''The Princess Switch'' is a 2018 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Mike Rohl Michael Rohl is a Canadian TV director and producer. He is of Volga German and Ukrainian descent. He has worked on ''Shadowhunters (TV series), Shadowhunters'', ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'', ''Supernatural (U.S. TV series), Supernatural ...

from a screenplay by

Robin Bernheim Robin Jill Bernheim (a.k.a. Robin Burger) is an American television producer and writer, as well as a story editor and creative consultant. Career Bernheim was born in Santa Monica, California, and is a graduate of Stanford University and UC ...

and Megan Metzger. The film stars

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in ''Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006� ...

Sam Palladio Sam Christian Palladio Scott (born 21 November 1986) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Gunnar Scott in the ABC musical drama series '' Nashville'' (2012–18). Palladio has also had recurring roles on ...

and Nick Sagar. The film's concept of two people who look identical running into one another and switching places comes from

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's 1881 novel ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

''. It was released on November 16, 2018, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The film is the first installment in The Princess Switch trilogy. It was followed by a sequel, '' The Princess Switch: Switched Again'', which premiered on November 19, 2020, and '' The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star'', which premiered on November 18, 2021.

Plot

A week before Christmas, Stacy’s assistant Kevin tells her that he has secretly entered her in a prestigious baking competition in the Kingdom of Belgravia. Initially reluctant, she agrees to go to Belgravia with Kevin and his daughter Olivia after an encounter with her ex-boyfriend. At the competition, she runs into her rival Brianna, who ruins her clothes. In a dressing room, Stacy runs into Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro and fiancée of Crown Prince Edward of Belgravia, and they are struck by their identical looks. Desperate for time out of the spotlight, Margaret suggests that they switch places for two days, then switch back before the competition and Margaret and Edward's wedding. Initially reluctant, Stacy eventually accepts, especially when Lady Margaret agrees to sponsor Olivia as a student in Belgravia's acclaimed summer ballet program. Stacy and Margaret quickly teach each other about their lives and behavior to minimize suspicion, and part ways. Olivia quickly discovers the switch but helps keep the secret while bonding with Margaret. Meanwhile, Prince Edward – who was supposed to be away on business for the two days of the switch – changes his plans to spend time with his fiancée. King George senses something is afoot, tasking his butler, Frank, to watch her. Stacy adapts to court life and begins falling in love with Prince Edward, while Margaret falls in love with Kevin and realizes that she loves living a normal life. Despite this, they switch back as planned. Meanwhile, Brianna sneaks into the TV station one night and sabotages Stacy's mixer. Frank photographs Margaret and Stacy together, and shows that they swapped identities to the Queen. The Queen then fakes illness to send Edward and Margaret to attend the competition in her place. At the competition, due to Brianna's vandalism, Stacy is forced to mix her ingredients by hand. Despite the setback, Stacy and Kevin win first prize, with medals presented by Lady Margaret and Prince Edward, where their switch is discovered. Margaret professes her love for Kevin, while Stacy walks away, feeling out of place in Edward's royal life. Edward stops her and proposes, suggesting a Christmas wedding in a year if they are still in love. One year later, Stacy marries Prince Edward and becomes Princess of Belgravia, and Margaret catches the bouquet.

Cast

as ** Stacy De Novo, a baker from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

** Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro *

as Edward Wyndham, Prince of Belgravia * Nick Sagar as Kevin Richards, Stacy's best friend and Olivia's father * Alexa Adeosun as Olivia Richards, Kevin's daughter and Stacy’s goddaughter *

Mark Fleischmann Mark Fleischmann (born 31 January 1972) is an English actor. Background Mark Fleischmann was born in 1972 and grew up in Hampstead Garden Suburb. After graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Fleischmann appeared in ...

as Frank De Luca, Prince Edward's driver *

Suanne Braun Suanne Braun (born 29 February 1968) is a South African born actress. She lives in London, England. Early life Braun made her professional debut in 1988 working as a TV presenter in her native South Africa for the channel M-net. She hosted he ...

as Mrs. Donatelli, Duchess Margret's personal assistant *

Sara Stewart Sara Scott Griffith (born 28 June 1966) is a Scottish actress. She played Stella in '' Sugar Rush''. Early life Stewart was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to American parents. After spending some time in the U.S., she trained at the Central Sch ...

as Queen Caroline Wyndham, Prince Edward's mother and Queen of Belgravia *

Pavel Douglas Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pav ...

as King George Wyndham, Prince Edward's father and King of Belgravia * Amy Griffiths as Brianna Michaels, Stacy's baking rival *

Robin Soans Robin Soans (born 20 June 1946) is a British actor, and a playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary plays. These plays include ''Across the Divide'' (2007); ''A State Affair'' (2000) which looked at life on a Bradford estate, produced ...

as Kindly Old Man

Production

In June 2018, it was reported that

and

would star in the Netflix film ''The Princess Switch''.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

ended in June 2018. The majority of the film was shot in

Carei Carei (; , ; /, yi, , ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești ( hu, Szentjánosmajor). History The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul ...

, Romania. The palace sequence was shot in Károlyi Castle, Carei Romania.

Release

It was released on November 16, 2018, by

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of with an average rating of , based on reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Princess Switch offers a healthy dose of charming, light-hearted, twin-swap fun and is delightful viewing for any hopeless romantic." Linda Holmes of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

praised the movie's acting and called it a "pleasingly frothy and ridiculous", while criticizing unrealistic aspects of the plot.

Sequels

A sequel '' The Princess Switch: Switched Again'', was released on November 19, 2020.

took on another role as a third lookalike as well as served as a producer. The next of its sequel '' The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star'', was released on November 18, 2021.

played three lookalikes as well as served as a producer.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Switch, The 2018 films 2010s Christmas comedy films 2018 romantic comedy films American Christmas comedy films American romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films Films about royalty Films shot in Romania Films about interracial romance English-language Netflix original films 2010s American films