunion with Snow White is cut short as his men captures him. Prince Charming is sentenced to be executed. During the execution, the Evil Queen arrives and offers to trade him for all the gold the King Midas promised to give him. He agrees and hands his son over to the Queen. She promised that she had much more in store for him than just a execution, using him as leverage for her revenge on Snow White. Snow White, with the help of the dwarves, Granny, and a army of fairies, attacks King George's castle, only to discover that the Evil Queen has him.

King George later discovered that Prince Charming escaped from the Queen and sends his men out to find him. During this period, King George hires former knight of the Round Table, Lancelot, as his general. Lancelot abducts Snow White, now Prince Charming's fiancée, to the castle. King George orders Lancelot to give her a cup of water, which she later drinks from. He tells Snow White about his past with wife who he fell in love with and married, but she was cursed to never be able to bear children. As revenge, since his attempts to harm Prince Charming fail, he makes Snow White barren from the water she drank. Even Lancelot is shocked at the king's actions, and after Snow White leaves, he renounces his title as general and goes to follow her. Although King George is successful in cursing Snow White, the misfortune is lifted by the waters of Lake Nostos. King George and the Evil Queen then team up to fight against Snow White and Prince Charming's forces. His army is defeated, and shortly after, the Evil Queen is captured. It is unknown what happened to him afterwards but it is assumed that he went into hiding until the Dark Curse hits.

After the curse hits, King George becomes Spencer Albert, the local district attorney in Storybrooke. He appears interviews Snow White (who is now Mary Margaret) while she was accused and on trial for Kathryn's (Princess Abagail) murder.

After the curse is broken by Emma Swan, Spencer later appears as he spies on David and Henry in his car while they were practicing sword fighting. Later, Spencer meets with David and warns him that he plans to make his life hell as revenge for ruining his plans for family as King George. Spencer tries to frame Ruby for Billy's murder, forcing David to protect her and choose his friend over the townspeople. Granny follows the scent of Billy's blood to Spencer's car and she and David find evidence that Spencer killed Billy. They stop him from killing Ruby in her wolf form but he escapes and burns Jefferson's hat, preventing them from opening a portal to rescue Mary Margaret and Emma from the Enchanted Forest. Afterward he is presumably arrested and imprisoned for Billy's murder.