It’s Christmas! Well, it’s the festive season, and very nearly Christmas. Last post was about the Doctor Who Specials, because it’s Doctor Who and it was occupying all of my brain cells. However, with the Specials having passed, and ending so beautifully, by the way (more on them at a later date), it’s time to feel the Christmas spirit with what is likely to be my last post of 2023 and dive into a Christmas movie, or in this case; three.
I will hold up my hands and say that The Christmas Prince Trilogy is by no means some perfectly fantastic set of Christmas movies, but it is one of my guilty pleasures, so to speak.
I rewatch them almost every year for the fun of it, and their sweet, pretty, and more so just a cute little Christmas movie that’s calming. There’s no real threat there, nothing to leave you biting your fingers. They’re easy Christmas viewing. I don’t do easy very often, but I do enjoy this Trilogy enough to revisit it each year.
First, before I say anything too much, there’s the facts:
An Introduction
A Christmas Prince was an American Christmas Romantic-Comedy which was released in November of 2017. In the following year the sequel A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding was released that November and then A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby was released in December of 2019.
The first was directed by Alex Zamm with the following sequels being directed by John Shultz. All three were written by Nathan Atkins, with Karen Schaler also having writing credits for the first. They were all produced by Amy Krell, and the production company of MPCA and distributed by Netflix.
All of the movies were filmed in Romania.
Each film starred Rose McIver, Ben Lamb, Honor Kneafsey, Alice Krige, Theo Devaney, Sarah Douglas, Tahirah Sharif and Joel McVeagh, with other cast members of individual movies including Andy Lucas, Daniel Fathers and John Guerrasio; who both shared the role of Rudy Moore after as he was recast in the second, and Raj Bajaj.
As always full details on A Christmas Prince can be found on IMDb. A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding here, and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby here.
The entire Trilogy can be streamed on Netflix in the UK.
A Summary (Mostly Spoiler Free)
A Christmas Prince follows journalist Amber Moore (Rose McIver), as she is sent to write a story on the Prince of Aldovia Richard Charlton (Ben Lamb), whom she has some lovey-dovey moments with, while investigating the truth of the Aldovian Royal Family. She meets the Queen, Princess Emily, and an assortment of Aldovian officials, as she stumbles her way through royal life.
The subsequent sequels A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, follow Amber as she adjusts to royal life, moves to Aldovia, and falls in love with the country, as the country falls in love with her, while there’s some private and political arcs about bringing the country and the Royals into the 21st Century.
Christmas Predictability
Hallmark owns the Christmas Movie Real Estate with it’s trademark structure ‘City Girl visits Small Town and meets a Small Town Guy’, but for a period of time Netflix wandered into the Christmas Movie City Block with it’s style of ‘City Girl meets… Royal?’… and I don’t hate it.
Actually in the instance of A Christmas Prince, I quite enjoy it. There’s something to be said about this CW style diversity cast that just kind of works.
Perfect? No. Fun? Very much so.
In fact, as I have said to a few friends this week, few Christmas movies get me to be genuinely invested in the couple at the centre, but A Christmas Prince does. Richard and Amber are, as things go, adorable, and I can genuinely believe that in their time together in the first movie they build a genuine bond… whether it’s one that is immediately deserving of an engagement by the end of it is up for debate, but they clearly have enough good chemistry to function well as a couple, and do so, despite some hardships, for the rest of the Trilogy. In fact the third movie doesn’t feature much conflict between them at all. They are a powerhouse of a couple by that point and the movie doesn’t waste time attempting to sow any seeds of doubt in that. They are expecting after all (yes, this is outrageously quick too). Instead the central conflicts of the third movie are outside of their relationship and they face them together. It’s hardly even the Christmas rom-com the first one was.
I will admit, though, that I may be slightly bias because I do like Rose McIver as an actor. I saw her in iZombie, and her starring in Ghosts US is enough to very nearly get me to watch it in spite of strong warnings from friends who are huge fans of the original British version. I generally can’t stomach American Cringe-Comedy, as I call it, so we’ll see if I ever do. Her presence in this Trilogy, though, is the reason I watched it to begin with, I think, for the first time the year before the third one came out, as I vaguely recall rewatching them all again the following year to then watch the third. That was some time ago now, so I may be wrong.
McIver may be the reason I found the Trilogy, but I don’t think she is the only reason I keep returning. Despite it’s general genre, and occasionally subpar dialogue and contrived plots, it’s actually really fun. It has an endearing cast of characters, and if you haven’t watched it already I do genuinely recommend you do. It is Christmas fluff, but it is fun Christmas fluff. It’s all the same humour, and romance, and needless snow and decorations you expect from such a movie. They open the first with Christmas music, and fill your screen with lights and trees and snowflakes, all the stuff you expect.
The characters don’t necessarily branch out from the characters you anticipate either. Amber Moore is the clumsy, ‘not-like-other-girls’ cub reporter protagonist that we kind of expect. She comes from New York, and manages to spend half of December in a Castle. She is your relatable glass eye to see everything through, and everyone else is an expanding cast of stereotype one through ten (and more so). That aside, they’re all fun. Amber’s friends are ‘Gay Best Friend’ and ‘Person of Colour’, the higher-up’s at her job are pushy and uncaring, Richard is this plaster board of “I’m a Nice Guy”, His Ex and Cousin are hardly branching out as they’re revealed to be conniving and conspiring to take the throne.
Only mildly related, but Simon’s redemption arc isn’t actually half bad, and though I don’t subscribe to the idea that everyone needs to be coupled up by the end, everyone basically is, or hinted to be, and I am not against it. Even Simon.
They might be, in some respects, predictable, but for it’s genre I don’t think that is necessarily bad. Christmas movies, and Christmas rom-com’s rarely aim to be nail-biting, and overly exciting. Most of them are supposed to be calm, comfort viewing. The kind you watch with a cup of hot chocolate beneath a blanket at 8pm before bed. So, to be predictable, though usually a negative, in this instance is… well, predictable. You almost want it to be.
Yet, as predictable as a lot of the characters may be in the characterisations and intentions, the plots themselves are not. Don’t get me wrong, we whole heartedly expect Richard and Amber to get together, that is predictable. The three friends discussing Richard and her dating life in the same conversation tells you all you need to know about that. She can swear he’s not her type, but we all know from that conversation alone that some nonchalant flirting and eventual kissing is due from then on.
The Christmas Prince Trilogy, though, often strangely features a conspiracy plot alongside its heartwarming romance, which you hardly ever expect to see in a Christmas movie, though admittedly a lot of Hallmark’s feature the “Oh no, my Inn is about to be bought by a shady corporation, please help” sort of plot line, or something similar (from what I’ve seen anyways, I don’t watch a lot of them), but in the grand scheme of Royal conspiracies, and threats to a whole nation? Those are usually lacking. None of them are particularly threatening. The scariest idea is that of a curse in the third one, and that is ludicrous, even several characters say so. So, you’re never scared for anyone, but they’re not terribly written. In fact, some of the twists are quite well executed, and the plots themselves make good use of Amber’s journalistic tendencies, with all three movies showing us she never gives up anything of who she is to be with Richard (a point they make strongly in the second), and continuing to make good use of the traits they gave her in the first, that being particularly her knack for investigative journalism.
As a downside to these, it does usually mean they invent some new Aldovian law each year, but it’s fine. Look past that and it’s just an intriguing little mystery next to your holiday romance, with, despite half of them being related, a strangely growing found family. I’m half impressed the palace chef from the second isn’t in the third just to show she’s befriended Rudy and hint to a partnership, but maybe she was just unavailable. Rudy is only in the third to crack a few jokes, and be present for the birth of his grandchild anyway, other than that he’s almost useless.
Christmas is really just a convenient setting for these movies, for the majority of them they could just as easily take place at Easter or New Years or just mid-September for whatever reason. Aside from some Christmas specific activities, the main over-arching plots have little to nothing to do with the festive season. Regardless, it certainly makes for a pretty backdrop to the kissing, the flirting and cute moments, and gives the characters something to do while they’re busy bonding. You could easily replace sledding with pumpkin carving and it would have the same effect, but snow is pretty, and Christmas is sweet, so it’s Christmas. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and I’m sure that helps with the reception of movies like this.
That does end up working out that Richard’s dad died on the same day Richard is crowned King the following year, which is the same day he gets married the year after, which is the same day his first child is born a year later, which is also Christmas… but don’t worry about it, I’m sure all those overlapping dates and anniversaries don’t confuse anyone in the future.
Predictable Maybe, But I Love It
I do mean that when I say it. I love it. I’m quite okay with predictability. You get used to it when you watch nearly 15 Seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, and Criminal Minds. Watching that many of the same show gets you used to knowing the outcome, so you can deal with predictability. Besides, like I said, it’s Christmas fluff, and there’s few of those I genuinely enjoy enough to revisit yearly. This one, in my opinion, is quite worth it.
So, is this a glowing endorsement? Maybe. I hope I haven’t warned you away from it at the very least. I implore you to entertain it, for just the hour and a half the first one will take up at least. It’s Christmas after all, if you’re not watching a barely diverse cast of stereotypes in a snowy rom-com, what are you doing?
For just a little bit of gushy love for this Trilogy, my favourite character, next to McIver’s Amber, may actually be Princess Emily, a girl of many talents by the end of the Trilogy, including a rather snarky tongue reserved only for Simon. She also has spina bifida, and aside from one or two self-wallowing comments in the first movie, which are quickly dispelled by Amber, Emily is never defined by it. She is Emily, who just also happens to use mobility aids. She can fire an arrow better than Amber, is noted on several occasions to be quite intelligent, is apparently a fairly decent hacker, and has a starring role in her school play in the second. Why she is seemingly homeschooled in the first, but clearly in a, what can be presumed to be, quite prestigious public school in the second is not really addressed, but her homeschooling was clearly a plot device in the first, and the play a plot device in the second so just look past it. I love Emily as a character. She’s fun, she’s great, and Amber and Emily develop a nice friendship when Amber poses as her tutor in the first that persists all the way through the Trilogy. I imagine Amber makes a brilliant sister-in-law. Emily is often quite helpful with the mysteries of each movie Amber dives into, and is Amber’s helping hand into the way of the Royals before she’s coupled up with Richard.
I do like Amber quite a lot also, despite her predictable clumsiness that is almost too much to stomach in the start of the third, she is brilliant. She is passionate and driven, and cares both about her work and people immensely. She has good chemistry with Richard and Emily, in the different respects of the word. She doesn’t give up anything for the central romance, but clearly develops nicely and adapts to royal life, as the Royals adapt to her modern ideas, many of which Richard shares, by the way. The way they compromise is actually quite nice, and lovely to see. She wears Converse a lot, which as it is a bonus point for The 10th Doctor it is also a bonus for her. Always Converse Bonus Points. She’s also Rose McIver, and I’m not saying I’m bias, but I am totally bias.
A lot of the rest of the cast isn’t necessarily memorable.
I don’t have any particular opinions on Richard, he’s nice enough, and I believe his feelings for Amber, and I quite like their relationship, but as a character on his own standing he’s just sort of Nice Guy Richard. They want us to believe he was once a ‘playboy’ but I genuinely don’t. Please look at that man, and everything he does on screen and tell me you believe he even once was. Of course, I don’t think Richard ever claims to be one himself, the media just says he was, and Emily outright tells us those are lies, it’s clearly very intentional, but they don’t try very hard to make you believe it before debunking it.
I like Queen Helena enough, she’s lovely. She apologises at the end of the second movie as if she is at fault for most of the policy BS getting in their way, and making them miserable, but really Ms Avril was the face of that plot line, with the Queen’s involvement mostly being Avril saying she approved something, but sure, Helena apologises, and she is really quite sweet most of the time.
Ms Avril is a side character, then promoted to Red Herring Antagonist Number 1, then a side character again throughout the Trilogy. Mr Zabala is a blast, and I love him. I have no comments, you can’t change my mind. He’s the best. Rudy is Rudy, his recasting in the second movie is addressed in a few meta jokes, and it goes down fine. He seems like a good dad.
As said before, Simon’s redemption arc isn’t half bad. I don’t think he needed to keep coming back, but I’m not mad they did bring him back. He’s at least useful in the investigation in the second, and his romance with Melissa (Amber’s second friend) isn’t unbelievable. There is barely anything to say about Melissa, aside from being a pretty decent friend, she’s just kind of there until she meets Simon in the second and they subtly start flirting. She, as Andy (Amber’s first friend) is, is at least useful on the investigating front, as they both work with Amber in the first and are as such presumably both also journalists.
Andy’s hinted at situationship with Sahil also isn’t unbelievable. Sahil, by the way, is another character who did not need to come back in the third but did anyways. He was A Character, though, so bringing him back for some light comic relief, and showing where Andy’s ended up since we last saw him is not bad. Sahil is very clearly queer-coded, and Andy is seen to be going on a New Years date with a guy in the first one, so he is canon gay they just never say it. Though it is not confirmed to us, I will not be taking opinions on this matter, Sahil and Andy are definitely in some kind of relationship beyond business partners.
With that said, I think I’ve covered everyone who is even half important. You get the general picture. The characters, kind of make this movie. Some of them are cardboard cut-outs but they are cardboard cut-outs I care about. Alongside needless mystery arcs, and reoccurring conspiracies (with the last one being mostly ridiculous with curses, centuries old family duties and oaths) these characters are a reason to come to this trilogy when the Festive Season hits again for some good old Christmas fun, predictable romance, and the fluff I don’t usually watch.
To Conclude
Go watch it. It’s fun enough to be worth the few hours, and I might put it on again. It certainly sets the mood for the season. Give it a chance, it won’t be wasted.
Thank you for reading! This post had a little bit more endorsement than FF posts usually do, and a little less analysis than ‘Comments on Completion’ usually do, but it’s a puff piece for the Christmas Fluff it endorses. I hope you enjoyed it regardless, and it perfectly fits the festive season it’s posted in. Another Fortnightly Fixations post is not due till January, so if no Random Rambles are written, this shall be the last one of the year.
So, thank you again, and I shall see you in January.
See you in the next!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to MPCA, Netflix and all other relevant parties