The phrase 'Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest' originates from the final scene of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, spoken by Horatio. In internet culture, the 'Goodnight Sweet Prince' meme evolved as a versatile expression of mourning, often used sarcastically on image boards like 4chan to mark the 'death' of a user, a website, or a piece of pop culture. It gained significant notoriety following high-profile celebrity deaths and the retirement of classic software. Today, the template is used for everything from genuine tributes to ironic farewells for minor inconveniences, usually paired with a soft-focus or celestial background to emphasize the faux-dramatic sentiment.