Entertainment

This Connection Between 'The Knight Before Christmas' & 'A Christmas Prince' Is Bonkers

by Jessica Wang
The 'Knight Before Christmas' & 'A Christmas Prince' Connection You Missed
Netflix

What do Netflix’s cheesy but beloved holiday films have in common? Way more than viewers could possibly imagine: The Knight Before Christmas and A Christmas Prince is connected in a pretty meta way. In a conversation that will break your brains, Vulture reporters Rachel Handler and Jackson McHenry suggested that The Princess Switch and The Knight Before Christmas — two holiday film offerings that star Vanessa Hudgens in central roles against the backdrop of a monarchy — existed in the same cinematic universe. An email response from a reader, however, has suggested another alternative: The Knight Before Christmas and The Princess Switch don’t exist in the same universe. Instead, The Knight Before Christmas and A Christmas Prince exist in the same universe.

A Christmas Prince, the film that could be responsible for the renaissance of cheesy Christmas content, follows a journalist named Amber (Rose McIver) who is tasked to get the scoop on Prince Richard (Ben Lamb) of the fictional nation of Aldovia. The two inevitably fall in love. The Knight Before Christmas follows a school teacher named Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens) who falls in love with a medieval knight named Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) after he’s magically transported to modern day. In an email shared by Handler on Twitter on Nov. 21, two clues are presented as proof of the films’ connection: 1. A giant acorn ornament and 2. A Christmas Prince’s cameo in The Princess Switch.

"The Knight Before Christmas" courtesy of Netflix

In The Knight Before Christmas, there’s a nod to A Christmas Prince’s nation of Aldovia in the form of an acorn ornament. When Brooke’s sister and niece decorate the Christmas tree, her sister says, “Your grandma and grandpa picked this up on their trip to Aldovia.” The acorn is the same ornament that belonged to the former king of Aldovia in A Christmas Prince. The ornament is introduced when Amber joins the royal family to decorate the Christmas tree at the palace.

"A Christmas Prince" courtesy of Netflix

So, how does A Christmas Prince’s cameo in The Princess Switch fit into The Knight Before Christmas and A Christmas Prince’s connection? The Princess Switch follows an American baker named Stacy (Hudgens) who meets her doppelgänger in the form of a duchess named Margaret (also Hudgens) while in the fictional country of Belgravia. The two switch places and fall in love with each others’ partners. While Margaret and Kevin enjoy a Netflix night-in, Kevin suggests that they watch A Christmas Prince, which is supposedly Stacy’s favorite film.

"The Princess Switch" courtesy of Netflix

Due to this nod, it’s suggested that A Christmas Prince and The Princess Switch can’t exist in the same cinematic universe since one is but a mere holiday film in the other. It would thus make more sense for A Christmas Prince to exist in the same universe as The Knight Before Christmas. But of course, this is all mere speculation and theory. And you're not the only one who's confused.