Melchett - Blackadder II (Lord Melchett)

Blackadder II (Lord Melchett)

The first Melchett appeared in series two of Blackadder. He is Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth I. Affectionately known to the Queen as "Melchy", the earnest Lord Melchett has set himself up as her closest personal advisor and is always close to her. He guards his position jealously and is always doing his best to please the Queen. Melchett attends the Annual Communion Wine-Tasting and is also able to officiate at marriage ceremonies, two facts which suggest that he has a career in the church alongside his duties to the Queen.

Lord Melchett's rivalry with Lord Blackadder is illustrated by such devious deeds as an ill-considered drinking competition ("Beer"), and Melchett's recommendation to the Queen that Blackadder be made Lord High Executioner ("Head"), a job which amounts to a death sentence for the applicant. Despite (or perhaps because of) Melchett's toadying, the Queen has an undying affection for Blackadder and often ignores Melchett.

In "Potato", Melchett pressures Blackadder to sail around the deadly Cape of Good Hope, confident that the journey would be fatal. Blackadder agreed, intending to cheat and merely "camp down in the Dordogne for six months" and get a good suntan, but somehow ends up in cannibal-filled Australia instead. He gets the last laugh, however, by eventually returning to a hero's welcome and giving Melchett (and Sir Walter Raleigh) a "fine wine from the Far East" as a souvenir - which turned out to be a bottle of Baldrick's urine.

In "Chains", it is revealed that, as a young man, Melchett had sex with a sheep named Flossie (in fact Prince Ludwig the Indestructible in disguise) while at a monastery in Cornwall. He is killed by Prince Ludwig along with the rest of the supporting cast.