We all know the story of Robin Hood and his merry men, how they stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and fought against Prince John and his evil henchman, the Sheriff of Nottingham. We also know how Robin fell in love with Maid Marion. “The Princess of Thieves” takes us on another fantastical journey – what if Robin and Marion had a daughter?
Keira Knightly stars as Gwyn, daughter to Robin Hood. The Sheriff of Nottingham still has it in for Robin Hood and has sworn a bounty on the head of any offspring Robin might have, but when word comes that Robin has a daughter, the Sheriff laughs it off. What could a girl do, anyway?
Gwyn is placed at a monastery with Friar Tuck and other scholars to be raised – Robin and Marion don’t want any harm to befall her. Good Tuck and the other merry men teach her how to fight and use her bow; Robin isn’t around much. Marion passes away at a young age, so Gwyn is, for all intents and purposes, an orphan, seeing Robin only rarely. In fact, it’s been five years since his last visit, and Gwyn is now a young woman.
King Richard the Lion-hearted is nearing his death, and has named his son Phillip as his successor. Prince John is furious at this – everyone knows Phillip is illegitimate. How can an illegitimate son be the King of England? John orders an assassination of Phillip to take place immediately. Phillip is traveling from France to take the crown – the murder must take place at once. Thankfully, Conrad, Phillip’s valet, overhears the plot and gets Phillip out of bed to flee for safety. Meanwhile, King Richard has asked Robin Hood to escort Phillip to safety and they are planning to rendezvous. But the evil Sheriff has sent one of his men to intervene, and he gets to Phillip before Robin, and kills Conrad, mistaking him for Phillip.
Taking his cue from his, Phillip assumes Conrad’s identity and goes into hiding, bumping into Gwyn, who has chopped off all her hair and dressed in boys’ clothes, determined to help her father escort the new king. He doesn’t know she’s Robin Hood’s daughter, she doesn’t know he’s the new king, but they work together to bring about the good, that bond becoming even more pronounced when they reveal their true identities to each other.
This movie was a lot of fun. It had action, adventure, romance – just about anything you could ask for. I probably wouldn’t recommend it for a young viewer, as there were sword fights and people getting shot with arrows, but my eight-year-old watched it with us and enjoyed it as well. My only complaint was with the actor who played the now-mature Robin Hood; he wasn’t near dashing enough.
This movie was rated PG and is a Disney production.
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