A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby is an American Christmas romance-comedy written by Nathan Atkins and distributed by Netflix. It is the third movie in the A Christmas Prince trilogy, marking Netflix's first complete trilogy and following the 2017 movie A Christmas Prince and the 2018 instalment A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding. As the third installment, the movie follows familiar characters Queen Amber and King Richard as they adjust to pregnancy and the birth of their child.

Summary
"Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must save her family and kingdom by unwrapping a monarchy mystery."

- Netflix Synopsis

Plot
The movie takes place nearly a year after Amber and Richard’s wedding and Amber is now expecting their first child. The film opens with Amber thanking all her blog viewers for an amazing year. She and her husband, King Richard, then answer press questions about the impending arrival of their child, due 11 January. The king and queen tell the public they do not know the gender of their baby and keep all possible names secret, even from their family. Richard’s previously villainous cousin, Simon, who is still trying to earn his family’s trust again, reveals he invited Melissa, Amber’s close friend, to Aldovia for Christmas. Melissa tells the family she and Simon are in love, much to everyone’s surprise.

Amber and Richard then prepare for the practise of the sacred signing of the treaty which honours the peace found between Aldovia and their greatest ally, Penglia. Mr. Little begins by explaining that Prince Jun of Penglia and Prince Claude of Aldovia found a way to end the long drawn out war between the 2 nations. On Christmas Eve 1419 both rulers signed the treaty. It has been renewed every 100 years since. Amber is excited to be the first Aldovian queen to sign it but the others tell her the Penglians are very traditional and female monarchs haven’t been permitted to sign the treaty since its creation. Despite this, Amber is determined to convince the Penglians the Queens should also sign.

On 20 December, King Tai and Queen Ming of Penglia arrive in Aldovia. Amber tries to convince Ming the two of them should join their husbands in signing the treaty but Ming refuses. Just as the royals prepare to sign the treaty, everyone discovers it has been stolen! Since a huge blizzard has engulfed Aldovia and all airports have been closed, Amber and Richard deduce the treaty must still be in the palace, along with the thief. The palace staff immediately launch an investigation.

Whilst they search, Richard’s sister, Princess Emily, learns about an ancient legend that states a deadly curse will befall the firstborn child of the monarchs responsible for breaking the treaty. Distraught, she realises that would be Amber and Richard’s baby. Her mother, Helena, assures her it’s nothing but an old story, but Emily remains convinced.

As Amber worries about the deadline for completing the tradition approaching, her dad, Rudy, convinces her to throw her baby shower despite the intense blizzard stopping the majority of the guests from getting there. Amber agrees and, with the help of Sahil and her old friend Andy, she enjoys a beautiful baby shower. Ming gifts her a handmade present and Tai helps Richard build the baby’s crib. He tells Richard he is more then willing to let Amber and Ming sign the treaty but says that Ming is worried that by doing so, her country will think she seeks credit. Back at the shower, Ming and Tai’s attaché, Lynn, bonds with Simon over their Oxford days together, which makes Melissa jealous.

As Christmas approaches and with it, the deadline for the signing of the treaty, Richard brings in a sniffer dog to locate the treaty. Everyone in the palace must evacuate while the dog searches so the family visit Aldovia’s Christmas market and the Penglians are impressed by how loved and respected Amber and Richard are by their people. Everyone enjoys ice skating and Ming challenges Amber to an archery competition. During it, Mr Little reports back that the dog’s search came out futile. Overwhelmed, Amber faints.

Back at the palace, Amber assures Richard she’s fine, but he still advises her to rest as she has overdone herself. Suddenly, Emily arrives and tells the couple about the legend. While Richard has the same reaction his mother did, Amber is terrified and doesn’t want to risk her baby’s safety. Meanwhile, Melissa spies on Simon and Lynn and retrieves a discarded piece of paper Simon threw away. She shows Amber and Richard and they are shocked to discover it’s a detailed account of Aldovia’s debt to Penglia over the years. While Aldovia’s latest economic scheme has reduced it drastically, the kingdom still owes its allies $1 billion and, if the treaty disappears as it has, Aldovia would owe it immediately. Amber pleads with Melissa to make sure Simon doesn’t suspect anything and, despite being heartbroken and feeling betrayed, she agrees.

Just then, Amber feels a contraction. Richard calls Doctor Magoro and she tells them it must be forced labor due to overactivity and instructs Richard on what to do while she drives through the snowy storm to the palace. Not long after, however, she skids and drives into a snow bank. She calls the palace again and informs Richard of her situation. Richard promises Amber he’ll be back with the doctor soon and sets out on horseback to rescue her. Queen Ming, who worked at a maternity hospital, and Melissa guide Amber through her contractions. With Christmas Eve ending soon, Amber realises something. She instructs Emily and Helena to go down to the castle dungeons and search the furthest corner but, whilst down there, they get trapped in a cell. Richard finds Dr Magoro and they hurry back to the palace. Trying to escape, Emily and her mother find the missing treaty, hidden under the stone. Using her hair clip, Helena frees them both.

With the treaty found, Richard and the doctor back and time ticking, the kings prepare to sign but Ming decides she wants to add her name on the treaty as well, much to the delight of Amber. At 11:59pm on 24 December 2019, King Richard, King Tai, Queen Ming and Queen Amber sign the treaty. Then, Amber calls everyone into the room to reveal the culprit behind the treaty’s disappearance: Mr Little. She tells the room she solved the mystery by learning Mr Little’s mother’s maiden name was Devin, the same surname as Prince Claude, who was allegedly poisoned by the Penglian Prince Jun following the original signing of the treaty. Claude’s family swore vengeance and Amber proves it was Little by revealing how he was the last person to lock up the treaty, he deliberately kept the sniffer dog out of the dungeon and tried to scare the curious Emily away with a made up ghost story. Little confesses it was him but swears he never intended to harm the royal baby, he simply wanted to seek revenge for his family. Helena has Little sent to the deepest, darkest cell in the dungeons. Richard apologies to Simon for his harsh words but Melissa still demands to know why he has the accounts for Aldovia’s debt. He tells her him and Lynn were simply trying to add economic amendments to the treaty which would benefit both kingdoms. He then pulls out a ring box and proposes to Melissa, who happily accepts.

Suddenly, Amber’s contractions intensify and Doctor Magoro orders everyone except Richard out of the room as the baby is almost here. With Richard’s help, Amber successfully gives birth to a healthy baby girl, whom the couple name Princess Elleri after Amber’s late mother. Elleri’s birth is officially announced to the public and the infant Princess is introduced. The film closes with Amber writing her last blog post, thanking her readers for supporting her through this wild ride and, on behalf of Richard, Elleri and the whole of Aldovia, she wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Main Cast

 * Rose McIver as Queen Amber
 * Ben Lamb as King Richard
 * Alice Krige as Queen Helena
 * Honor Kneafsey as Princess Emily
 * Sarah Douglas as Mrs. Averill
 * Richard Ashton as Mr. Little
 * Theo Devaney as Count Simon

Supporting Characters

 * Tahirah Sharif as Melissa
 * Joel McVeagh as Andy
 * Diana Vladu as Reporter 1
 * Daniela Pirnac as Reporter 4
 * Madra Ihegborow as Dr. Magoro
 * MJ Lee as Suzanne
 * Crystal Yu as Lynn
 * Kevin Shen as King Tai of Penglia
 * Momo Yeung as Queen Ming of Penglia
 * Daniel Fathers as Rudy Moore
 * Billy Angel as Tom Quill