Many people imagine themselves as, or wish they were royalty. This is usually during childhood when people tend to watch princess fairy tale movies and dream of living in the castles. But since only very few individuals actually have the privilege of being royalty, the rest of us are condemned to wishful thinking.
Film makers have taken advantage of this situation to present viewers with the perfect illusion: regular people becoming royalty. And since this has actually happened to some people, such as Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle who became royalty by marrying princes, we can safely say it’s not an entirely delusional dream. Here are a few great movies that revolve around regular people finally finding their way into palaces.
1. The Princess Diaries
This 2001 American romantic comedy was based on Meg Cabot’s novel bearing the same title. Directed by Garry Marshall, it starred Anne Hathaway. Hathaway plays the role of Mia Thermopolis, a totally regular, socially awkward girl who lives with her mother and cat in San Francisco. She leads an unpopular existence among her peers and only has two friends who are just as unpopular as she is. Worse, she gets bullied by her crush and his popular girlfriend. Mia’s life takes a sudden change after a meeting with her paternal grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi. She’s the one who reveals Mia’s royal heritage and the fact that she’s actually the Crown Princess of the kingdom of Genovia. Cue a drastic change in awkward Mia’s life.
2. The Prince & Me
Produced in 2004, this film was directed by Martha Coolidge. It starred Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, and Ben Miller. Julia Stiles plays Paige Morgan, a pre-medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Luke Mably acts as Prince Edvard, Denmark’s crown prince. Edvard has little interest in his royal duties however. He’s more of a playboy and when he comes across a TV commercial featuring Wisconsin students, he develops an interest in attending college in America- specifically, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where the girls from the commercial were from.
His parents agree, but send him along with a chaperone. His first encounter with Paige is not very pleasant, but they’re later partnered for a lab class. Edvard keeps his identity hidden, even getting a job at the deli where Paige works. They gradually grow close. The film progresses on to a romance between the two, until Paige finds out about Edvard’s real identity.
3. Ella Enchanted
Released in 2004, this movie starred Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. It’s a tale of a girl, Ella, who is gifted with obedience by a misguided fairy named Lucinda. This proves to be more of a curse as Ella grows up. She does everything she’s asked to, whether she wants to or not. Her dying mother warns her to keep the curse a secret so that people will not take advantage of her.
Things worsen when her father remarries and Ella gets a step-mother who doesn’t like her and two equally evil step-sisters. Meanwhile, Ella stumbles across Prince Charmont, but their interaction is interrupted by her step-mother. When Ella’s curse lands her in more trouble, she travels to seek out Lucinda and ask her to undo the curse. It’s in her travels that she comes across the prince again, and her journey towards becoming royalty takes off.
