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» » The Student Prince (1997)

Short summary

The Queen's youngest son is off to university, mainly because "I'm hopeless at anything else". Barry, his new bodyguard, has no time for the royal family and left school at fifteen. He certainly didn't volunteer for this job, and is damned if he's going to enjoy it. Yet he can't help liking the hopelessly unworldly young prince, at least, until they both set their eyes on the new American student!

For its American television broadcast on PBS, the title of the film was changed to "The Prince of Hearts" to avoid confusion with the famous Romberg-Donnelly 1924 operetta and 1954 Mario Lanza film "The Student Prince", neither of which have anything in common with this film other than the fact that the prince is sent to a university.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Cezel
    "The Prince of Hearts" is another winner for Robson Green, the charming British heartthrob/actor/singer. He once again shows his comedic talents (evident in "Reckless" and "Ain't Misbehavin'") as Barry, the Royal Protection Unit guard. As much as I like him in this, I have to admit that Rupert Penry-Jones really steals the show as the Prince with no name. He is at once sensitive and vulnerable yet aloof and distant. It's clear that he's a bit slow intellectually, but he makes up for that in his actions (at the end of the show). Tara Fitzgerald was charming as Grace Wilson, the American girl with whom Barry and the Prince both fall in love.
  • comment
    • Author: allegro
    This proved to be a mostly pleasant, if somewhat episodic romp by two "outsiders" in the old-boy network of Cambridge University, one attracting ridicule because he is the ill-educated(but street-smart)bodyguard-cum-nursemaid of a Royal Prince, one the nerdy Royal Prince, himself. The two heroes triumph over all, of course, each "finding" himself in the conventional way, and they each wind up with Their Own True Love, meanwhile, the two actors play off each other most amusingly The humour is throwaway, but unexpected, and effective in eliciting constant guffaws from this, normally, staid viewer. The only fault I found with this highly enjoyable movie, was its occasional soppy moments, and a mean-spirited anti Royal tone throughout. The writer and director must be even more Republican than I.
  • comment
    • Author: Tcaruieb
    In this comedic drama based loosely on Prince Edward at Cambridge, we find Geordie policeman-turned royal guard Barry Grimes (Robson Green) dealing with both his charge, a naïve prince (Rupert Penry-Jones), and an American Fulbright student (Tara Fitzgerald). Green is absolutely brilliant as the guard who gets more than he bargains for: both an appreciation of literature, and love. As Grace, Tara was great as the free-spirit who becomes the object of both Grimes and the Prince (BTW: Her accent was very good, with only the word "appreciate" giving her away). And that's what you'll do when you see this film: appreciate. With a Cyrano undercurrent and some very funny guard-Prince mentoring scenes, this is one you'll want to watch again and again. If Robson Green is not careful, with previous performances in "Reckless" and "Touching Evil", he will become as well-known (and loved) in America as he is in Britan.
  • comment
    • Author: Kearanny
    What can I say about Robson Green? Talented /Handsome /Charismatic /Dreamy? He is the best in what ever he does. Very talented performances by him and Rupert Penry-Jones The few flaws in this lighthearted film are not theirs. Tara Fitzgerald who was cast to play an American. First, her accent is as far from American. I would like to know, when the writers ever heard and American say, "brilliant" ? It may be common English slang but absolutely unheard of in American speech. Fitzgerald is cast as a girl from a "common" American home life. Very unbelievable in a nasal sounding accent. Listening to her was painful, made only bearable by the thrill of watching a master like Robson Green in yet another talented performance.
  • comment
    • Author: Stylish Monkey
    I caught this show (our reference was The Prince of Hearts) I found most of the characters delightfully written and interesting - got hooked into them right away. Robson Green was mesmerizing. I 'liked' the character straight off.He reels you in to the story immediately. The satire is witty and gives a proper slice of the ways Brits do what they do. Made me long to be back again. Definitely enjoyable - the scene where Barry tries to help the Prince get the girl is a scream.
  • comment
    • Author: Neol
    This movie was amazing! I found myself laughed and laughed to see the satire to the Monarchy along with lots of scene when Barry tried to teach Prince "Botty" to win Grace's hearts. Robson Green was charming. I found myself a new favorite actor.
  • comment
    • Author: Celen
    We decided to take the afternoon off today, and picked this film to watch. When the initial credits began to roll, my husband said, "Oh, now I see why we're going to watch this: Rupert Penry-Jones !" He doesn't seem to ever get his due...why do they leave him off the star list? I've been watching him be first a human radio antenna (adorably bumping his head coming back in the window), then a human TV rabbit ears as the untalented brother of the super-talented sisters in Hilary and Jackie, then fighter pilot Peter Gregory in Charlotte Gray. Charlotte Gray is a dark movie, but Rupert Penry-Jones made it memorable, and the comments of Charlotte's roommates gave us some of our favorite comeback lines ("That bloody airman ate all my rations again!" "Mine, too!") Then there was Persuasion which I've watched until I've worn it out, and the MI-5 episodes in which he played Adam, and on and on.

    The Student Prince brought some unexpected laughs and we found it delightful. Robson Green and Rupert Penry-Jones gave engaging performances. Green, of course, has been a star for some time. A star was born in this movie, and IMDb didn't recognize it. His name is Rupert Penry-Jones.
  • comment
    • Author: sunrise bird
    A smart, thoroughly enchanting romantic comedy with a little Cyrano DeBergerac thrown in while it thumbs its nose at class distinctions and the monarchy. Give me more of Robson Green!!!
  • comment
    • Author: nadness
    It has Robson Green; it has to be good. Tara Fitzgerald & Rupert Penry-Jones are added bonuses. I thought of other films that captured the Cyrano premise encapsulated in this film. Also, education and Shakespeare are revealed to be important to all of us: rich and poor, dropout or higher educated. No matter what, there will always be films that have been done poorly, and this is not one of them. There will be films done a little better. Think for yourself, and you might agree with me that this one is a little better than most - especially of the USA variety. STUDENT PRINCE is so charming, and its storyline so unforced. The laughs are not belly busters, but the humor is charming, sophisticated, and heartfelt. It was a perfect afternoon diversion: mind elevating and memorable. It's a chick flick that might be appreciated by significant others looking for romance tips and techniques. British, and jolly good!
  • Cast overview, first billed only:
    Robson Green Robson Green - Barry Grimes
    Gavin Richards Gavin Richards - Chief Superintendent
    Peter Lovstrom Peter Lovstrom - Police Driver
    Tara Fitzgerald Tara Fitzgerald - Grace
    Terence Rigby Terence Rigby - Mr. Garter
    Terence Budd Terence Budd - Sandy
    Rupert Penry-Jones Rupert Penry-Jones - The Prince
    Christopher Staines Christopher Staines - Adams
    Graeme Garden Graeme Garden - The Master
    Mark Gough Mark Gough - Hargreaves
    Jacqueline King Jacqueline King - The Master's Wife
    Stephen Moore Stephen Moore - Dr. Rymans
    Danielle Tilley Danielle Tilley - Serena
    Judy Cornwell Judy Cornwell - Mrs. Quigley
    Katherine Porter Katherine Porter - Blue Stocking
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