Duke of Weselton

"Sorcery! I knew there was something dubious going on here."

- The Duke's reaction to Elsa revealing her powers

The Duke of Weselton journeyed to Arendelle to witness Elsa's coronation. Initially eager to discover what Arendelle had to offer, the Duke grew fearful for his welfare after Elsa revealed her powers and plunged the kingdom into winter. He is the main antagonist of Frozen.

A new queen
The Duke of Weselton came to Arendelle to witness Elsa's coronation as the representative of Weselton, a nearby kingdom that was Arendelle's closest trading partner. However, he came with the ulterior motive of uncovering Arendelle's secrets and exploiting its riches. Additionally, the Duke was accompanied by two burly bodyguards.

Not long after arriving in Arendelle, the Duke attended Elsa's chapel service to witness her crowning. The Duke stood up with the other attendees as Elsa grasped the orb and scepter and watched while the bishop ordained her as queen.

Sorcery


Following the ceremony, everyone moved to the Great Hall for the post-coronation party. The Duke seized this opportunity to get close to Arendelle's new ruler and was introduced to Elsa by Kai. Despite being referred to as the "Duke of Weaseltown", the Duke maintained an air of geniality and, on the grounds that he represented Arendelle's "closest trading partner", offered Elsa her first dance as queen. When she declined, he settled for Anna and whisked her off to the dance floor, where he he clumsily trod on her foot with his dancing, all the while inquiring her of the reasons behind Arendelle's isolation. However, Anna did not know, so the Duke contented himself with dancing for a few more moments before allowing the princess to return back to her sister's side.

Later at the party, Elsa revealed her powers, and the Duke was frightened at the ice spikes she had produced. After Elsa escaped out into the courtyard, the Duke took it upon himself to pursue Elsa with his guards; upon catching sight of Elsa, he called out for someone to "stop her". However, Elsa told him to keep his distance, firing a bolt of magic at the Duke in the process. Having slipped from the ice produced by Elsa's magic, the Duke proclaimed that Elsa was a "monster", at which point she fled the kingdom, plunging it into a winter during her flight.

Descending into hysterics over the sudden change in weather, the Duke demanded that his guards go after the queen but relented after seeing Anna. Fearful she was a monster too, the Duke hid behind his guards while arguing with both the princess and Hans; ultimately, Anna decided to pursue Elsa herself, a decision that the Duke advocated.

Rising tensions


Whilst Anna was searching for Elsa, tensions were beginning to rise in Arendelle; with Hans in charge and doing everything he could to ensure the citizens' welfare, the Duke was agitated by the prince giving away "all of Arendelle's tradable goods". Hans responded by pointing out that Princess Anna had given her orders, to which the Duke pointed out as being another issue, accusing Anna of "conspiring with a wicked sorceress". However, the Duke backed down after Hans asserted his authority by stating his willingness to protect Arendelle from treason.

At that moment, Anna's startled horse returned from the mountains without its rider. After calming the horse down, Hans decided to find her, asking for volunteers to assist him in the search. Responding to Hans' request by offering up his guards, the Duke surreptitiously informed the pair to kill Elsa if they encountered her. However, the plan failed, and Hans returned to Arendelle with Elsa alive.

Treason
Though his conspiracy to kill Elsa was unsuccessful, the Duke's involvement remained undetected, and he was present alongside the dignitaries as Hans stated his intent to continue the search for Anna. When Anna was brought into the library by Kai and Gerda, the Duke and the others left the room to give the couple some privacy.

The Duke and the dignitaries relocated to the council chamber, where he worried over the growing cold and the possibility of "[freezing] to death". However, Hans entered the room, stating that Anna had died by Elsa's hand. Shocked at the news, the Duke proclaimed that Elsa was undoubtedly a monster, and the other dignitaries turned to Hans, acknowledging that Arendelle had no one else to turn to. After a moment, the prince charged Elsa with treason and sentenced her to death.

The Great Thaw


Though Hans went to pursue the queen himself, he failed to kill her, and after realizing how to control her powers, Elsa proceeded to thaw out the kingdom, a spectacle that the Duke could only watch in open-mouthed shock. With summer's return, the Duke and his guards were escorted to their ship by a group of Arendelle castle guards. Amidst the Duke's attempts to secure a discussion with Elsa, Kai arrived to inform the diminutive man of the queen's decision to cut ties with "Weaseltown". Crestfallen, the Duke was hauled onto his ship, still intent on correcting Kai's mispronunciation.

Personality


A man of short stature, the Duke of Weselton compensates for his scrawny body with his arrogant and flamboyant behavior. He has a particular pride for his place of origin, having showed no hesitation in correcting Kai in the two instances that he referred to Weselton as "Weaseltown". The Duke also holds himself in high regard, believing himself capable of out-charming and out-witting everyone.

In addition to his haughty demeanor, the Duke is greedy, having arrived in Arendelle for the purposes of increasing his own riches. Despite being Arendelle's closest trading partner, the Duke sought to grow closer to the kingdom to increase his wealth. His greed is such that he was able to overlook his fear of Arendelle's unnatural winter to chastise Hans for giving away all of kingdom's tradable goods.

However, for all his hubris, the Duke proved himself cowardly, having hid behind his guards under the belief that Anna had abilities similar to her sister's. He is also extremely narrow-minded, conspiring to have Elsa killed to end her winter instead of seeking an alternate course of action. As such, he openly expressed shock at Elsa's thawing of Arendelle. Despite this, the Duke does have redeeming qualities, having reacted to Hans' news of Anna's death by commenting how she was killed by "her own sister".

Books

 * Frozen: Book of the Film
 * Across the Sea

Trivia

 * The Duke of Weselton enjoys showing off his dance moves.
 * The Duke of Weselton is referred to as "The Little Dipper".
 * Though he was originally conceived as Elsa and Anna's benign royal handler, the Duke of Weselton was changed into a villainous character to provide a red herring to the plot line.
 * The Duke of Weselton appears in the fourth season of the ABC show, Once Upon a Time, and is portrayed by Jonathan Runyon.