A Christmas Prince is a 2017 American Christmas romantic comedy film that debuted on Netflix in November 2017 and stars Rose McIver and Ben Lamb.
Amber Moore (McIver) is a journalist tasked with uncovering why Prince Richard of Aldovia has gone MIA, despite being slated to take the throne before Christmas Day. She gets an in when the palace staff mistakes her for Princess Emily's new American tutor. However, in the process of uncovering the truth, Amber grows closer to Richard and becomes increasingly reluctant to expose the royal family's secrets.
A sequel was released in December 2018, titled A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding. A third film, A Christmas Prince 3: The Royal Baby, debuted on Netflix in December 2019.
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Tropes related to A Christmas Prince
- Abdicate the Throne: Prince Richard is seriously considering passing up the throne.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Simon to Sophia, who only has eyes for Richard. Until it turns out that Richard is adopted, that is.
- Almost Kiss: Amber and Prince Richard are interrupted by a horse.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Simon and Sophia are specifically a Count and a Baroness, and scheme to usurp the throne.
- Artistic License – Law: The ending relies on a previously royal decree hidden in a Christmas decoration. Thing is, Aldovia is shown to be a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament shown in the movie. Royal decrees cannot suddenly be written and passed without the knowledge and consent of the parliament.
- Attention Whore: As said by Prince Richard, Lady Sophia loves the spotlight.
- Big Applesauce: Amber appears to live in New York City - but it's unclear since after several opening establishing shots of New York, there's a shot of the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Chicago River.
- Big Brother Worship: Emily towards Richard.
- Bland-Name Product: Amber works for a tabloid-style magazine called Beat Now that features "Pop Singer" on the cover.
- Color Motifs: Very subtly played; Amber is introduced wearing lots of vibrant colors, most primarily red, which contrasts with the mostly monochrome wardrobe of the royal family. As the film progresses and the characters get to know her, their outfits also gradually incorporate bright red into them. Even Amber herself in terms of her formal outfits go through this, starting off as uncomfortable and purely black, then gradually getting more colorful and warm by the end of the film.
- Compensating for Something: Nobles who insist upon the use of their titles and people who drive Ferraris, according to Richard.
- Cool Old Lady: Queen Helena, far from being angry that Emily and her tutor secretly snuck out of the castle to go sledding, is overjoyed that her daughter is actually smiling again. She merely tells them to ask for permission in the future... and to be invited along on the next outing. In her own words:Queen Helena: I happen to know my way around a toboggan.
- Damsel in Distress: Amber follows Prince Richard on horseback into the woods and then is attacked by wolves. Richard shows up to save her.
- Disabled Snarker: Princess Emily has spina bifida, and makes up for not being able to walk by dropping sarcastic comments at everyone around her.
- The Evil Prince: Simon is specifically a count, not a prince, and Richard's cousin, not his brother, but he still wants to inherit the throne.
- Fiction Business Savvy: Amber's boss. She pays for a low-rung staff member, Amber, to fly across the world to attend a press conference and then doesn't even bother to print Amber's article.
- Fictional Country: Aldovia, not to be confused with Genovia. A brief shot of a map in the third movie indicates that, in this universe, Aldovia is located roughly where Yugoslavia used to be.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Prince Richard has only known Amber for two weeks and only learned her real name and identity less than a week ago, but that's not going to stop him from flying across the world to propose.
- Friend to All Children: Prince Richard doesn't show to give a speech at an orphanage because he gets distracted by a snowball fight with the orphans.
- Gay Best Friend: Amber has a Token Black Friend and a gay best friend, both of whom solely exist to cheer her on via webcam.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Dear god, Lady Sophia. She immediately has it out for Princess Emily's new tutor for seemingly no reason at all, besides perhaps being an attractive woman with whom the Prince gets along well.
- Gold Digger: Lady Sophia, a rich blue-blood, seems like an odd example of this until you remember that she is a Baroness, the lowest European aristocratic rank. No wonder she has her eye on the Aldovian throne.
- Hands-On Approach: Richard gets a little up close and personal with Amber when demonstrating how to shoot an arrow.
- Heir Club for Men: The Aldovian royal family. If Richard does not become king, the next heir is Simon, the king's nephew, and not Richard's little sister Emily. Lampshaded.
- Innocent Innuendo: Apparently when Emily said better his head be cut off than "something else" she meant "his ear".
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Princess Emily, who has spina bifida, but is smart as a whip and nice, once Amber gets past her exterior.
- Intrepid Reporter: Amber is supposed to be a plucky journalist tasked with exposing the royal family. (Her notes for her story are ... something
◊.) - Lonely Rich Kid: Princess Emily scares off all her tutors and doesn't appear to have any friends.
- Marriage of Convenience: Baroness Sophia marries Count Simon and is not happy when he won't be king after all. In fact, she immediately demands a divorce.
- Micro Monarchy: Averted. While Aldovia is depicted as a typical Micro Monarchy, a map shows that it takes up the entire Balkan Peninsula and Romania, making it comparable in size to Spain.
- Millionaire Playboy: Prince Richard is publicly perceived to be a jet-setting playboy.
- Memento MacGuffin: The wooden acorn Christmas ornament made by the deceased king.
- Oblivious Adoption: Richard turns out to have been adopted by the royal family, since it was believed Queen Helena couldn't have children.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Princess Emily figures out almost instantly that Amber is not actually her new tutor. Literally no one else in the royal family or palace staff does.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Double-subverted! Prince Richard is revealed to have been adopted by the king and queen and therefore not really a royal and not able to be king. However, a Royal Decree written by the deceased king is found inside a wooden acorn, and it declares that Prince Richard is the rightful king regardless of the adoption.
- Rebel Prince: Prince Richard is more interested in casually traveling the world than ruling a country.
- Rich Bitch: Lady Sophia.
- Rightful King Returns: Prince Richard, despite being adopted, is declared the rightful heir by posthumous royal decree, and interrupts Simon's coronation just in time.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Amber, after Emily arranges a makeover for her before the ball. Lampshaded by Simon, who uses this exact phrase to describe her.
- Swiss-Cheese Security: Amber sneaks into the castle after the press conference by wandering off and then opening an unlocked door. After a while, she is stopped by a security guard, who assumes she must be Princess Emily's new American tutor and never bothers to ask for any sort of identification (we never even find out what happened to the actual tutor).
- The Usurper: The film wants us to think Simon is attempting this. He's not, Richard is adopted and Emily is not in line for the throne, making Simon the legitimate heir for most of the movie.
- Those Two Guys: Amber's two best friends (a black woman and a gay man), who commentate on her decisions while she's in Europe.
- Token Black Friend: Amber has both a black best friend and a Gay Best Friend, both of whom have little personality and solely exist to cheer her on via webcam. Amber herself and the rest of the characters are white.
- True Blue Femininity: Amber's Christmas ball gown is a Cinderella blue.
- Urban Legend Love Life: Prince Richard's so-called scandalous dalliances with various unnamed women are pure fiction.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The plot is a simmering stew of several borrowed royal-based romcom plots, but resembles The Prince & Me and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement the most. Two scenes come from Princess Diaries 2 - a royal is distracted from their duties by adorable orphans and the male romantic lead teaches the female romantic lead how to use a bow and arrow. Amber's "I just want to be a real writer" angst is borrowed from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and wolf attack scene is straight from Beauty and the Beast.
Tropes related to A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding
- Appeal to Tradition: Mrs. Averill and Amber chafe when the former insists that the latter follow all of the strict Aldovian protocol, even if it means stifling Amber's decisions for her own wedding.
- Artifact Title: Richard was the titular "Christmas Prince" of the previous movie and ostensibly this movie, except he begins it already having become king.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Lord Leopold is apparently an affable, helpful friend to the crown... Until it's revealed that he's the reason the initiative has been failing.
- Break the Haughty: It's revealed that Simon lost everything in his divorce with Sophia and shows up dressed in modest clothes and with a clunker car.
- Call-Back:
- The film starts with Sahil stealing a cab from Rudy, mirroring how Richard stole a cab from Amber at the start of the first film.
- Before going out to choose a Christmas tree, Amber inquires about the possibility of wolves in the forest.
- Amber wears Converse to her wedding, as she wore them to the ball in the original.
- Color Motifs: Amber's signature red carries on from the previous film, present on her mainly during times of strength and with loved ones. Conversely, during times of personal conflict, her outfits fade into paler pinks and blues. It's also worth noting that as she finally ties the knot with the royal family and becomes queen, her crown is a bright red.
- Camp Gay: Sahil and Andy.
- Heel–Face Turn: Simon is still shady and underhanded, but ends up on the side of the heroes in the end.
- Hollywood Hacking: Emily is able to break into a secure database in just a couple of hours using little to no software as an aid.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sahil and Mrs. Averill demand Amber remove her locket before taking a royal portrait, not knowing that a picture of her late mother is in it.
- Not Me This Time: Despite his shady past and desire to get his hands on the royal funds, Simon really isn't responsible.
-
The Other Darrin: The actor of Rudy. Rudy says he feels like a brand new person, a joke showing that the original actor of the character has been replaced. - Pair the Spares: It's implied that Melissa and Andy end up with Simon and Sahil respectively.
- Pimped-Out Dress: The dress Sahil designs for Amber, though she prefers something similar.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Simon returns for forgiveness from the royal family and stays that way, but considering his conspiracy against them in the last film, they're understandably pretty hesitant to trust him, even as he helps them investigate the kingdom's current problems.
- The Reveal: Shell corporations owned by Lord Leopold have been buying up contracts and taking the money out of the country, resulting in the New Aldovia initiative failing.
- School Play: Emily is the lead in one, and it causes her a great deal of angst when a worker strike cancels it.
- Stealth Insult: Sahil is a master of these.
Tropes related to A Christmas Prince 3: The Royal Baby
- Closed Circle: A huge blizzard closes all the airports in Aldovia after it's discovered that the treaty was stolen.
- Maternity Crisis: A mild one, since the OB/GYN is stuck in a blizzard when Amber's contractions start. Luckily, Queen Ming is able to help with the initial stages, and Richard manages to ride out and rescue the nurse in time for the actual birth.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Simon's apparent sneaking around with Penglian attaché Lynn leads Melissa to believe that he is cheating on her.
- Not Me This Time: Once again it's not Simon. Although he's not helping his case any by sneaking around, he's actually just trying to make a surprise proposal and work out a mutually beneficial addition to the treaty.
- Running Gag: Everyone trying to find out what sex and/or name the baby will have in extremely unsubtle ways.
- Significant Birth Date: The titular royal baby comes on Christmas, of course.
