A 2014 American Made-for-TV Movie Holiday Romance film directed by Alex Zamm that has a young woman (Lacey Chabert) traveling with her boyfriend (Stephen Hagan) to meet his mother, having just learned that he is the heir to the throne of Cordinia.
The movie also stars Jane Seymour (Actress), Katherine Flynn, Simon Dutton, Mitchell Mullen, Katrina Nare, and Diana Dumitrescu.
It aired on November 21, 2014 on the Hallmark Channel.
Tropes for the film:
- Anachronistic Orphanage: Halfway through the movie, Emily visits one of these when venturing out into the city by herself.
- Arranged Marriage: Queen Isadora tells Leo she was essentially in one of these with his father, though it appears she was at least genuinely fond of him if not madly in love.
- Babies Ever After: At the conclusion of the movie, Poppy, one of the orphans Emily met earlier, is at the wedding with the Baron and Baroness of Newbury, having apparently been adopted by them.
- British Royal Guards: Leo and Emily do everything they can to get a reaction out of the royal guards, who of course, stand impassively no matter what. They do break into huge grins at the end, when the couple marry.
- Captain Ersatz: Cordinia is based on Monaco, but its name is an amalgam of Corsica and Sardinia.
- Chekhov's Skill: Emily being a seamstress comes in handy when Queen Isadora gives her one of her old ballgowns for that night's Christmas ball, presumably intending to humiliate her by making her look dowdy, only for Emily to turn it into something gorgeous.
- Dances and Balls: Things culminate at the annual Christmas ball.
- Establishing Character Moment: When we first meet Queen Isadora, she's primly sitting at her dining table, criticizing the place settings and the new servants, making it clear that she's not a nice person.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: After spending the entire movie with her hair in elaborate updos, Queen Isadora literally lets her hair down when accompanying Leo to Philadelphia to propose to Emily, symbolizing her relaxing her rigid ways and acceptance of her son's relationship with a commoner.
- First Love: Natasha was apparently this to Leo, enough for Queen Isadora to think she has a chance of reuniting the two.
- Foreign Queasine: Queen Isadora's first step in Passive-Aggressive Kombat against Emily is serving her a dinner full of this.
- Graceful Loser: After several attempts at rekindling their previous romance, Natasha readily accepts that Leo has long since moved on, even admitting that she likes Emily and can see how much he loves her.
- Grand Staircase Entrance: Emily gets one of these into the annual Christmas ball, looking gorgeous in one of Queen Isadora's old ballgowns, which she's modernized with her tailoring skills.
- Heel–Face Turn: After finally realizing how much her son loves Emily, Queen Isadora not only gives them her blessing, but accompanies him to Philadelphia and practically orders her to accept his proposal, apologizing for her previous ill treatment of her.
- Heel Realization: Queen Isadora gets hit with this after the despondent Emily leaves, after Leo snaps, "Well done, Mother. She's gone.", even seeming to wonder My God, What Have I Done?, when it finally dawns on her how much Leo loves Emily and how cruel and unwelcoming she's been.
- Interclass Romance: Heir to the throne of Cordinia Crown Prince Leopold and Philadelphia seamstress/tailor Emily. After finally relenting and giving the couple her blessing, Queen Isadora admits she was in a similar situation when she was Leo's age with the butler Victor.
- Lessons in Sophistication: Emily asks the servants to teach her royal ways so that she doesn't embarrass herself and Leo at the upcoming Christmas ball.
- Love Triangle: Technically averted. Leo has fond memories of his past relationship with Natasha, but he never gives her a second look or thought. And for her part, despite several attempts at rekindling their relationship, she never does anything conniving to get him back and ultimately finally accepts that what they had ended a long time ago.
- Nice to the Waiter: Queen Isadora isn't—her introductory scene has her sniping at and criticizing the two new servants and irritably asking what happened to the previous pair, to which her butler (the only one who isn't phased by her) bluntly replies, "The same that happened to the others. You." Emily on the other hand, immediately hits it off with the servants, preferring to spend time with them. Unfortunately, this backfires when Queen Isadora catches them hanging out during the Christmas ball and fires them for neglecting their duties.
- Oedipus Complex: Queen Isadora refers to this when Natasha arrives, happily declaring "You remind me of myself at that age!" (the inside joke being that the actresses are actually mother and daughter in Real Life), then suddenly realizes "Maybe that's the problem. What boy wants to marry his mother?"
- Pet the Dog: Despite her persistently icy attitude towards Emily, Queen Isadora is genuinely fond of Duchess Natasha, who was Leo's First Love, sincerely believing that she's better for him and doing everything possible to push them together.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Emily turns one of Queen Isadora's old ballgowns into one of these.
- Rich Bitch: Queen Isadora, for a good chunk of the movie, constantly looking down on Emily and finding subtle and not-so-subtle ways to insult her, outright humiliating her when she finds her hanging out with the servants during the Christmas ball.
- Snow Means Love: It snows in Cordina for the first time in a century after Crown Prince Leo marries Emily.
