The Prince and Me

The romantic comedy The Prince and Me has a special appeal for us Danes, as it is about the speed-loving, girl-crazy Danish Crown Prince Edvard, who falls for a perfectly ordinary girl from the American farming state of Wisconsin.

Against his parents' wishes, and without the Danish press getting wind of it, Prince Edvard enrols at college in Wisconsin together with his servant Søren, who is told to keep the prince's identity secret. Barely has he arrived before Edvard is ready to throw himself into the wild nightlife, and after several beers he makes a pass at the girl in the bar, Paige Morgan, who does not exactly find his crude behaviour charming. Paige's enthusiasm is also easy to overlook when they meet the next day in the chemistry lab, where they are to work together. What is more, they become colleagues at the bar, where Edvard gets a job when the money from home starts running out.

From their first meeting Edvard is captivated by the ambitious and intelligent girl with both feet planted firmly on the ground, and Paige does indeed discover that Edvard has other, more redeeming sides. This becomes especially clear when she invites him home to the farm, where he shows off his skills in ride-on mower racing! When Paige finally returns Edvard's feelings, the obstacles pile up. They are not particularly big, but there are lots of them!

The Prince and Me is an update of a well-known romantic fairy-tale formula, the dream of the prince on the white horse. Although much of it is banal and predictable, there are also quite a few witty scenes, and although fairy tale trumps realism, Paige's dilemma, the choice between love and career, is probably also an issue that the real-life Danish Crown Princess can relate to.

As a Dane it is on the one hand fascinating to see an American version of the Kingdom of Denmark, but on the other hand you regularly find yourself cringing at the way our country, and not least our system of government, is portrayed. Fortunately, it says more about American ignorance than about us. There are Danish actors in supporting roles, but tellingly it is English actors who play the royal family. It must be something to do with the aristocratic accent.