Royal

The Diana Chronicles

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by Tina Brown

I picked this book up from the library; my interest prodded by Sally Bedell-Smith’s incredibly and obviously resentful and contemptuous take on Diana and mushy worshipful view of Queen Elizabeth. I was looking for a more balanced view of both women. The only quibble I have is how quickly Diana goes from a sweetly dumb romantic (and slightly “off”) teenager to a scary sophisticated savvy and strange woman. Perhaps the progression is unknowable; it seems to be a whole series of tipping points. But boy, it happened quickly! The writing is witty and engaging. Another thing that stands out so is how close the two might have been to making a go of it or at least hung on longer and made their time together much happier and more tolerable. If only Diana had gotten psychological help. If only Camilla Parker-Bowles had just backed off. If only Charles had not been such a jerk. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

February 12, 2012

Christmas at the Palace

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One Royal Romance too Many (I Wish)

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 playbook 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. Also, it did not feature a mean royal fiancé or mother. 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.**4 out of 10 stars**

December 8, 2018

Royal Hearts

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Charming Heroine makes this One Barely Bearable

Cute and likable Cindy Busby accounts for almost all of my stars with one star reserved for the male lead. Royal Hearts is an extremely hackneyed plot which presents no surprises, twists, or suspense. It strictly follows the template set forth in innumerable Royal themed romances. Fish out of water heroine and, in this case, her Dad, shake up the royal protocol, is briefly seduced by a royal handsome bad guy, but ends up with the “poor” commoner she had a meet cute with at the beginning after rubbing each other the wrong way throughout most of the movie. Oh. And the kingdom gains its independence thanks to the Americans. What would they do without us? I started out looking forward to seeing James Brolin, but he quickly out-wore his welcome with his over the top impression of Sam Elliot.

It was kinda funny that the first scene in the movie is Cindy teaching Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which intentionally or unintentionally hearkens back to her breakthrough role as Elizabeth in Unleashing Mr. Darcy. This was released around 3 months before the sequel to that movie. Coincidence? **6 stars**

Rating: 6 out of 10.

March 3, 2018

A Christmas Prince

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Meh.

This might as well be a Hallmark Movie of no particular note. I almost suspect it is kind of a gentle spoof of all the Hallmark Christmas move clichés. Snowball fight, hero falling on heroine in the snow, Reserved serious mother/queen unbending, child in the house who starts out as a spoiled brat but turns into an ally of our heroine. I liked the two main leads all right and did enjoy seeing Alice Krige. Maybe I am giving Netflix too much credit and it’s just another in a long line of mediocre Christmas romances. It has no reason to exist. **7 our of 10 stars**

December 19, 2017