Verence II of Lancre
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Verence II of Lancre is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
He first appears in the sixth novel of the series, Wyrd Sisters, as the court jester of the monarch of Lancre, Duke Felmet. He was previously the Fool to King Verence I, as his father and grandfather were before him. Over the course of the book, the Fool meets and falls in love with Magrat Garlick and stands up to the Duke, admitting he saw the murder of Verence I.
At the end of the book Verence I's hidden heir, Tomjon, rejects the throne. Nanny Ogg then tells everyone that the Fool is Tomjon's older half-brother. It is assumed that this means he is the son of the elder Fool's wife and Verence I (who was fond of exercising his droit de seigneur), and he is duly crowned Verence II. However, given how well the Queen got on with the elder Fool, there is another interpretation...
In Lords and Ladies Verence and Magrat finally marry, and in Carpe Jugulum they have a daughter (Princess Esmeralda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre).
Verence II is a very well-meaning king, who takes running a kingdom very seriously (he takes most things seriously, having learnt at a very early age that being a Fool was no laughing matter), but things seldom turn out the way he might want. The most noticeable results of his attempts at modernising the kingdom have been a Parliament that no-one attends, a handy pocket knife that needs to be carried by a cart, and an invasion of vampires. It has been suggested that his subjects would really prefer a king who orders them around and carouses a lot. At least you know where you are with them.
Other Media
Verence was voiced by Andrew Branch in the BBC Radio 4 adaption of Wyrd Sisters, and by Les Dennis in the Cosgrove Hall animation.