Princess and I is a Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Dado C. Lumibao, Francis E. Pasion and Rory B. Quintos, it stars Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Enrique Gil and Khalil Ramos. It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up and worldwide on TFC from April 16, 2012 to February 1, 2013 replacing E-Boy and was replaced by Juan dela Cruz.Kathryn Bernardo shifts from drama to horror in Shake Rattle and Roll 13 retrieved via www.pep.ph 12-05-2011Kathryn Bernardo believes that celebrities are entitled to privacy in some aspects retrieved via www.push.com.ph 02-25-2012
This serves as KathNiel's first teleserye. The series is streaming online on YouTube.
Plot
Princess Areeyah "Mikay" Wangchuck (Kathryn Bernardo) grew up with her adoptive family. She is close to her father Dinoy Maghirang (Dominic Ochoa), mother and two sisters. Unbeknownst to them, she is the only daughter of King Anand Wangchuck (Albert Martinez) and Queen Isabel Wangchuck (Precious Lara Quigaman) and is the long-lost crown princess of the fictional Kingdom of Yangdon (based on real world Bhutan). As a child, she was brought to the Philippines after Ashi Behati (Gretchen Barretto), a royal and a high-ranking influential official who desires to rule Yangdon with her son Prince Jao (Enrique Gil) tries to kill her and her mother. Behati conspired to kill Queen Isabel and the infant Areeyah by bombing Queen Isabel's convoy off the cliff, but only the Queen was killed. Behati ordered her Executive Assistant Yin Hwan Dee (Niña Dolino) to kill the child, but out of conscience, she lied to Behati, took the child and placed her under the care of Esmeralda (Sharmaine Suarez), a Filipina who works in Yangdon. Esmeralda returned to the Philippines with the princess, not knowing her identity.
During one of Esmeralda's trips to the marketplace, a bombing took place and Esmeralda lost the child in the ensuing chaos. The child, wearing a Yangdonese scarf on her back, was found by a man named Dinoy Maghirang. He adopted the child and called her Mikay. She grew up in what has been described as a "very loving family," fully aware of her adopted status. Her existence in the family made her eldest stepsister, Bianca Maghirang (Bianca Casado) grow envious and inconsiderate of Mikay. She bullied Mikay until Bianca was exiled. Only then does she realize and consider Mikay her, sister and they make up. Mikay meets her eventual best friend Kiko (Khalil Ramos) who harbors a crush on her, and Gino (Daniel Padilla), an arrogant teen who comes from an affluent family. His mother, Alicia (Marina Benipayo), was a former diplomat to Yangdon while his father, Edward Dela Rosa (Jong Cuenco), and his grandfather, Don Julio Dela Rosa (Leo Rialp), are heads of a big corporation.
Winning a trip to Yangdon, Mikay meets Jao, a Yangdonese royalty and crown prince, and the two of them become close as he tours her around without knowing that she is the missing princess. Prince Jao eventually develops an attraction for Mikay.
Upon returning to the Philippines, Mikay faces difficulties financially, along with her sister's hatred and her mother's indifference towards her. She then meets Gino, the wealthy and arrogant campus heartthrob after literally colliding with her. They meet again after another unfortunate event when Mikay's hotdog costume catches fire and starts burning. Gino saves her by carrying her into a water fountain. Knowing Mikay is in need of money, he offers her a deal to come to his grandfather's party with him and pretend to be his girlfriend, and he will pay her a huge amount in return. Hesitant at first, Mikay accepts the deal.
Gino is surprised seeing Mikay all made up, implying that he is starting to feel differently towards her, but they always end up getting into an argument. He introduces Mikay to the family, but they disliked and mistreated her, and she ends up leaving the party crying after a brief argument with Gino.
However, it does not stop there. The Mean Girls, including Bianca (Mikay's Sister) who admires Gino gets jealous upon seeing him with Mikay. They start to make her life miserable, and in an effort to help her, Gino tells them that Mikay is his girlfriend which angers Mikay as she thinks it will only make them hate her more.
Things gets complicated as Gino's grandfather decides to take away Mikay's scholarship, making the two agree yet again on another deal which is to ignore each other, and act as if the other does not exist. This deal disheartens Gino.
Later, Jao visits the Philippines with his royal butler Han (Ketchup Eusebio), to return the camera that a girl lost in Yangdon. There, he officially meets Mikay and Gino. It is revealed that Gino was in fact, Jao's best friend back in Yangdon. Gino and Mikay reconciles and ends the deal they used to have. Both Jao and Gino fall in love with Mikay. However, Mikay was rejected by both of the boys' families (Gino, by his father and grandfather, and Jao, by his mother, Ashi Behati.)
Ashi Behati learns from her assistant Yin that the princess is alive and follows Jao to the Philippines. Upon her arrival, she finds out Jao's connection with Mikay and plotted to get rid of her. King Anand finds a suspicious letter with a mark of an eagle from the Eastern Kingdom and follows Behati to investigate. When Esmeralda is found, King Anand grants her protective custody until the princess is located. Esmeralda recognizes Dinoy and deduces that Dinoy is Mikay's adoptive father after the bombing incident. The Yangdonese scarf that she was wearing was the proof of Mikay's true identity as the Yangdonese crown princess.
Dinoy feared that Mikay would be taken away and planned to move away to hide her lineage. Behati learned of Mikay and ordered for her to be killed by arson. Mikay and her family escaped the burning house but were left without a home. Anand learned of Mikay's identity and after a series of murder attempts, including Mikay and Gino becoming kidnapped, Gino was beaten by Behati's hired men as he tried to protect Mikay. Mikay bids her farewell to Gino while he was at the hospital pretending to be asleep to hide his tears. Mikay, Jao and King Anand leave for Yangdon and Mikay surprisingly sees Gino at the airport, where they bid their goodbyes as they hugged.
Mikay returned to Yangdon. She was crowned thus gained her birthright to the throne. While adjusting to the royal life, Jao joins Mikay to support her.
Later, Gino followed Mikay despite his mother's objections. As she tours him around Yangdon, they almost immediately cause trouble. People from Yangdon finds out about it through a newspaper that releases an article about "The Princess and her Filipino boyfriend", which causes the citizens to reconsider her role as princess and eventually queen. Behati then reminds the kingdom that the tradition states that the crown princess must marry a Dasho at the age of 18.
A contest was held between all Dasho of the West to determine which would marry Princess Areeyah. Gino decided to enter the competition but was rejected because he is not a Dasho. After a visit to the King's Library, Gino learned that his mother Alicia had a relationship with Dasho Kencho (Christian Vasquez), and that he had an older brother, Jao. Ashi Behati did not tell anyone the true identity of Jao, but it was part of her plan to get back the Kingdom of Yangdon. As Jao and Gino competed, they promised that whoever won would free the princess from the law. In the end, Dasho Jao won, showing that he is the next heir of Yangdon and that he is loyal, dedicated and that he loves Princess Areeyah. Mikay and Jao continue their engagement, leaving Gino devastated and feeling betrayed.
Mikay and Jao chose not to break off their engagement due to her belief that Jao would make a great king. After the contest, Mikay held an outreach program to help Yangdon's impoverished citizens. Unbeknownst to them, Yin came back to Yangdon to get revenge on Ashi Behati. Mikay collapsed from exhaustion and was carried to Ashi Behati's room. She stumbled on her jewelry and accidentally saw the Medallion of the East, which she was caught by Ashi Behati. Mikay was terrified and worried over Jao's well-being if the kingdom had learned about their true heritage. Mikay finally questioned the Kingdom about the policies concerning the East, but the Drukpah did not listen to her petition. Anand told Mikay to think of the royal engagement rather than rebels of the East.
The Royal Engagement was a time of celebration for Yangdon, with Dasho Jao and Princess Areeyah as the next heirs to the throne. However, when Gino brought Yin to the program, Yin had plans of revenge against Ashi Behati. Yin accused Behati of having an allegiance to the rebels of the East, and both Yin and Behati were sent to prison. Unbeknownst to Behati, Mikay led Jao to the forest where Behati buried the medallion and Jao eventually found out the truth about his true heritage. The King was enraged when he realized that Behati had been the one to murder the Queen and sentenced both Jao and Behati to death, but Princess Areeyah pleaded with the king to lower their sentence. The King decided to let them live and be thrown to a place called Gulag, a place where they will become laborers and work for Yangdon.
Jao and Behati are heading towards Gulag when Jao is caught and beaten half-dead, while Behati is shot down and presumed dead. Jao falls unconscious and is helped by Shivaji (Arthur Acuna). Princess Areeyah is devastated and does not eat or sleep due to devastation. Nagaiel, a friend of Gino's late father Dasho Kencho, tells Gino that he is the only person the Princess can rely on during her depression. Jao wakes up from his injuries and realizes he is taken to the Philippines where he was brought in by one of the citizens of the East Kingdom named Salve (Ces Quesada). He also finds out that he is in Santol Village, also called "Yangdon of the Philippines", a place where citizens of the East Kingdom who escaped from Yangdon were living peacefully without any worries of getting caught. The Drukpah Ministers decide to choose Dasho Yuan (Gino) as the Dasho that the Princess should marry. However, during the dispute, Mikay suddenly appears and accepts Gino as her next fiancé. Jao learns that it was Shivaji who saved him from going to the Gulag and is slowly poisoned by his feelings towards King Anand and Mikay and all the Citizens of the West Kingdom. Jao eventually meets his own kin, Lara (Akiko Solon), a Santol girl who has a crush on him.
King Anand assigns Gino to do everything for Mikay to make her happy. Gino plans to give Mikay a chance to spend Christmas with her family in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Alicia and her husband Edward return from the United States with an adopted child named Angelo. When Mikay finds out about this, she is devastated and decides to plan him a little surprise. She pretends to steal his shades and lead him into a garden decorated to look like a hotdog stand, wearing the blue bear suit that Gino wore when they went to Enchanted Kingdom. Gino is touched and forgives Mikay, as she tells him that she does not ever want him to think that he is just for rebound. Mikay assures her sisters that she will no longer hurt Gino's feelings and eventually both Mikay and Gino become closer and Mikay is able to smile once again.