Let’s talk about: Hallmark’s Royal Romance Movies

Once upon a time… most stories about the Prince who falls in love with a town girl start this way. They fall in love against all odds. And the ending is another memorable line: …they lived happily ever after. Almost every girl, at some point, has that dream. Like in Cinderella story, she would meet “Prince Charming”, and he’d marry her and they’d live happily ever after.

In real life, it’s not that simple. The chances of meeting and marrying a true Prince or heir to any monarchy are slim. According to the article “What Are Your Chances of Meeting a Prince”, written by Dan Newman for LA Times, the chances are 1 in 285,000. Yes, someone did the calculation. Check the article here https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-newman-odds-of-becoming-a-princess-20180520-story.html

It does happen. Once in a while, a lady with no rank in monarchy will meet and marry a member of a royal family. Look at Letizia Ortiz, who married Prince Felipe, now King and Queen of Spain. Of course, she was a TV news reporter, so she had a good chance of meeting Felipe or someone who knew him. Well, I was dreaming of meeting him, but he lived in Spain, I lived in Puerto Rico. We both speak Spanish, that’s all I could think we have in common. Then he met Letizia, they married, and now she is Queen of Spain.

Then, look at Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in England. Of course, she had a good chance of marrying Prince William, since they went to school together. And look at American star Meghan Markle, who recently married Prince Harry, brother of Prince William, now Duke and Duchess of Sussex in England. Harry is number six in line of succession to the British throne. Of course, she is a public figure, she has a friend who is also a friend of Harry and thought they should meet. They met, they dated, and they got married.

I didn’t watch those kind of movies when I was growing up, or read those kind of stories. But at some point in my young life I thought I’d meet a guy who would “save” me. By the time I graduated high school, I was more ready to leave the house and be on my own, than to marry a guy.

Now, as an adult, I get to enjoy many romance stories, thanks to cable television and Hallmark Channel. Hallmark Channel was launched in 2001 by Crown Media Holdings, Inc. Same corporation that already owns the most popular greeting cards company in the United States. I like to remind everyone, that even though I love the movies, I’m just a fan. I have no rights or access to any production or merchandise. None. But if you are interested, you may visit the website www.hallmarkchannel.com. I check the Hallmark Channel page every day! (I am a #HallmarkNerd!).

Their formula is to present light romance movies, some mixed with comedy (called rom-coms), where the main couple always end up together and “live happily ever after”. These movies are light, and clean, in the sense that there are no intimacy scenes, no foul language, or no nudity.

I’ve selected the magic world of royal romances for this post. The prince that falls in love with the lady, the lady that didn’t know he was a prince. Or the lady who knew the guy was a prince or king, but couldn’t help but fall in love, and of course, the guy falls in love with the her. There’s almost always a villain, another lady interested in the Prince, or another guy interested in the lady, a Queen Mom or King Dad, and one of my favorite parts, a royal ball or dance.

Up until now, 2019, there are 14 Hallmark movies with royalty romance theme. I made the list in chronological order (by premiere date), because it’s too difficult for me to list by favorite. I like them all. Well, there are a few that are not so favorites, but I still watch them. For more information on the movies, visit www.hallmarkchannel.com website.

• 1- Smooch (2011) starring Kiernan Shipka as Zoe, Kellie Martin as her mother Gwen, and Simon Kassianides as Prince Percy, an English royal. They met in San Francisco, California, USA. This movie was filmed in San Francisco, California, and Detroit, Michigan, USA. I haven’t watched this one, but found it listed in Hallmark movies. In the U.S., it’s shown as part of the new streaming service Hallmark Movies Now.

• 2- A Princess for Christmas (2011) starring Katie McGrath as Jules Daly, Sam Heughan as Prince Ashton, and special guest Roger Moore as Duke Edward of Castlebury Hall, Ashton’s father. Charlotte Salt plays Lady Arabella Marchand du Belmon. Jules is from Buffalo, New York. Jules and Prince Ashton met in Castlebury Hall. This movie was filmed in various castles around Bucharest, Romania. (In the U.S., this movie is part of the programming shown at Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, another Crown Media station).

• 3- A Royal Christmas (2014) starring Lacey Chabert as Emily, and Stephen Hagan as Prince Leopold, Leo, of Cordinia. Special guest Jane Seymour is Queen Mother Isadora. Emily and Leo met in college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Emily’s hometown). They both traveled to Cordinia. This movie was also filmed at various castles in Bucharest, Romania.

• 4- Once Upon a Holiday (2015) starring Briana Evigan as Princess Katie of Mountsaurai, and Paul Campbell as Jack. Princess Katie and Jack met in New York City, New York, USA. This is the first movie where the girl is the Princess and they’re not in her country (until the end of the movie).

• 5- Crown for Christmas (2015) starring Danica McKellar as Allie, and Rupert Penry-Jones as King Maximillian, Max, of Winshire. Also stars Ellie Botterill as the King’s daughter, mischievous Princess Theodora, and Alexandra Evans as Countess Lady Celia. Allie and King Max met in New York, but they traveled to Winshire. This movie was also filmed at various castles in Bucharest, Romania, and parts in Slovenia.

• 6- My Summer Prince (2016) starring Taylor Cole as Mandy, and Jack Turner as Prince Colin of Edgemere. Guest star is Lauren Holly who plays Deidre Kelly, Mandy’s boss. Vanessa Angel plays Queen Mom Rosalind of Edgemere. Mandy and Prince Colin met, and story takes place, in Greenbriar, Idaho, USA. They do travel to Edgemere in Europe for the Queen’s Jubilee Dance. The movie was filmed in Utah, USA.

• 7- A Royal Winter (2017) starring Merritt Patterson, as Maggie, and Jack Donnelly as Prince/King Adrian of Calpurnia. Samantha Bond plays Queen Mother Beatrice. Maggie and Prince Adrian met in Calpurnia. Maggie is from Manhattan, New York, USA. She traveled to Calpurnia, where she met Prince Adrian. This movie was filmed in various locations in Romania, including Bucharest.

• 8- Royal New Year’s Eve (2017) starring Jessy Schram as Caitlyn, Sam Page as Prince Jeffrey, Hayley Sales as Lady Isabelle Collins, and special guest Cheryl Ladd as Abigail Miller, Caitlyn’s boss. Gerard Plunkett plays King Richard, Jeffrey’s father. Caitlyn and Prince Jeffrey met in New York City, New York, USA. This is the only movie that doesn’t specify where the Prince is from, only that he’s from a small country in Europe. (I did verify with the writer Rick Garman).

• 9- Royal Matchmaker (2018) starring Bethany Joy Lenz as Kate, and Will Kemp as Prince Sebastian of Voldavia. Simon Dutton plays King Father Edward. Kate is from New York City, NY, USA. She travels to Voldavia, where she meets Prince Sebastian. This movie was filmed mainly at Peles Castle, and around other locations in Bucharest, Romania.

• 10- Royal Hearts (2018) Cindy Busby plays (Princess) Kelly, and Andrew Cooper is Alex. Guest star James Brolin plays Hank, Kelly’s father, who inherited the title of King of Merania. Lachlan Nieboer plays handsome villain King Nikolas of Angosia, a neighbor country. Kelly and Hank are from Montana, USA. They both traveled to Merania, where Kelly and Alex meet. This movie was filmed in Bucharest and Transylvania, Romania.

• 11- Once Upon a Prince (2018) starring Megan Park as Susanna, and Jonathan Keltz as Prince/King Nathaniel, Nate, of Cambria. Sarah Botsford plays Queen Mother (apparently with no name, I couldn’t find it). Susanna and Prince Nate met in St. Simons, Georgia, USA, then traveled to Cambria. This movie was filmed in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

• 12- Royally Ever After (2018) starring Fionna Gubelmann as Sara, and Torrance Coombs plays Prince Daniel of St. Ives. Carmen Du Sautoi plays Queen Mother Patricia, Barry McGovern is King Father Edmond, and Rebekah Wainwright plays Princess Fiona, Daniel’s sister. Sara and Prince Daniel met in New Jersey, USA, then they traveled to St Ives. This movie was filmed mostly in Ireland.

• 13- Christmas at the Palace (2018) starring Merritt Patterson as Katie, Andrew Cooper as King Alexander of San Senova, and India Fowler as his daugher, Princess Christina. This is the second Hallmark royal movie for both star actors. Katie is from New Jersey, USA. She traveled to San Senova, where they met. This movie was filmed in Bucharest, Romania.

• 14- A Winter Princess (2019) starring Natalie Hall as Princess Carlotta, Carly, of Landora, and Chris McNally as Jesse. Mackenzie Gray is King Father Kristof, and Casey Masterson is Prince Gustav, Carly’s twin brother. Carly and Jesse met at a ski resort in Aspen, Colorado, USA. This is the second movie with a princess as main character, and they’re outside her country. The movie was filmed at the Big White Ski Resort and other parts of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

I hope Hallmark Channel Network will continue making this type of romance movies. I do enjoy and appreciate knowing that the couple will be together at the end, no matter the misunderstandings, no matter the villains along the way, no matter the circumstances. Love conquers all, well, at least in the movies.

I know, we all know, that real life is not a happily ever after, at least not all the time. But I know that having a positive attitude, working on communicating, and resolving disagreements helps you have a happier cohabitation. But, as a woman, my advice to all of you reading is: work on it. Have you heard of the saying “happy wife, happy life”? Yes, you have to work on it. Time for my tacita de café. Salud!

Para versión en español, vea https://fullofcoffee.blog/2019/09/07/hablemos-sobre:-las-peliculas-de-romance-y-realeza-de-hallmark