A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Aldovia is also preparing to renew its centuries-old peace treat with the Kingdom of Penglia (which has sadly not received a trilogy of films).

The treaty is a special ceremony, almost entirely pro forma. Still, everything goes awry when the document disappears in the lead-up to the signing ceremony. Both kingdoms, having grown somewhat disillusioned with one another over old grievances and the belief that the loss of the treaty portends a dire legend tied to a curse – which, of course, will fall upon the firstborn child of the monarch if it isn’t signed in time, is now laid at the feet of Amber. Having been put on the backburner as her due date nears, her investigative nature is intent on finding the treaty. Whether she is focused on the curse or the diplomatic efforts is up to you. After all, what reasonable person would believe in “curses?”

Alice Krige, Honor Kneafsey, and Theo Devaney return as Queen Helena Charlton, Princess Emily Charlton, and Count Simon Duxbury – Richard’s mother, sister, and cousin, respectively, filling out the royal family. For Amber, her two best friends Melissa (Tahirah Sharif) and Andy (Joel McVeagh) return to fill out her group, both finding themselves in romantic entanglements. While Melissa and Simon had begun to grow closer throughout The Royal Wedding, their relationship is at the center of their subplot, with Melissa and Amber worrying that he may have returned to his old ways and stolen the treaty. Andy, on the other hand, is in a back-and-forth with Sahil Mattu (Raj Bajaj), a world-famous designer, who had also been introduced in the previous entry – as one half of the royal court who was making Amber feel as if she weren’t capable of meshing with the traditional aspects of Aldovia’s court. They got better.

For new characters, The Royal Baby centers on Queen Ming (Momo Yeung) and King Tai (Kevin Shen), and with them comes Lynn (Crystal Yu), an attaché with the Penglians, whom Simon went to Oxford with. With how easily Lynn and Simon get along, jealousy strikes Melissa swiftly, though other issues take precedence. When Melissa finds them investigating their two kingdoms’ financials, her suspicions peak, leading to further misunderstandings between everybody. As the bread and butter of this kind of movie, it’s to be expected. It’s a little annoying

Ming and Tai are initially portrayed as stern and mistrustful. Still, as the film continues, their true selves can shine beyond their royal personas. Where Aldovia has begun to evolve its traditions and culture since Richard and Amber started their reign, Penglia is steeped in tradition, and its entourage seems disinterested in dispensing it. When Ming and Amber spend more time together, they can look past what differentiates them towards what they have in common – a love of country and a hope for the future. Tai and Richard have a stronger working relationship, as they both actively rule their countries. Richard’s dedication to solving the crisis is enough to impress Tai, so he doesn’t leave after the treaty is stolen. Instead, he is willing to give the time he feels is owed due to the centuries-long relationship between Aldovia and Penglia. By the time he might have decided to leave, a blizzard had stranded everybody where they were.

This blizzard comes right around the time Amber goes into labor, ahead of her due date – meaning that her medical team isn’t on hand to help. This crisis cements the burgeoning friendship between Ming and Amber, as the former is forced to step in during Amber’s delivery. At the same time, Richard braves the winter storm to retrieve somebody who can help. This is the kind of trope one can expect in films that do not intend to be taken too seriously. That’s the kind of formula that can inject levity into a movie, however.

As the final entry in the film A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, it does not seek to bring anything new to the genre. In the fourth entry of The Prince and Me, something similar occurred where Edvard and Paige met with foreign royals, showing that if a film series like this goes on long enough, they’ll finally be shown interacting with foreign royalty. This is not a knock against A Christmas Prince. There are only so many concepts one can develop that fit the mold. Never mind that Richard stopped being a Prince before the credits rolled on the first film.

She has continued to build off her initiatives, seeking to be a modern queen in a contemporary era while also falling back on her investigative nature to solve the crises that continue to hit Aldovia. Despite being the King and ostensibly the title character, Richard plays second fiddle to Amber. His role as a supportive husband, expectant father, and dutiful King blend well in this entry. His primary arc in this entry is to placate the Penglians and ease tensions between their countries. Together, their relationship is clearly the strongest it has ever been.

Comparing the characters’ initial introductions in A Christmas Prince to The Royal Baby, it becomes evident how much each has grown in the best way possible. I could have spent every Christmas watching a new entry if they had been willing to make them, but they stopped at three. With this one, A Christmas Prince ended, though Amber and Richard did pop up in The Princess Switch: Switched Again, which came out the year after. So, technically, their story still lives on.