Another royal fantasy starring actors who have previously already filmed basically the same story.
So why sit through such a blah movie? Brittany Bristow is gorgeous. And her smile could launch a thousand ships. Again she plays the second banana and way outshines the star.
31 Reviews
OK Movie
toncincin1 December 2018
Hallmark Royalty Movies - ugh. The story was nice ... but this royalty/monarchy angle is getting really old. Girls/women don't all want to marry a prince/king. At least there wasn't a grumpy mother queen in this one! I think the story would have worked without the king/palace/monarchy. BTW - why are all these kings/princes widowed with a child? I'd be very leary marrying one of them! Seem like it's not good for your continues living...
details are not correct
erikvandenberg-696121 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In itself a nice Christmas movie, but there are some details that are not right. I live in a country with a monarchy myself. There are always protocols where the royals, and those who meet them, have to adhere. Also, the royals never set off without surveillance, as in countries with a president, the president and his family will never walk without supervision between the public. Agreements, such as a banquet with high-ranking, at the last cancellation will only occur in extreme necessity. A year-long personal secretary, does not really let his master down. And last but not least, an ice skater who has not stood on the skate for years, can not ride a ice show without first practicing. Again a nice Christmas movie, which I enjoyed, but sloppy in the details.
Skate your way to Queendom
LeoMarvin8812 December 2018
The movie overall isn't bad, I watched the whole thing which is more than I can say for some of the other movies this year. I like that it's a pair of best friends, Katie and Jessica, working and finding love together, it's like the fantasy for best friends to find mates together and a plus, royal(ish).
I actually liked the best friend, Jessica, more than the lead, she was so endearing. You wanted to smile when she did!
The setting is beautiful as usual. I defiantly what to go on a tour of Hallmarkia, I mean Romania.
Honestly, my biggest issue was that the lead, Katie, said she wanted to BOIL MILK for hot chocolate. That would make the milk curdle and chunky hot chocolate sounds gross.
Oh yeah, there's ice skating too.
I actually liked the best friend, Jessica, more than the lead, she was so endearing. You wanted to smile when she did!
The setting is beautiful as usual. I defiantly what to go on a tour of Hallmarkia, I mean Romania.
Honestly, my biggest issue was that the lead, Katie, said she wanted to BOIL MILK for hot chocolate. That would make the milk curdle and chunky hot chocolate sounds gross.
Oh yeah, there's ice skating too.
old recipe
Kirpianuscus6 January 2020
As Romanian, I appreciate the locations from my country. But this is the only good point. Because the film is just illustration of the old Hallmark recipe about royalty Christmas - from the widower young king, father of a girl, to American she becoming the chosen. Another sin - too, too many Christmas ornaments. But , decent in large lines.
Worth Watching. It is what it is
Christmas-Reviewer1 August 2019
I have Reviewed OVER 600 "Christmas Films, & Christmas Television Movies , & Television Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare. I am on a mission to watch every Christmas Movie ever produced. Since 2014 I average 100 per year.
Katie, a former professional ice skater (Patterson), is hired by the king of San Senova, Alexander, to help his daughter in a Christmas ice skating performance. As Katie spends time in the castle and with the king, she and Alex begin to develop feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. But will the tradition-loving people of San Senova allow their king to make a foreigner their queen?
In this film there is many love stories and fabulous sets. However there is nothing real special about this film. Its not a band little film but hey it has some moments
In this film there is many love stories and fabulous sets. However there is nothing real special about this film. Its not a band little film but hey it has some moments
Pretty typical Christmas movie
dizzylou81826 November 2018
Even though this was the typical Christmas live story, I still enjoyed it. The characters were all very likable. It wasn't overly cheesy. Only fault I had was whoever did the king's makeup, did an awful job. First time I've ever really noticed something like that.
A complete dud.
savethewatchmaker17 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
It's honestly hard to know where to start with this extraordinarily bad movie that manages to miss the mark over and over. I went into this film with an open mind despite finding Merritt Patterson's acting bland in the past, and truth be told, it has unfortunately yet to improve. She drags this movie down considerably with her inauthentic acting, which veers the production occasionally into moments where it feels like one is watching a high school play rather than a Hallmark movie.
Unfotunately, her talents are not the only problem for this film. Moment after moment simply ruins the suspension of disbelief necessary for a good movie. For instance, how is it that any member of the royal family can wander about the town so easily without any disguise or precautions necessary? The king, his daughter, and his aunt all roam about town with little more than the very rare photograph calmly snapped of them, no security in sight. This royal ignorance is cranked up to eleven when at several professional functions (read: dinners and balls held in the palace where one must wear only their finest clothes), the man has literally no one to speak to (or approaching him) except for his love interest Katie. As a matter of fact, we rarely see King Alex do any work whatsoever (one of the few instances of this I can drum up is one night when he is seen laboring over seating arrangements, a task quickly forgotten in order to make hot chocolate with Katie), which no doubt paints a truly idealistic picture of just how much freetime members of a royal family have at any given point in their lives--never mind that he is always seen rejecting his daughter's invitations to do pretty much anything because of how monumentally busy he is. To drive home this character's utter absurdity, his only personal conundrum in this entire movie is that the public views him as a Grinch, unlike his festive father.
Meanwhile, Alex's daughter Christina, caught in a truly puzzling hero worship of Katie and her best friend Jessica, recruits the two ladies for an ice skating performance to be held at the palace for Christmas in order to reverse her father's reputation as a Scrooge, the monarchy's most dire issue at present. Christina fangirls over the two, instantly recognizing them, despite the fact that it's pointed out that Katie has only ever almost been to the Olympics--still, a princess from another country identifies her instantly even though she is, for all intents and purposes, a nobody in the ice skating world compared to all the Olympic medalists that receive far more attention and coverage. This blossoms into an easy friendship with Katie that somehow withstands betrayal at every turn, as Katie refuses to practice on the ice with Christina (or at all), and abandons her at the last minute to deal with the performance and her stage fright alone. When she returns just in the nick of time, however, Christina is still thrilled to see her, not harboring an ounce of resentment over Katie's escape act.
And despite the fact that the performance is built up to all the way up to the end of the movie, all the drama leading up to it ultimately disappoints. The entire performance--which is inexplicably televised even in New Jersey--is little more than Alex giving a short speech and standing in the center of the ice rink with his daughter while ice skaters proceed to skate around them. Even Katie, coming back not only to reclaim her queen role but also step out on the ice in the first time since a career-stopping injury, does nothing more complicated than a Biellmann spin.
To add insult to injury, Alex and Katie have absolutely no chemistry. Some of their interactions are absolutely ridiculous, such as Katie complaining about the lack of Christmas decorations in a palace that is already wholly bedecked with garlands and holly, or when Katie attempts to help Alex prepare Christmas presents for Alex's staff (a staff which is never seen in the film--as a matter of fact, aside from those involved with the ice skating, the only other person ever seen interacting with Alex is his aunt and righthand man Nicholas, who he treats alternatively as an employee or as a friend, depending on his mood) and the two of them wander through the shops where no one takes any notice of them aside from one dumstruck cashier.
The only bright spot in this film--and the resulting two stars--comes from the romantic subplot of Katie's friend Jessica and Alex's friend Nicholas, the two of whom have exceedingly better chemistry and behave much more believably fond of one another.
Overall, this movie made it seem like Hallmark is growing bored of its own royal Christmas trope, which has been milked dry at this point with already much better results (A Royal Christmas, A Princess for Christmas, Crown for Christmas). The only surprise was that this movie lacked both a pre-approved, snobby fiance with a title or an overbearing parent, although this movie might've needed both, as it was desperately lacking conflict and on some occasions, even plot.
Unfotunately, her talents are not the only problem for this film. Moment after moment simply ruins the suspension of disbelief necessary for a good movie. For instance, how is it that any member of the royal family can wander about the town so easily without any disguise or precautions necessary? The king, his daughter, and his aunt all roam about town with little more than the very rare photograph calmly snapped of them, no security in sight. This royal ignorance is cranked up to eleven when at several professional functions (read: dinners and balls held in the palace where one must wear only their finest clothes), the man has literally no one to speak to (or approaching him) except for his love interest Katie. As a matter of fact, we rarely see King Alex do any work whatsoever (one of the few instances of this I can drum up is one night when he is seen laboring over seating arrangements, a task quickly forgotten in order to make hot chocolate with Katie), which no doubt paints a truly idealistic picture of just how much freetime members of a royal family have at any given point in their lives--never mind that he is always seen rejecting his daughter's invitations to do pretty much anything because of how monumentally busy he is. To drive home this character's utter absurdity, his only personal conundrum in this entire movie is that the public views him as a Grinch, unlike his festive father.
Meanwhile, Alex's daughter Christina, caught in a truly puzzling hero worship of Katie and her best friend Jessica, recruits the two ladies for an ice skating performance to be held at the palace for Christmas in order to reverse her father's reputation as a Scrooge, the monarchy's most dire issue at present. Christina fangirls over the two, instantly recognizing them, despite the fact that it's pointed out that Katie has only ever almost been to the Olympics--still, a princess from another country identifies her instantly even though she is, for all intents and purposes, a nobody in the ice skating world compared to all the Olympic medalists that receive far more attention and coverage. This blossoms into an easy friendship with Katie that somehow withstands betrayal at every turn, as Katie refuses to practice on the ice with Christina (or at all), and abandons her at the last minute to deal with the performance and her stage fright alone. When she returns just in the nick of time, however, Christina is still thrilled to see her, not harboring an ounce of resentment over Katie's escape act.
And despite the fact that the performance is built up to all the way up to the end of the movie, all the drama leading up to it ultimately disappoints. The entire performance--which is inexplicably televised even in New Jersey--is little more than Alex giving a short speech and standing in the center of the ice rink with his daughter while ice skaters proceed to skate around them. Even Katie, coming back not only to reclaim her queen role but also step out on the ice in the first time since a career-stopping injury, does nothing more complicated than a Biellmann spin.
To add insult to injury, Alex and Katie have absolutely no chemistry. Some of their interactions are absolutely ridiculous, such as Katie complaining about the lack of Christmas decorations in a palace that is already wholly bedecked with garlands and holly, or when Katie attempts to help Alex prepare Christmas presents for Alex's staff (a staff which is never seen in the film--as a matter of fact, aside from those involved with the ice skating, the only other person ever seen interacting with Alex is his aunt and righthand man Nicholas, who he treats alternatively as an employee or as a friend, depending on his mood) and the two of them wander through the shops where no one takes any notice of them aside from one dumstruck cashier.
The only bright spot in this film--and the resulting two stars--comes from the romantic subplot of Katie's friend Jessica and Alex's friend Nicholas, the two of whom have exceedingly better chemistry and behave much more believably fond of one another.
Overall, this movie made it seem like Hallmark is growing bored of its own royal Christmas trope, which has been milked dry at this point with already much better results (A Royal Christmas, A Princess for Christmas, Crown for Christmas). The only surprise was that this movie lacked both a pre-approved, snobby fiance with a title or an overbearing parent, although this movie might've needed both, as it was desperately lacking conflict and on some occasions, even plot.
Not forced and thoroughly enjoyable
AnnTWillis25 November 2018
There was something so different in this Hallmark film than in any other. The acting wasn't over the top and the romance didn't appear forced or random or awkward at all. The characters were all really likeable and genuine. Even the moody royal stereotype was portrayed in a way that made you like him not think "oh here's another tv royal guy". The direction given to the characters on their behavior was just real and relatable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and hope Hallmark makes more with this direction.
So much potential
MickyG3335 January 2023
7.4 stars.
But for the performances of the 7 main actors, this movie would fall flat like a house of cards. The romances are very nice, the chemistry is present, the interactions are sweet. I really enjoyed the portrayals that each of our characters put forth. The story is perfect for about the first half, and then it slowly begins to implode. For some strange reason the writing did not continue to invent new and workable plot lines, instead we are left with something I can only describe as a means to an end. In this case, however, the ends do not justify the means.
Had this film kept a full head of steam, I imagine I'd be scoring it somewhere in the ballpark of 8.4, but once I realized we were dealing with an overtaxed storyline and lack of inspiration, I could only hope there was enough momentum to cross the finish line. To my horror I felt like a naked person in a bath house without a towel or change of clothes.
Due to my love for the cast and their acting skills and potentially cosmic charm, I will make it a point to rewatch this once I muster the courage. Maybe it's just my mood, a man can dream.
But for the performances of the 7 main actors, this movie would fall flat like a house of cards. The romances are very nice, the chemistry is present, the interactions are sweet. I really enjoyed the portrayals that each of our characters put forth. The story is perfect for about the first half, and then it slowly begins to implode. For some strange reason the writing did not continue to invent new and workable plot lines, instead we are left with something I can only describe as a means to an end. In this case, however, the ends do not justify the means.
Had this film kept a full head of steam, I imagine I'd be scoring it somewhere in the ballpark of 8.4, but once I realized we were dealing with an overtaxed storyline and lack of inspiration, I could only hope there was enough momentum to cross the finish line. To my horror I felt like a naked person in a bath house without a towel or change of clothes.
Due to my love for the cast and their acting skills and potentially cosmic charm, I will make it a point to rewatch this once I muster the courage. Maybe it's just my mood, a man can dream.
One royal romance too many. (I wish)
rebekahrox8 December 2018
Could this movie be anymore Hallmark cookie cutter? No, it could not. All of the characters came out of the Hallmark hero and heroine, best friend, child template without a bit of alteration. There was not an original second in the whole movie. What gave it a 4? The Prince was very handsome. The princess was a beautiful child. Merritt Paterson was not annoying and was age appropriate for her character, though she was too heavily made up. The setting was pretty. That's all. Hallmark needs to find a new gimmick. I'm sick and tired of the commoner and the royal fall in love trope.
Conquering Your Fears
parksidedrive24 November 2018
All the characters conquer their fears and along the way enjoying the holidays. It is an up and down set of challenges revolving around a skater and a crown prince. Toss in some great friends and the king's 10 year old daughter for smiles, you have a good Hallmark movie.
I give this movie 8 out of 10 cups of hot cocoa-with lots of marshmallows.
Christmas at the Palace
JoBloTheMovieCritic20 July 2019
The Only Christmas Movie You (Don't) Need to Watch This Year
ken_speckle1 December 2019
Great news! If you crave movie clichés about Christmas, about royalty, or about stuffy Europeans and free-spirited Americans then you only need to watch one movie this year!
Better news! Take the phrases "Christmas at the Palace", "skating pageant" and "single-parent king" and now you don't even have to watch that movie, 'cos you know every single thing which is going to happen.
We know that Christmas movies will demand a wide-eyed acceptance from the audience - of course they will - but other ones made a modicum of effort to earn this. Here they put the keywords into the slot, pushed the button and accepted unaltered the story and dialogue which fell out the other end.
Actual dialogue:
Cardboard cut-out king: "What are you watching?"
Princess: "Christmas movie."
Cardboard cut-out king: "Well, we both know how that's going to end!"
Yes, yes we do. But this is not witty self-awareness: it is an admission of the film makers' laziness.
There were positives: young India Fowler as Princess Christina (whom I hadn't seen before) is an actor, and may have a lot of potential. Okay, there was one positive.
Let's be generous and assume that the people reviewing this highly are pre-teens who haven't seen a Christmas romance movie before, and say no more about it.
A Royal Improvement
anicho01-944-8125396 December 2023
Normally Hallmark's focus on Royal Christmases includes an idealistic over-the-top heroine, a stiff upper lip hero, a lot of unnecessary elitism and a heroine abandoning her career for love.
Luckily, this does not adhere to the old template. Instead of just one heroine we get two. Plus, we don't get the standard all or nothing plotline. All of the characters have realistic relationship discussions and the heroines choose what is best for them not their love interests.
Also, great job with European casting. When selecting faux-English royalty, Hallmark rarely chooses actors that are believably posh or have believable accents. Luckily, this time around, from the daughter, to the aunt, to the Prince himself, I absolutely believed all were upper crust.
And, as a bonus the prince and his aide were both very easy on the eyes. Double bonus, the writers created a credible child character and not a cardboard cutout.
Overall, I enjoyed the directing and the writing. The plot took time for relationship building, but didn't drag out scenes (there were some really nice very intimate moments). Also, it avoided the usual European royal meets common American stereotype with a mean bullying mother.
I'd recommend this for any anglophile who is also a Hallmark fan.
Luckily, this does not adhere to the old template. Instead of just one heroine we get two. Plus, we don't get the standard all or nothing plotline. All of the characters have realistic relationship discussions and the heroines choose what is best for them not their love interests.
Also, great job with European casting. When selecting faux-English royalty, Hallmark rarely chooses actors that are believably posh or have believable accents. Luckily, this time around, from the daughter, to the aunt, to the Prince himself, I absolutely believed all were upper crust.
And, as a bonus the prince and his aide were both very easy on the eyes. Double bonus, the writers created a credible child character and not a cardboard cutout.
Overall, I enjoyed the directing and the writing. The plot took time for relationship building, but didn't drag out scenes (there were some really nice very intimate moments). Also, it avoided the usual European royal meets common American stereotype with a mean bullying mother.
I'd recommend this for any anglophile who is also a Hallmark fan.
An average family movie for the holidays
MihaiSorinToma3 March 2019
It's a pretty good movie which tells a story with an interesting premise during the winter holidays. As you might expect, romance is involved but along with it comes a bit of drama from time to time, but nothing spectacular. It manages to be a good watch due to its likeable characters and charismatic actors (which do quite a good job) while providing a bit of warmth especially due to its Christmas themes. The chosen locations are very nice, well designed and presented, providing an unique setup for the events to take place.
The story on the other hand is quite linear and predictable but good enough while the ending isn't as satisfying as one would like due to its superficial nature. A bit of drama comes into action and everything seems to go into one direction, but it gets solved a couple of minutes later by a letter and a word with a friend; fact which is repeated many time throughout the movie. Another aspect worth mentioning is the fact that there is no antagonist-like character, someone which might have something to say against the ongoing events, just to spice things up a bit. The characters do their chores apparently without disruption and this leads to a linearity which is quite hard to ignore. I would have preferred a bit more drama, a twist of events, something which might have taken the story, even briefly, into another direction, out of its stereotypical nature.
Overall, it's a mix of romance and joy with too little drama to make it truly emotional, but you might find it good for spending some time with your family, especially in winter. It had a good idea and a good setup but the implementation left quite a lot to be desired.
The story on the other hand is quite linear and predictable but good enough while the ending isn't as satisfying as one would like due to its superficial nature. A bit of drama comes into action and everything seems to go into one direction, but it gets solved a couple of minutes later by a letter and a word with a friend; fact which is repeated many time throughout the movie. Another aspect worth mentioning is the fact that there is no antagonist-like character, someone which might have something to say against the ongoing events, just to spice things up a bit. The characters do their chores apparently without disruption and this leads to a linearity which is quite hard to ignore. I would have preferred a bit more drama, a twist of events, something which might have taken the story, even briefly, into another direction, out of its stereotypical nature.
Overall, it's a mix of romance and joy with too little drama to make it truly emotional, but you might find it good for spending some time with your family, especially in winter. It had a good idea and a good setup but the implementation left quite a lot to be desired.
OK
Jackbv12324 November 2018
I'm not a fan of royal stories, Christmas or otherwise. This one was middle of the road for me, but I enjoyed Merritt Patterson's energy in the beginning. The approach to the royal story was a little different.
The latter half of the movie didn't live up to the beginning for me. It looked like they introduced a twist to the obvious expectation, but then switched again.
One of my very fav hallmark movies
txharrington15 December 2020
True love conquers all (again)
HotToastyRag11 December 2019
If you liked A Royal Christmas, you'll probably like Christmas at the Palace. Once again, a common American gets brought to a beautiful castle and gets a prince to loosen up as he falls in love. I'm not really a "true love conquers all" person, so I don't agree with the message that a royal prince should become less classy and ditch the rules because of a pretty face. At Hallmark, you can rest assured the characters will get a happy ending-but if you're like me, you won't necessarily be happy as well.
Merritt Patterson is a former ice skater, and Andrew Cooper's daughter wants to learn to ice skate for a royal Christmas performance. Naturally, there are no classier ice skaters or women with more dignitary experience available, so off she goes to the beautiful castle. She shakes things up, teaches his daughter that feelings are more important than rules, and turns Andrew's head. He's a real cutie, like Hallmark's version of Eddie Redmayne, so you might want to check this one out for the eye candy.
Merritt Patterson is a former ice skater, and Andrew Cooper's daughter wants to learn to ice skate for a royal Christmas performance. Naturally, there are no classier ice skaters or women with more dignitary experience available, so off she goes to the beautiful castle. She shakes things up, teaches his daughter that feelings are more important than rules, and turns Andrew's head. He's a real cutie, like Hallmark's version of Eddie Redmayne, so you might want to check this one out for the eye candy.
Good Movie. Merritt Patterson and the Romanian Castle Shine.
gehewe18 January 2019
First time I have seen Merritt Patterson and what a bright spot she was. She was in two movies in 2017 A ROYAL WINTER and THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE. I will watch these other movies. She could be the 3rd sister in a movie with Amber Marshall (Heartland) and Megan Parks. Andrew Cooper as the king was OK, but I think less screen time would have been better. Loved the beginning scenes where she didn't know he was the king and he didn't tell her. Loved him having the name the Grinch King. What is not to love about this movie. It falls short of excellence. Maybe more of an emotional tie between her and the princess. Maybe some more realistic figure skating. Brittany Bristow did do a pretty good spiral. Hope Merritt makes more Christmas movies.
Good Enough
PennyReviews11 January 2020
Typical Royal Christmas movie
acborgia4 December 2018
A Royal Movie with a genuine feel.
wlhawk-9186015 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Could contain spoilers: Traditionally the 'Royal' movies feature a Prince who is still figuring out his path regarding the Crown. This movie is about a King who is already on his way to being a great ruler. He is though, struggling with others portions of his life. But, when his Daughter hopes to let their small kingdom know how wonderful her Father truly is, despite his precieved reputation....he opens his heart to a former ice skater who is struggling with a few of her own hurdles. This movie also had a very strong supporting cast and they are less like the 'side-kicks' and make the movie more of a strong ensemble cast. So don't pass this one by.
Christmas dud
kz917-118 August 2019
A sweet and charming movie
jrbusiness-6449919 October 2020
This is like the other christmas/Palace type movies where the girl ends up with the prince/King but I always watch them and enjoy them.
This was a good movie and i watched it as part of my Christmas movies before Christmas day challenge which is now on 17 out of 100.
Would I watch it again? Yeah. It was nice.
This was a good movie and i watched it as part of my Christmas movies before Christmas day challenge which is now on 17 out of 100.
Would I watch it again? Yeah. It was nice.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
