The emerging genre of Christmas royalty movies is a fascinating one. It’s not clear where these movies came from or who wanted them, but they are here now, and there are lots of them. 

Once you watch one, you have basically watched them all because they all have the same plot. There is a prince/princess and they fall in love with an ordinary citizen in about three days time, and they go horseback riding in the snow and kiss under fairy lights. Usually, the girl is a journalist or the guy is a baker. The girl looks like Vanessa Hudgens (or actually is Vanessa Hudgens) and the guy is a blond with a dashing smile.

The appeal of these movies is obvious, because who doesn’t love a love story in a magical world in the winter? It is almost every little girl’s dream to fall in love with a prince and move into a castle and live happily forever after.

I am not saying that I have never enjoyed one of these Hallmark movies, but I just have to wonder why there are so many of them. 

Hallmark is the largest player in the Christmas movie industry. Each Hallmark movie is aired about 10-15 times a season, and Hallmark releases with as many as 37 new movies each year as they did in 2018 according to the Houston Chronicle. Four of these movies were about royalty, and with more coming out every year, they start to accumulate, and there is no need for this many to exist. 

 There is no need for an entire genre, but these movies succeed anyways. People love a heartwarming film in a season full of joy. Even Netflix, who are a new, major player in this genre, poked fun at people who love these types of movies. 

“To the 53 people who’ve watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you?” Netflix tweeted in December of 2017. 

So get under a comfy blanket, turn on “A Knight Before Christmas,” and get ready to laugh at the 14th century knight who, by the way of a magical amulet, gets transported into the 21st century on a quest to fall in love with Vanessa Hudgens.