The Unseen King: 5 Shocking Facts About Prince Eric's Dad In The Little Mermaid (2023 Live-Action)

Jan 10, 2026 • minute read

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The question of Prince Eric's father is one of the most persistent, yet unanswered, mysteries in the entire history of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise. For decades, the animated classic left the Prince's human parents entirely out of the picture, focusing solely on the drama of King Triton and Ariel. However, the highly anticipated 2023 live-action remake finally provided a significant, current update to Eric's family background, but with a surprising twist: the father figure remains intentionally elusive.

As of late 2025, the latest official Disney canon confirms that Prince Eric’s family life is far more complex than a simple royal household, centered on his adoption and the introduction of a powerful new maternal figure, Queen Selina. The identity and role of his father—both biological and adoptive—are a key part of his unique backstory in the modern retelling, directly addressing the decades-long curiosity of fans.

Prince Eric's Royal Family: A Complete Biographical Profile

Prince Eric, the human protagonist and eventual husband of Ariel, has a family background that is significantly different between the 1989 animated classic and the 2023 live-action film. The 2023 version, starring Jonah Hauer-King, provides the most detailed (and most recent) information.

Full Name: Eric
Title: Prince (later King)
Spouse: Ariel (Princess of Atlantica, later Queen)
Daughter (Sequel Canon): Melody
Adoptive Mother (2023 Live-Action): Queen Selina (Played by Noma Dumezweni)
Adoptive Father (2023 Live-Action): Unnamed King (Implied/Mentioned, but unseen)
Biological Parents (2023 Live-Action Backstory): Deceased, lost in a shipwreck. Some non-official sources refer to them as Jackie and Mora.
Kingdom: An unnamed island kingdom located near Atlantica.
Key Relationship: Shares a deep, explorative bond with Queen Selina, despite her initial apprehension about the sea and his love for Ariel.

The Shocking Truth: Why Eric's Dad is Never Named or Seen

The absence of a prominent father figure in Prince Eric’s life is a deliberate narrative choice that spans both major film versions, but for different reasons. This choice highlights the stark contrast between Eric’s upbringing and Ariel’s, who is raised by the famously overprotective and ever-present King Triton (played by Javier Bardem in the live-action).

1. The Animated Classic: A Complete Void

In the original 1989 animated film, Prince Eric’s parents are simply non-existent. The focus is entirely on the dynamics of the underwater kingdom: King Triton, Ariel, her six sisters (Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, and Andrina), and the villainous Ursula. Eric’s royal status is established, but his home life is portrayed as largely independent, with his major companion being his guardian, Sir Grimsby.

This omission was a common trope in older Disney films, allowing the main character (Eric) to be free of parental interference and driven solely by his own desires. The lack of a human King or Queen makes the human side of the story feel less complex, keeping the primary family conflict centered on Atlantica.

2. The Live-Action Update: The Adoption Revelation and Queen Selina

The 2023 live-action remake, directed by Rob Marshall, made a significant and recent change by introducing Queen Selina, Eric’s adoptive mother. This was a major deviation from the original story and a huge update for the franchise lore. However, the father figure—the King—remains conspicuously absent or unnamed.

The film establishes that Eric was rescued from a shipwreck as an infant, making him an adopted son. This backstory adds emotional depth to Eric, explaining his deep connection to the sea and his desire to explore beyond the borders of his kingdom, a desire that mirrors Ariel's own. His biological parents, who perished at sea, are mentioned as a tragic detail, but their names are not officially given in the film itself.

The decision to introduce Queen Selina (a powerful, new character) but keep the King unnamed serves several purposes:

Focus on Matriarchy: It creates a powerful human counterpart to King Triton, shifting the focus to two single-parent households (or at least, households dominated by a single parent), one under the sea and one on land. This allows for a deeper exploration of Eric’s relationship with his adoptive mother.
Narrative Simplicity: Introducing a fully developed King would have required more screen time and a complex political subplot, potentially distracting from the core romance between Eric and Ariel.
Eric's Independence: Like the animated version, the absence of a traditional, overbearing King allows Eric to be a self-made prince, free to follow his heart and his passion for the sea, without the burden of a father’s expectations.

The Contrast: Eric's Adoptive Mother vs. Ariel's Biological Father

The most compelling aspect of the updated lore is the thematic parallel and contrast between the two royal families. This is where the topical authority of the new film truly shines, using the family dynamics to enrich the central conflict between the human and mermaid worlds.

Queen Selina: The Cautious Adoptive Mother

Queen Selina, Eric's adoptive mother, is a stern but loving ruler who views the sea with deep suspicion and fear. This fear stems from the tragic loss of Eric's biological parents in a shipwreck, which she sees as a sign of the sea’s inherent danger. Her character provides a key obstacle for Ariel, who must not only win Eric's heart but also overcome the deep-seated prejudice of his royal guardian.

Role: She represents the human world’s fear of the unknown and the trauma caused by the ocean, directly contrasting King Triton’s domain.
Motivation: Her primary motivation is the protection of her adopted son, Eric, which drives her to be wary of outsiders and the sea.

King Triton: The Overprotective Biological Father

King Triton, Ariel’s father, is the absolute ruler of Atlantica. Played by Javier Bardem, his character is a powerful, yet deeply flawed, figure who represents the underwater world’s fear and distrust of humans. His overprotectiveness and rage are the central drivers of the story’s conflict.

Role: He represents the sea world's prejudice against the surface world, stemming from the loss of his wife, Queen Athena, at the hands of humans.
Motivation: His primary motivation is the safety of his youngest daughter, Ariel, which manifests as controlling behavior and a strict ban on contact with the surface.

In essence, the 2023 live-action film replaces the need for a human King (Prince Eric’s dad) with the dramatic tension created by two powerful, single-parent figures—Queen Selina and King Triton—whose mutual prejudice and protective instincts threaten to keep Eric and Ariel apart. The absence of Eric's father is, ironically, one of the most important details of the new story.

The Future of Eric's Royal Lineage

While the focus remains on the single-parent dynamic, the lore surrounding Prince Eric's family is now firmly established. The key takeaway for fans is that the traditional, patriarchal structure of a King and Queen is intentionally subverted in Eric's background. He is a prince who was saved by the sea and raised by a Queen, making his eventual marriage to Ariel (a mermaid princess) a true union of two different, yet equally independent, worlds.

The "unnamed father" is a symbolic figure representing the royal lineage Eric inherits, but the true emotional weight and conflict of his human family life rest entirely on the shoulders of Queen Selina. This fresh, modern take on the royal family dynamic ensures that the story of The Little Mermaid remains relevant, focusing on themes of adoption, prejudice, and finding one's own identity outside of traditional family structures.

The Unseen King: 5 Shocking Facts About Prince Eric's Dad in The Little Mermaid (2023 Live-Action)

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