Matt Hicks is an average 23 year-old British guy... who just happens to look quite a bit like Prince Harry. But could he really fool anybody into believing he's the genuine article? I Wanna Marry "Harry", a reality dating show in the vein of Joe Millionaire says yes, he can.
The show, premiering on May 20, 2014, follows Matt and the twelve American women who are competing for his affection. At the start of the show, the women are brought to the lavish Englefield House, where the formal setting and presence of security detail and servants all adds up to convince them that they're about to meet someone important. Matt makes a grand entrance in a helicopter, and rumors start to spread among the women that yup, this is Prince Harry.
Interestingly, nobody who's in on the joke so much as utters the name "Prince Harry". The servants refer to Matt only as "Sir", and Matt himself dodges the question whenever the girls straight-up ask him who he is. Only time will tell how far this ruse will go, or what will happen if any of the contestants begin to catch on.
Tropes used in I Wanna Marry "Harry":
- Bluff the Impostor: Matt was given extensive lessons on the life of the real Prince Harry and his family, in order to avert this should it ever come up.
- Confession Cam: Par for the course for a reality show.
- The Ditz: Kelley is definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she's a genuinely sweet and lovable person.
- Gold Digger: Chelsea is one, and she admits it.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Maggie sure does love her cocktails, and even goes so far as to say, "my version of tea is happy hour".
- Masquerade Ball: One is held in the first episode.
- Mock Millionaire: In real life, Matt can't even afford a car. But as far as the girls know, he's literally royalty.
- No Indoor Voice: Matt is surprised by just how loud these girls are.
- Once an Episode: The other girls disdainfully talk about Maggie's drinking problem.
- Point-and-Laugh Show: The women genuinely have no idea they're being fooled, and most of them don't even suspect as much. Laughing at their gullibility is the whole point of the show.
- Reality TV Show Mansion: Englefield House.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Chelsea in the fourth episode, after becoming fed up with the cattiness of the other contestants.
- Short-Runners: It was cancelled after four episodes due to low ratings.
- Wrong Genre Savvy:
- The "security guards" are dressed like American Secret Service agents - black suit, dark glasses, an earpiece. The girls are impressed, and assume Matt must be someone important. (Royal Protection Squad members dress to fit in with the occasion, and always look very innocuous.)
- Some of the girls seem to base their idea of what life as a Royal would be like on Disney films. In their defense, though, they are not from a Commonwealth nation,
and therefore have no reason to know much about how The British Royal Family actually lives.
