REVIEW: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby Joins the Netflix Holiday Line-Up
Two years ago, Netflix viewers were introduced to a reporter named, Amber (Rose McIver), who was tasked with the story of a lifetime and her life was forever changed. Fans fell in love and the A Christmas Prince franchise was born. The third iteration, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby arrives on the streaming service today, December 5, and while it lacks the charm of the first film, the third is a much better addition to the series.
The Royal Baby finds the town of Aldovia buzzing with Christmas spirit and patiently awaiting the upcoming birth of Amber and King Richard’s (Ben Lamb) baby. The royal couple wants everything to be perfect when their new son or daughter arrives and are wrapping up royal duties when they have one last treaty to sign. The pair is hosting royals from a distant kingdom to renew an ancient treaty between the two kingdoms. The land and the royals are thrown into disarray when the treaty disappears. It is now up to Amber, Richard, and their friends to find the document before the futures of Aldovia and their child are changed forever.
What I like most about Holiday movies is the feel-good factor and whether or not the story takes itself too seriously. The Royal Baby lacked the feel-good feeling at the end but definitely leaned in to the zanier aspects in this one. The movie was more of a mystery, “whodunit” rather than a schmaltzy Holiday movie. The snowy décor and holiday decorations remind you of the holiday aspect but the film sorely missed that light hearted feeling. This story does play out much better than A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.
McIver and Lamb return as Amber and King Richard and are now old pros as their characters. The duo are quite comfortable in their roles and play well off one another. Neither is tasked with too much, Lamb does well as the doting husband and McIver is consistent as the new mom-to-be. Honor Kneafsey reprises her role as Princess Emily and has a nice little stroyline in this movie. While it’s good to see her handled a meatier role, I would have loved to have seen more scenes between her and McIver. Their pairing in the first movie was really fun and I think the exploration of their relationship has been absent in these past two movies.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby is a good addition to Netflix’s Holiday line-up, but it doesn’t come close to A Christmas Prince. If you are looking for something to really get you into the Holiday spirit, I would suggest watching A Christmas Prince. Then if you are feeling up to it watch A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby.
Grade: B-