Fictional Royals on TV and in films
I recently rewatched a two-part episode of
Saved by the Bell, the one where Jessie tries to sabotage her father's wedding to a younger woman. Another story line involved Slater dating a Princess Christina von Hoffman and trying to impress her father, the "King of Lichtenberg." I found out that Lichtenberg is actually a borough of Berlin, but I wondered if it was supposed to be a portmanteau of Luxembourg and Lichtenstein.
It got me started thinking about fictional royals in books, movies and on TV. The most well-known are Princess Mia in
The Princess Diaries books and movies Prince Frederick in the
The Prince and Me.
I've read the earlier
Princess Diaries books, and they're actually pretty accurate in terms of succession laws and protocol (the author seemed to models her characters and Genovia on Monaco's family). The movies, on the other hand, are completely unrealistic, especially in changing a principality into a kingdom. And since when do royals wear tiaras during day time w/ suits.
The Prince and Me uses a real kingdom as its setting but again, everything is pretty inaccurate, especially in the sequels. And the crown jewels they use are pretty pitiful and cheap looking.
Like
Saved by the Bell, American TV shows like to have one episode where a character has a romantic encounter with a royal from a fictitious kingdom or Principality. I can think of a
Baywatch episode where Mitch rescues Princess Catherine who is being targeted by assassins and he has to participate in a boat tournament against her royal fiance. I believe the episode is mentioned in one of the
Princess Diaries books.
"Baywatch" Princess of Tides (1992) - Plot summary
Another one is from TV's
Step by Step where the girls, Al, Dana and Karen, go to a ski-lodge and meet a Prince and his entourage. To make sure he is loved for himself and not his title, the Prince asks to switch roles with his bodyguard. Karen becomes upset that she bagged the "bodyguard" while Dana got the "prince". The truth is revealed at the end, to Karen's delight and Dana's (initial) disappointment.
"Step by Step" The Bodyguard Formerly Known as Prince (1996) - Plot summary
The Guiding Light, a long-running soap opera on CBS, had in the last decade a plotline set in the fictional principality of San Cristobel. They had a grand royal wedding episode with a Russian inspired wedding dress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiding_Light_(2000-present)#Plot_development
Anyone else remember any other episodes, movies or books featuring fictional royals?