A Royal Christmas is part of The 12 New Movies of Christmas in the Countdown to Christmas celebration on Hallmark Channel. Here is hoping the film jumps out from the pack to deliver royal entertainment. Did you catch that joke there? Royal entertainment? Because they are royals? Aw, forget it, bring on the synopsis:
As the only daughter of an expert tailor in Philadelphia, Emily Corrigan (Chabert) is a kindhearted young woman proud of her blue-collar background. She is a devoted seamstress at the family business and madly in love with her doting European boyfriend, Leo (Stephen Hagan). But as their first Christmas together approaches, Leo drops a bombshell on his unsuspecting girlfriend: he is actually Prince Leopold, heir to the throne of Cordinia, a small sovereign country. Emily is in shock, but her love for Leo trumps her hesitation about his double life and they quickly fly to Cordinia to announce their engagement and spend the holidays with Leo’s disapproving mother, Queen Isadora (Seymour).
Less than enthusiastic about her son’s relationship with a commoner, Isadora makes Emily feel anything but welcome at their grand castle, leaving Emily to feel more at home among Isadora’s staff of butlers and housemaids. As Emily struggles to adapt to her new royal surroundings, the situation is made more difficult when a scheming Isadora invites Duchess Natasha (Flynn), Leo’s ex-girlfriend, to join them for Christmas. Emily sees that Natasha is a perfect match for Leo and worries she’ll never measure up to Isadora’s standards. Attempting to stay true to herself in a world where she clearly doesn’t belong, Emily wonders if love is enough to keep her newly royal relationship from falling apart before Christmas morning
A Royal Christmas stars Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) as Emily, Stephen Hagan (Best: His Mother’s Son) as Leo, Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) as Isadora, and Katherine Flynn (The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell) as Natasha.
A Royal Christmas is directed by Alex Zamm – the guy who directed Chairman of the Board, The Pooch and the Pauper, Inspector Gadget 2, Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, Tooth Fairy 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day, and Jingle All the Way 2. I will go on record in saying that despite the awesome Norm MacDonald clip (which I watched as it aired back in the day!), Chairman of the Board isn’t that terrible. A bigger warning sign is four writers, though they appear to be two different husband and wife teams: Janeen and Michael Damian (Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, A Princess for Christmas) and Tippi and Neal H. Dobrofsky (Smart Cookies, Operation Cupcake) Not only is that much more DTV experience, A Princess for Christmas has an almost identical plot, including the Christmas theme! Basically, this crew knows how to deliver a product for the target audience that will leave them satisfied. So if you love this Hallmark Christmas Romance movies, this is probably your can’t miss film of The 12 New Movies of Christmas.
A Royal Christmas premieres November 22 on Hallmark Channel!