The "Gilded King"

Nancy Brown, a reader and commenter, put up a great piece on Gilderoy Lockhart yesterday. Excerpt: We all have our high ego moments, maybe not as bad as Gilderoy, after all, we don't generally brag about being the "five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award". But there is an element of truth in Gilderoy that is true in all of us. And perhaps we, too, become more likeable when we forget ourselves. I know that someone did a name study on Lockhart somewhere. The name Gilderoy sounds like Gilded Roy, roy or roi being roots meaning king or royalty. The dictionary definition for gilded fits him to a tee: "having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth." Lockhart was definitely the king of showy appearances. I was also thinking that in order to achieve that charming smile, Lockhart probably didn't exhibit the scruples of Hermione's parents regarding magic and dental work.