#but yeah henri charriere was a lying bloke who didn't want to be made a bad guy by the public

[oh-styles]

Fun little story behind the tattoo: Let’s go back to October 1931 when a man of the name Henri Charriere was convicted of the murder of a pimp named Roland Le Petiti - though he denied the accusation - and was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor to a penal settlement in French Guiana. 

His 1970 best-selling book, Papillon was said to only be 75% true, claiming details of his alleged escaped, attempted escapes, adventures and captures, from his imprisonment in 1932 to his last escape to Venezuela. 

The books title comes from the papillon - butterfly - largely printed on his chest. 

Before, many believed of the stories he told within his novel, when in reality, it was likely stories Charriere had stolen or overheard while in incarceration. A french justice ministry report said his book included episodes that were imagined or involved others and “should be divided at least 10 to get near the truth.” 

And in 2005, a 104-year-old man of the name Charles Brunier claimed to be the real Papillon. 

It was stated by critics who agreed that Charriere’s depictions included events that happened to others, and that Charles Brunier was at the prison the same time. 

So basically, every time I see Harry’s butterfly tattoo, I just imagine him going, “I’m the real papillon!” And I really want to know if he knows the story behind all of this.

“The butterfly on his torso is based on and old French prison tattoo inspired by Papillon. Traditionally it would mean the wearer is a thief – something to do with the double meaning of ‘Je vole’, which translates as both ‘I steal’ and ‘I fly’.” – Liam Sparkes.