We love a good old-fashioned royal romance. While the real lives of the few monarchies still around in the 21st century are far from romantic, you can’t blame readers and viewers alike for being drawn to the fantasy around them. The tiaras! The ceremonies! The heart-wrenching desire to break from tradition and choose love over duty! Stories like this have enthralled us for centuries, starting with fairy-tales and moving into modern romance novels.
If you’re in the mood for a very royal romance for your next movie night, here are eight films that take the crown.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Who doesn't love The Princess Diaries? Meg Cabot's iconic teen series became a popular movie, then gave Mia her own royal wedding in the sequel. In Royal Engagement, Mia s now living in Genovia and preparing to become the new monarch as her grandmother, Queen Clarice, plans her abdication.
By law, Mia can only be queen if she marries before her coronation, and it's only a month away! There's the perfectly eligible Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth, to consider. But then there's Nicholas Devereaux, with whom she has undeniable chemistry. He's handsome, kind... and will also inherit the crown if Mia doesn't marry. What is a princess to do?
The Prince & Me
Paige Morgan doesn't want to be a princess. She has great ambitions about becoming a doctor and helping others. Edvard, the rebellious Crown Prince of Denmark, wants to get away from royal life and decides to move to Wisconsin to enjoy a carefree college experience.
He's unprepared for life as a normal person, but Paige makes things much easier. The problem is she doesn't know that Eddie, her classmate and friend, will one day be the King of Denmark.
Red, White & Royal Blue
BookTok fell in love with Casey McQuiston's royal romance, and the Amazon Prime movie adaptation was also a big hit. Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the United States, is mortal enemies with Prince Henry of the United Kingdom. But, after they get into a very messy fight at a royal wedding, the pair are forced to pose as BFFs to fix US-UK public relations.
Soon, they realize that they actually get on well, and that there's something else bubbling between them. But love might be impossible for them both: Alex's mom is up for re-election and George must adhere to an archaic royal protocol. Will the world ever let them be together?
Roman Holiday
Audrey Hepburn made her legendary big screen debut—and won an Oscar in the process—in William Wyler’s blissful romantic comedy. Crown Princess Ann is on a stressful European tour when she decides to get out for the day and enjoy Rome as a normal citizen. As the city goes wild looking for the missing princess, an American reporter named Joe realizes that the woman who has fallen asleep in his apartment is Ann. He decides to accompany her on her one-day vacation in the hopes of landing the story of his career. To the backdrop of Colosseum and a Vespa ride through the streets of Rome, Ann and Joe grow close, but will love win out over duty?
The Prince and the Showgirl
Once upon a time, the legendary thespian Laurence Olivier directed and starred in a romantic comedy with none other than the iconic Marilyn Monroe. The pair reportedly didn’t get on well together while making the movie, but the final product, The Prince and the Showgirl, is a delightful retro rom-com with a scene-stealing performance by Monroe.
Charles, the Prince Regent of Carpathia, is a pompous widower who has gone to London to attend the coronation of Britain's King George V. While there, he goes to a show and becomes instantly smitten with one of the performers, the bubbly Elsie Marina. She helps Charles to loosen up and enjoy life, but they're from two wildly different walks of life. Can a prince ever be with a showgirl or will royal life forbid it?
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella
There are plenty of Cinderella adaptations we could have put here. We’re personally fond of this nostalgic classic, a remake of a Julie Andrews TV movie from the ‘50s. The ‘90s version stars a murderer’s row of talent, including Brandy, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, and the late great Whitney Houston. It’s the same classic story we all know and love, but with some top-notch songs and a handsome prince to die for.
The Princess and the Frog
We could put so many Disney movies on this list but we decided to go with this hand-drawn animated modern classic that revived the princess genre for a new generation. Tiana of The Princess and the Frog is a hardworking waitress who dreams of owning her own restaurant. Love is the last thing on her mind.
Prince Naveen arrives in New Orleans with plans to marry a rich girl after being cut off by his parents. Unfortunately for them both, they end up as frogs, and must break the curse lest they be stuck as amphibians forever. Add an evil voodoo doctor, a body switch, and tons of Jazz-inspired music, and you have a delight.
A Christmas Prince
Netflix decided to try its hand at making Hallmark-esque TV movie romances, and they quickly went viral with A Christmas Prince. It proved popular enough to receive two sequels that took the story in even weirder directions.
Fittingly for a Hallmark-inspired royal romance, A Christmas Prince is a delightfully barmy soap opera. American magazine journalist Amber Moore is sent to the country of Aldovia to cover the coronation of the playboy Prince Richard. A case of mistaken identity leads her directly to the palace, where she is mistaken for the new tutor of the young Princess Emily. Amber stays in the hopes of landing the scoop of her career but it doesn't take long for her and Richard to grow close.
