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Original painted Christmas scene, from the Cine Claus illustration set

Not really, no · 2021

The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star

46/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 46 ↓
UK certificate Parental Guidance106 min
Comedy · Family

The third outing drops the royal romance formula for a heist, which is the most sensible thing this series…

Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 8 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Original painted Christmas scene, from the Cine Claus illustration set

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas is the deadline.15/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for about half.10/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details5 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.8/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: partly.10/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

82/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Christmas on telly? Unlikely: a Netflix original with no UK terrestrial Christmas broadcast found. No broadcast date is confirmed here; a past tradition isn’t tonight’s TV listing.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Availability data by JustWatch.

The story

About The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star

A queen and a princess who happen to be identical are staging a grand Christmas festival when the priceless relic meant to crown its tree is stolen. With the clock running down to the celebrations, they turn to their third lookalike, a reformed jewel thief on probation, who assembles an old crew and a disgraced former detective to steal it back. Vanessa Hudgens plays all three women in a series entry that swaps the usual royal romance for a festive heist caper.

The CineClaus verdict

The third outing drops the royal romance formula for a heist, which is the most sensible thing this series has done.

Vanessa Hudgens once again plays every lookalike, and much of the pleasure lies in seeing her commit to each of them. The caper logic falls apart if you look at it for more than a second, so don't.

Scottish stately homes do the heavy lifting as the palace, buried in trees and tinsel. Made for loyal fans of the series, and for anyone happy to trade plausibility for sparkle.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

PG

Our take: a light caper for primary-age children, with no real peril and a happy ending, though younger ones may lose the thread of the heist.

Content advice & accessibility
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official PG certificate, and never looser than it.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Head and shoulders photo of Remy Hii smiling, with dark swept hair, wearing a burgundy jacket over a patterned shirt.Remy Hiias Peter Maxwell
Sam Palladio singing into a microphone on stage while playing an electric guitar, wearing a black leather jacket.Sam Palladio
Nick Sagar
Will Kempas Hunter Cunard
Suanne Braun
Ricky Norwood
Mark Fleischmann

Behind the camera

Directed by
Mike Rohl
Writing & production credits
Writer
Robin Bernheim
Producers
Vanessa Hudgens
Brad Krevoy
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Vanessa Hudgens · Toglenn · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Remy Hii · Eva Rinaldi from Sydney Australia · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Sam Palladio · Lisa Gansky · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapBorthwick Castle

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

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Photographs of the real places

There’s more behind the film.
Explore the next place.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Borthwick Castle · Kim Traynor · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab) · findthatlocation.com (opens in a new tab)

Newbattle Abbey · findthatlocation.com (opens in a new tab)

Hopetoun House · Godot13 · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · findthatlocation.com (opens in a new tab)

Barnbougle Castle · findthatlocation.com (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

A Scottish winter, helped along with fake snow

The film was shot in January 2021 around Edinburgh and the Lothians. The cold, damp Scottish winter did a lot of the work, and the crew added artificial snow to make it look properly festive.

Read the story
On your next watchLook for how snow settles on the stonework of the castle exteriors.

Source: findthatlocation.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Public money and trainees behind the camera

Screen Scotland put £500,000 from its Production Growth Fund into the production. Five Scotland-based trainees also worked on it, across the art department, camera, hair and make-up, continuity and set decoration.

Read the story

Source: screen.scot ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

One country on screen, many Scottish houses in real life

The film's European setting was assembled from several Scottish buildings: a Midlothian tower castle, a college abbey near Dalkeith, a West Lothian stately home and a castle on the Dalmeny Estate. Hopetoun House appeared in the previous film too.

Read the story
On your next watchSee if you can tell where one building ends and the next begins in the palace scenes.

Source: findthatlocation.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Snow on screen. Built around an international Christmas festival; the snow was partly artificial.
Releases and certificates
: On streaming. Released on Netflix.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

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More places to find The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

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The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star is in this collection

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Collection

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Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit