Is Prince Canute Female in Vinland Saga? Explained

There are a lot of different important characters in the storyline of Vinland Saga. While the story focuses on the journey and character development of Thorfinn, we know that one of the most important characters in his storyline is Canute, the child, and heir of King Sweyn and the person responsible for the death of Askeladd. However, Canute actually looks quite feminine. So, is Prince Canute a female in Vinland Saga?

Prince Canute is not female in Vinland Saga. While he does have clear feminine features that make him look female, he is actually male. His soft features and personality were products of his upbringing. But the older version of Canute in season 2 actually looks manlier than his younger version.

One of the most surprising things about Canute in the storyline of Vinland Saga was the fact that a lot of characters thought that he might be female when his face was revealed. However, there is no doubt that Canute is as male as any other male character can be. It is only that he looked female in his childhood and younger years that made fans think that he could be a woman.

Is Prince Canute Female In Vinland Saga?

The entire story of Vinland Saga revolves around the growth and character development of Thorfinn, who grew up from a young and happy boy to an angry teenager that wants nothing but to take revenge on Askeladd. It is the very fact that Askeladd killed Thors in a dishonorable manner that Thorfinn wanted to take revenge on him in a fair duel.

As such, Thorfinn spent the entire first season of Vinland Saga working his way up so that he could eventually become strong enough to take on Askeladd in a duel. That is the reason why he joined Askeladd’s mercenary band as it was the only way for him to become stronger and earn himself a duel against the man responsible for his father’s death. And this led Thorfinn to a life where he fought countless battles for Denmark, especially because Askeladd’s band joined up with the Danish forces in the war against England.

Of course, Thorfinn met a lot of people in his journey to become strong enough to take on Askeladd. One of the people he met along the way was Prince Canute, the child of King Sweyn of Denmark. Canute’s importance was highlighted due to the fact that no other child of Sweyn survived. As such, Canute was the heir to Denmark, and it was up to Thorfinn to provide the prince with the protection he needed during the war.

When Canute was introduced, he wore a Valkyrie helmet that kept his face concealed. During the entire time that he was tasked by King Sweyn to lead Denmark’s forces, he was noticeably silent and didn’t even try to lead the army due to how meek and inexperienced he was.

However, when he finally removed his helmet, Prince Canute surprised a lot of people with his appearance. That’s because he was introduced with long blonde hair and large blue eyes. On top of that, he had pouty lips that added to the clear feminine features that he had. There were actually those who said that he could be the reincarnation of the Norse goddess Freya. So, does that mean that Canute is female?

While he may have feminine features that make him look like a woman, Prince Canute is actually male. He was born and raised as a male but simply had a feminine appearance and a quite docile personality. It was the fact that he was seen as a weak and frail person during a time when men were expected to be strong and fierce fighters that only added to Canute’s feminine aura. Nevertheless, he was always male, as this was made clear in the manga.

After he became king following the death of his father, Canute looked manlier than before because he started growing facial hair and cut his hair shorter. On top of that, his personality also went through a massive transformation after he became king.

Canute eventually became a very cunning king and a manipulative man that wasn’t afraid of using people for his own gains and getting rid of anyone who he deemed to be in the way of his goals. As such he basically threw away the weak and meek prince that he used to be after he rose to the throne of Denmark.

Prince Canute’s Gender Explained

As mentioned, Prince (now King) Canute is actually male despite the fact that he has a rather feminine appearance. But he eventually became a manlier character both in appearance and personality. Still, the reason why he seemed female during his younger years was his upbringing.

Canute was never first in line for the throne of Denmark but eventually had to rise up to become king after the death of his father. Because he wasn’t first in line to the throne, Canute was never groomed to become king. Instead, he was raised by Ragnar, who treated him like a son and was very protective of him.

The fact that Ragnar sheltered Canute and never raised him to become king or even a fighter was one of the reasons why he didn’t have the same kind of manly aura that most of the male characters of Vinland Saga have. Ragnar made sure that Canute wasn’t exposed to the scheming and politics that came with being someone of royal blood. And because of that, Canute wasn’t exposed to conventional military tactics during his younger years.

In that regard, Canute grew up to become a soft and weak teenager that had female features. He was also raised Christian, and that was one of the things that Sweyn thought made Canute seem weak. Nevertheless, Canute turned his weakness into his strength during the war against England as he developed into a strong leader. Of course, the fact that Ragnar kept him away from politics made sense as Canute ended up becoming a manipulative man the moment he rose to become king.