Prince Albert is an American brand of tobacco, introduced by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1907. It has been owned since 1987 by John Middleton Inc.
Prince Albert is one of the more popular independent brands of pipe tobacco in the United States; in the 1930’s, it was the “second largest money-maker” for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. More recently, it has also become available in the form of pipe-tobacco cigars. The blend is burley-based and remains one of America’s top-selling tobaccos.
The tobacco was personally named by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company after Edward VII, who was known as Prince Albert before being crowned King. For some time after Prince Albert had become King Edward VII, the tobacco can bore the additional words “Now King” under the portrait, which was based on one acquired by Reynolds at a tea party with Mark Twain (* The Prince and the Pauper (free ebook) is based on.
The brand is the basis of a practical joke, usually made in the form of a prank call. The prankster typically calls a store and asks if they have “Prince Albert in a can.” When the unsuspecting clerk responds “yes”, the caller follows up with, “Well, you’d better let him out!”
References to Prince Albert or the Reynolds tobacco can also be seen:
The Van Dyke Parks song Clang of the Yankee Reaper references the tobacco with the line “The sun never set on the Empire / Prince Albert came in a can.”
The joke was used in the 1990 horror miniseries Stephen King‘s It where Pennywise taunts one of his intended victims. He says; “Well ya better let the poor guy out”.
In Weird Al Yankovic’s parody of TLC’s Waterfalls “Phony Calls” on Bad Hair Day, the lyrics include the reference “Little Melvin has a natural obsession, “Askin’ for Prince Albert in a can”, He gets a kick each time he makes a collect call, To some guy he doesn’t know who lives in Japan”.
In Death Masks by Jim Butcher, Harry Dresden makes an offering of Prince Albert tobacco to a loa he’d summoned. Later, Molly Carpenter tricks their Russian friend Sanya into prank-calling a number of stores, under the guise of helping Harry with his shopping list. Sanya doesn’t understand why asking if they have “Prince Albert in a can” causes people to hang up.
In the Family Guy (season 2) episode “Fifteen Minutes of Shame”, Stewie makes the stereotypical prank call to a talk show called The Diane Show.
Brendan Fraser’s character buys Prince Albert pipe tobacco while stockpiling supplies in the film Blast From the Past.
Comic strip on 3/11/2011, Cooper takes a call for Prince Albert in a can. Assuming it is a joke he hangs up, only to notice that the store does in fact sell “Prince Albert” in a can.
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