The life of a Queen is never easy.  Queen Im Hwa Ryung is in charge of a whole passel of princes, including her own 5 sons and the son’s of the Royal Consorts.  Her own children have coasted through their childhood on the belief that their eldest son would become King and they would be left to live their lives as they please.  Their mischievous antics have been a constant headache for the Queen.  But when tragedy strikes the palace, the need for each of the Prince’s to take his role in the royal family seriously becomes imperative.  Now the Queen will have to tame this group of troublemakers into distinguished royal princes.  And as a royal competition heats up, rivals and enemies will come at them from all sides.  

Moon Sang Min as Grand Prince Sung Nam

As the second oldest son of the Queen, Sung Nam was the closest to the Crown Prince.  The Crown Prince’s untimely death was shocking and devastating for him.  But, once his grief lessens a bit, he knows he must be the one to take his place.  And while the competition for Crown Prince is important, Sung Nam is also adamant about helping his mother find out the true cause of his brother’s death and who is behind it.  The competion outside of the palace walls also brings him another unlikely supporter who seems fated to stand by his side.  But prejudice against him, a  birth secret, and a revenge years in the making may ruin his chance to become the next Crown Prince.  

Because Sung Nam was forced to grow up outside the palace walls, he is more emotionally guarded than his other brothers.  But the brothers are quick to point out to the Crown Princess that while he may seem prickly and hard to get to know from the outside, he is actually the most warmhearted of them all.  He is serious and quiet, but he has inherited his mother’s strong inner strength and fierce need for justice.  As a Crown Prince who has spent much of his life outside of the Palace, he brings a fresh perspective and a love of the people they rule that will make him an excellent King some day.  I enjoyed Moon Sang Min in this role.  This is my first time watching him in a drama, but I loved the warmth behind his cool exterior.  It felt very genuine and realistic.  

Choi Won Young as King Lee Ho

King Lee Ho is the reigning King.  He bears guilt for the way he became the King and the actions of his mother and his other supporters.  He is a caring father to all of his sons, although his busy life and lofty position don’t allow him to spend much time with any of them.  While he has had numerous consorts, he has remained supportive and trusting of the Queen.  

 ♥ King and Queen

I thought the relationship between the King and Queen was very interesting.  Usually this relationship is either still blissfully happy or they barely stand the sight of each other.  In this case, Lee Ho’s attentions have definitely wandered, as evidenced by the large number of Consorts and Princes living in the palace.  But despite this, he and the Queen have a very down to earth affection and respect for each other.  The King is always careful to be considerate of her opinions and feelings, even if it makes the Queen Dowager unhappy.   It was a middle ground that doesn’t seemed to be explored often, and I appreciated it for that reason.  

♥ Sung Nam and Grand Heir

The few scenes that we got with Sung Nam and the Grand Heir, Won Son, were so cute and sweet.  Their relationship was obviously special, even before the death of the Crown Prince.  I also liked that he was able to bring him back to the palace, just as he had promised all along.  And it seems like Sung Nam was being sincere when he revealed his plan to keep the Kingdom safe, until he could hand it back to his nephew to rule, when the time comes.  

 Prince Stories

With all of those Princes, it would have been easy to lose track of who was who.  But as things went on, and especially around the time of the competition, they did a nice job of making each one unique in some way.  So I was disappointed when all but the Queen’s sons kind of disappear toward the end of the drama.  Especially for Bo Gum and Sim So, I felt like they got dropped for the palace intrigue and then showed up at the very end for a rushed conclusion.  It would have been nice to see them sprinkled through some of the other scenes in the last few episodes.  

 Court Lady Nam

Most of the villains in this drama are either dead or exiled somewhere away from the palace.  But I couldn’t help but wonder whatever happened to Court Lady Nam.  Maybe even more than some of the more obvious villains, she was personally responsible for carrying out most of the Queen Dowager’s evil deeds.  Was she held accountable for her actions in any way?  I can’t imagine that they let her stay in the palace after everything had come to light.  

“Under the Queen’s Umbrella” has plenty to wrap up in the end, and, although a bit rushed in places, I think they did a fine job.  The Rebellion is put down pretty much before it even starts, with the Chief State Counselor and Ik Hyeon being the only casualties.  The King finally decides to put the full truth behind his brother and son’s deaths into the history annals and let the people decide how he will be remembered. He sentences the Queen Dowager to confinement in her quarters, but she has other ideas.  Putting on her ceremonial clothes, she dies, presumable by taking the cuckoo pint given to her by the Queen, judging by the gift box placed prominently on her table.  With the truth finally revealed, Sung Nam brings home Lady Min and the Grand Heir.  And Lady Yoon is reinstated in the palace.  Consort Hwang and Ui Sung are living outside in the nearby village.  The Queen is keeping a close eye on him in case he tries to cause any more trouble.  But Consort Hwang is living in denial, still believing they are back in the palace, and refuses to let Ui Sung out of her sight long enough for him to be much of a problem.  Prince Bo Gum is living outside, but making frequent trips in to visit Sung Nam and his mother.  As for our troublemaking brothers, each is choosing his own path.   Mu Ahn marries his girlfriend and spends his time getting child-rearing advice from the remaining Consorts.  Gye Sung decides to travel the world and be true to himself for the first time in his life.  And Il Yung continues to invent and study science and astronomy. Sung Nam is devoted to Chung Ha and their unborn child.  He is slowly checking items off her bucket list and finally seems happy and relaxed.  And the Queen is still rushing around to keep the palace and all its residents in check!