Fleance

Fleance was a character in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

He was the son of Banquo and appeared in Act III Scene III when, in an early draft of the play, they both encountered the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. The Doctor openly admitted the trio had been sent to murder them but, contrary to the orders of Macbeth, he said they "wield[ed] no thought of harm". He said he would attest to their deaths but told Fleance he had to flee to Wales, meet a "fine girl" and "kings beget". Fleance asked after his father's fate after hearing this suggestion to which the Doctor replied that Banquo would soon follow after he had helped him truly convince Macbeth of their demises.

Fleance was later referenced in Act III Scene IV when, true to his word, the Doctor told Macbeth he was "safe with his father in a ditch". Fleance was mentioned for a final time in Act V Scene IV when Banquo reunited with Zoe after leaving to join the English army amassed by Malcolm and Macduff to remove Macbeth from the throne. Zoe asked about Fleance with Banquo telling her that he was safely in Wales.

In the finished version of the play, the Weird Sisters made the prophecy to Macbeth in Act IV Scene I that many Banquo's descendants would rule in Scotland. Indeed, through Fleance, (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth) James I, King of Scotland and later King of England, was an ancestor of Banquo. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)