Elizabeth Swann's father, Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), is a minor character in Pirates of the Caribbean who dies in the third installment of the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Weatherby Swann’s position as governor gave him some rapport with the king, so Admiral Cutler Beckett allowed Swann to travel with him, which Swann did in hopes that his daughter, Elizabeth, might turn up. However, Swann learned about the heart of Davy Jones and began asking questions. When Ian Mercer, Beckett’s assistant, implies to Beckett that Swann knows the secret to the heart of Davy Jones (that whoever stabs the heart becomes the immortal captain of the Flying Dutchman), Beckett says that Swann’s usefulness has run its course.
An unfinished scene was cut from the film showing how Swann learned the secret of Davy Jones' heart from Jones himself. Onboard the Dutchman, Jones tells Swann that Elizabeth is dead - killed by the Kraken. Distraught, Swann runs into the cabin where Davy Jones' heart is kept. He prepares to stab the heart in revenge, but he's stopped by Norrington. Jones walks in and warns Swann: "If you stab my heart, yours must take its place... The crew are not bound to me, they are bound to the Dutchman - and the Dutchman must have a captain." Beckett and Mercer then enter the cabin and assure Swann that Elizabeth is not dead. Swann walks out, then Jones, then Norrington, leaving Mercer and Beckett. Beckett says that Norrington will keep quiet if ordered. As for the governor, Beckett tells Mercer, "Every man should have a secret he carries with him to his grave."
While the exact method of Weatherby Swann’s death isn’t revealed or who killed him, Mercer often did Beckett’s dirty work and it’s likely that Mercer would have been the one to kill Swann. Swann’s death is confirmed when Elizabeth and Will are returning from Davy Jones’ Locker, having just rescued Jack, who was killed in Dead Man’s Chest by the Kraken. Governor Swann passes by the Black Pearl in a small boat – surrounded by dozens of other individuals in similar boats – slowly floating in the opposite direction that Elizabeth is traveling. At first, Elizabeth believes they have left Davy Jones’ locker and have made it back to their world. When Jack confirms to her that they haven’t, Elizabeth continues calling to her father.
Haltingly, Weatherby Swann recalls the reason for his death. “I learned that if you stab the heart, yours must take its place. And you will sail the seas for eternity. The Dutchman must have a captain. Silly thing to die for.” Elizabeth throws a rope to her father, hoping to pull him onto the Pearl, but Weatherby lets the line fall into the water. He then says his final words to Elizabeth. "I'll give your love to your mother then, shall I?" Elizabeth runs to the back of the ship, prepared to jump, only to be stopped by Will. Will asks Tia Dalma if there’s any way to save Elizabeth’s father. Tia Dalma shakes her head, soberly stating that Weatherby Swann is at peace.
Though Weatherby Swann was a minor character in Pirates of the Caribbean, his character had become significantly more likable over the course of three films. At the beginning of the series, Governor Swann is determined to marry off Elizabeth to Admiral James Norrington and keep her from fraternizing with pirates. By the end of the first film, he’s willing to accept William Turner as Elizabeth’s husband of choice. Throughout the second film and in a few brief scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, his singular goal is in keeping Elizabeth safe. And when he sees Elizabeth in Davy Jones’s Locker, his first concern is that she may be dead, too, showing that Weatherby Swann’s primary concern, in life and in death, is his daughter, Elizabeth.