The first ceremony that Tom must undergo is dinner. Although he blunders frequently, his behavior is overlooked. Afterward, he finds a book dealing with the etiquette of the English court, and he begins the process of learning to cope in his new position. His next ordeal is a city dinner in London, toward which he and his entourage move in great splendor along the Thames River.
The scene then shifts momentarily to the Prince of Wales, who is now in the clutches of John Canty. He is brought to the filthy room where the Cantys live and is put on display to show the neighborhood his mad delusion that he is the Prince of Wales; later, he is beaten because he brought no money home.
Late that night, the Cantys are awakened by someone who has come to tell them that the man whom John Canty struck with his cudgel, while bringing his "son" home, has died. They all leave immediately, Canty keeping the prince in tow. The prince, however, manages to slip away from old Canty.
While Tom dines with the nobility and watches the pageantry of the dinner, the real prince stands outside the Guildhall, trying to get in, asserting that he is the true Prince of Wales. The mob jeers at him and would have thoroughly beaten him if Miles Hendon had not suddenly appeared and protected him. While the prince and Hendon are struggling with the crowd outside, and while the nobility is having a merry time inside the Guildhall, a messenger brings the news that Henry VIII is dead. Tom Canty is thus suddenly elevated from prince to king, and his first act is to free the Duke of Norfolk.
