prince charming

Noun capitalized: Prince Charming

Prince Charming (plural Prince Charmings or Princes Charming)

1. A fictional heroic prince in various fairy-tales.
   • No one could have helped being won by his smile and the truly royal manner in which he saluted the crowd in passing when he was in good humor. For this reason, the voice of the people, which is never mistaken, had christened him Prince Charming, and his name always clung to him.1920, “King Bizarre And Prince Charming”, in Mary L. Booth, transl., Laboulaye's Fairy Book
2. (broadly) A heterosexual woman's prototypical ideal romantic partner, especially but not necessarily if he embodies common characteristics of the fictional princes, such as being courageous or chivalrous.
   • She's still unmarried because she is waiting for her Prince Charming... and he may not exist.
   • She did not listen. She was free in her prison of passion. Her prince, Prince Charming, was with her.1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter V, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC