The Prince is unfortunately the title of about a dozen tv shows and movies, but the Turkish one (2023-25) stars Giray Altinok as the Prince of Bogonia, a fictional micro-kingdom somewhere in the Balkans during the Middle Ages. The Prince (no other name because his father hates him) is so flashy-femme, and exhibits such a strong interest in men, that viewers began buzzing. Altinok went on social media to clear up the "misunderstanding": The Prince isn't gay, he's just sensitive. Funny, that's what my parents used to say about me.
Of course Altinok would claim that his character is straight: Turkey is the most homophobic country in Europe. It gets 4% on the Rainbow Map of LGBT legal status, while Russia gets 8%, and Poland 15%. Let's take a look at Episode 1, and see how "not gay" the Prince is.
Scene 1: Establishing shot of Bogonia. Several n*de women, one chained up, snooze with semi-n*de guys (one butt shot). Can you show naked ladies on Turkish tv?
A chained up man who has been cuddling with a man and a woman both awakens to a rap on the door, and yells at the Slave Köle (Canberk Gültekin, top photo and left). Surprise -- he's the Prince! Identified as bi in the first scene. Maybe Altinok meant "not gay, bi/pan."
The King has summoned him. "So what?" "So what?" He returns to his orgy.
Scene 2: As everyone waits impatiently, the Prince bursts in. He touches the cheek of one of the courtiers: "Come here, my black lamb." He lectures against Turkish masculinity: to compete in the modern world, we need to be hugging and touching.
The problem: The Hungarian army is at the border, and Bogonia doesn't have a big enough army to defeat them.
"So, get help from our neighbors, like Bosnia?" "No, they all hate us."
Uncle Kalish (Serdar Orçin) suggests just surrendering and paying the tribute. "No, we'd lose our proud history." "But this country is only twenty years old!" This enrages the Prince's Older Brother Tenyo (Çagdas Onur Öztürk, left), who threatens to kill Uncle Kalish for treason.
King to Older Brother: "I'm lucky to have you as a son. Without you, my name would die with me." So the Prince isn't going to have any kids. Maybe he is gay, not bi.
They decide to fight the Hungarians. Older Brother gets the horses ready for their 50 soldiers.
Scene 3: The King meets with the Prince in private: "Everyone has some regrets in life. Mine is you. I can't find the words to describe my hatred of you." You're just homophobic, Dad.
The King orders Slave Kole to bring his Very Important Sword to the Blacksmith to get the handle fixed. "The Blacksmith is my oldest and dearest friend, and only he can fix my sword." The Prince asks him to also fetch the "big ruby necklace" that the jeweler has for him. Dude is into drag.
Whoops, the King decides to humiliate the Prince by making him take the sword in instead of the slave.
Scene 4: Older Brother Tenyo's Wife has just taken a home pregnancy test (the Medieval version). Still not pregnant! He is not upset: "Don't obsess over it, it will happen in due time." But the Queen has been putting pressure on her; she sent a gigantic crib, hint, hint. Older Brother suggests trying again now.
Scene 5: The Prince and Slave Kole in the market. He stops to look at some fabric. Dude is gay. A commoner complains that the people are starving while the royals live in luxury, "especially that Prince." "Which one?" "The ugly one."
Upset, the prince orders him executed. Slave Kole suggest they could give him a chance to apologize. Nope, he's hanged.
Next stop: the Blacksmith, the only person who can fix the King's Very Important Sword. Except he's the guy they just executed!
Scene 6: The Prince's Sister is practicing swordsmanship when her stepmother, the Queen, bursts in and throws her sword out the window. "Act like a Princess!" "No -- I don't want to be a princess!"
"Too bad -- I've arranged for you to marry the Duke of Saxony!"
"What? No! This is the modern world. I want to be more than just a wife!"
Ok, the main conflicts are established: Older Brother can't get his wife pregnant, Sister wants to be a liberated woman, and the Prince is gay.
Scene 6: The royal family eating together and glaring at each other.
Uncle Kalish: "We can't fight the Hungarians! We'll be massacred!" I've been checking the Prince for queer codes, but look at Uncle Kalish: 35 effeminate rings, no wife. Dude is gay.
King: "Princess, you are going to get married whether you want to or not."
Sister: "No!"
Queen: "The Duke of Gaul has had a son. wish I had a grandchild."
Older Brother's Wife: "You're Older Brother's stepmother, not his mother, so any kids we have will not be your grandchildren. Besides, how do you know it's my fault? Maybe Older Brother's not doing his job properly."
Older Brother: "Let's fight the Hungarians right now!"
King: "Prince, how is my sword repair coming? The Blacksmith is a very old, dear friend of mine." Uh-oh, the Prince had him executed.
Scene 7: Slave Kole fixes the Very Important Sword with glue. It will take a day to harden, but the King is coming for it now!
The Prince asks Slave Kole to hide in the closet (har har), and presents it to the King, who is pleased: "This is the first tim ein your life that you've followed through on a task." Whoops, he puts it in the scabbard with the resin still wet -- he'll never get it out again! A painting of a naked man is in the foreground of every bedroom scene, and there's a fresco in the back that looks like a Roman woman. Dude is gay or bi.
The King finds Slave Kole in the closet (har har), and becomes angry at the Prince for having s*x with a slave. He has no problem with his son dating men, but they should be upper class.
Slave Kole starts to explain that he was just fixing the sword, but the Prince cuts him off: "Shut up, Love. He's onto us. It's fine." The King stomps out.
More after the break