Red White & Royal Blue: Prime Video’s Royal Romance is Queer History in the Making
I first became aware of Red White & Royal Blue as a book, written by Casey McQuinston, and it blew me away. A love story between a gay prince of England, and the first son of the American president? It sounded insane, it sounded incredible. And it was. When I heard it was going to be transformed into a film, I was nervous, as I’m sure a lot of people have witnessed their favourite book struggle to take on the big screen.
But I had no reason to fear. Director Matthew Lopez was a fan of the book, and is openly gay and Latinx – in that he encompasses both protagonists as Henry (played by Nicholas Galitzine) is gay and Alex (played by Taylor Zakhar Perez) has a Mexican father. Lopez spent a long time searching for his two protagonists, wanting to get the approval from McQuinston, because he knew how important these characters were to fans. In interviews filmed before the ongoing actor’s strikes, the love that Zakhar Perez and Galitzine have for these characters and this film is enough to rival that of some fans.
They gave their all for this film, and the chemistry between the characters was perfect. The entire cast feels as if they were lifted from the pages, and though this film is a rom-com that focuses on the love between Alex and Henry, they would be nothing without the ensemble around them.
In the film we follow Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the first female President of the United States, as he and his mother’s team attempt to secure her second term. In being the ‘First Son’, Alex is popular, and is the heartthrob of America. Because of this he is often compared to England’s own heartthrob, Prince Henry, which infuriates Alex because where his family have worked hard for their success, the royal family have had it given to them. And so Alex hates Henry, calling him “the world’s rudest person”. And Henry? Well, Henry thinks Alex is “the world’s most irritating person.” They hate each other. Right?
When their ‘hatred’ turns to bickering at Henry’s brother’s wedding reception, and the two find themselves crashing into a $75k cake, damage control is needed to smooth over tensions between their nations and to keep the press off their backs. They are forced to pretend to be friends and, much to their surprise, with forced proximity comes a real friendship. And with friendship comes feelings. After a kiss on New Years Eve, that causes Henry to panic and cut contact, Alex turns to his best friend Nora (played by Rachel Hilson), who finds it hilarious that Alex has only just realised now that he and Henry are into each other, and that their bickering was flirting all along.
With some subtle encouragement, Alex confronts Henry at a state dinner and said confrontation turns into kissing, nearly knocking over a painting of Alex’s namesake, Alexander Hamilton in the heat of the moment. Both unable to deny their feelings, they enter into a tentative relationship, but the press and public are always watching, and with Henry part of the most traditional family to ever exist, and Alex’s mother attempting to win over less than LGBT-friendly states in her campaign, it has to be kept quiet.
They begin emailing and calling each other, and I was initially worried about how this would work on screen as these scenes take up a large portion of the book. But I needn’t have worried. In one scene, as Henry and Alex are on the phone, we see them lying side by side on Alex’s bed, with Galitzine and Zakhar Perez performing their lines back and forth. Only when the camera shifts and Alex turns over, the space on his bed beside him is revealed to be empty, and Galitzine’s lines now sound as if they are coming through a phone. It’s an incredible way of showing the phone call, whilst also allowing the audience to see the chemistry and banter that Galitzine and Zakhar Perez have, and I have to commend Lopez for this.
He does a similar thing with the emails, them being read aloud in voice overs as the two characters go about their day to day life. One of my favourite instances is when Alex is running through a local park and he runs past Henry sitting on a bench as they speak the contents of their emails in a voiceover. Obviously the two are not in the same country, let alone park, but it’s a brilliant way to show that it is these two characters who are emailing back and forth.
And all is well between Henry and Alex, until then their emails are leaked. Their romantic and intimate messages are shown to the world, and all seems lost. When Alex can’t get ahold of Henry, he jets across the world, to England, and sneaks into the palace. Cue a dramatic and heart-wrenching, ‘I came here in the rain to tell you I love you’ scene in which Henry finally realises that love is more important than status.
Of course, this is a happily ever after story, and after confronting the King of England and Henry refusing to back down, they are together. The cherry on top of the cake is that Ellen Claremont (played by the wonderful Uma Thurman) wins the election and secures her second term as President, and Henry is stood right beside Alex through the entire acceptance speech, hand in hand.
To watch this film alongside an audience of both fans and press really cemented to me how well this film has transferred from book to screen and I have to thank Prime Video for taking on this film, and Essential Journal for inviting me to go. As we entered the cinema (via the blue carpet) guests were invited to take photos, and to see the joy on the faces of fans was just incredible. The general feeling from fans was “I cannot believe I’m here”, and when Lopez came out to introduce the film to us, followed by a message from Zakhar Perez (filmed before the actor strikes) thanking us for watching, I could feel a genuine buzz in the air.
This film has been a long time coming for fans, myself included, and I am truly so grateful I was able to see it on the big screen. From fans cheering at direct quotes from the book, the tagline “History, Huh” getting the loudest cheer of all, to the press who laughed at the comedic scenes and “aww’ed” at the romantic ones (especially when Alex and Henry danced together in the Victoria & Albert museum, Henry admitting he always dreamt of bringing a guy here but was too afraid), it was a confirmation of Lopez’s success in adapting the source material.
And I say adapting, as there are things from the book that could not make it into the film, such as Alex’s older sister June and Henry’s mother Catherine. Due to the film’s (what felt like) painfully short 2 hours, Lopez focused on the joy of Alex and Henry’s relationship, and in doing so some things had to remain within the pages of McQuinston’s book. In my opinion, this isn’t a bad thing, as it means that the 400+ page novel still holds a desirability to new readers. Regardless, the feeling and ‘vibe’ of the book is felt throughout the movie.
The book is incredibly funny and sexy and romantic, and the film encompasses all of that and ties it up into a neat little bow. Though the intimate scenes are less “sexy” in the film, they hold so much more weight. Lopez’s decision to film the scenes with focus on the actors’ faces as the characters sleep together, was a testament to his vision, because it felt so much more intimate than if their whole bodies had been shown. Through the soft focus and the slow-motion, you can feel the love through the screen in those scenes, and that is more important than a sexy, borderline fetishistic portrayal of gay sex that you see in some films that are not directed by a queer director. The intimate scenes were done with such care and such appreciation for the love story that I could not have asked for anything better.
The most incredible thing about this film for me is how real and relatable it feels. Yes, it’s a love story between a Prince and the First Son, but the struggles both characters go through in terms of their sexualities and their feelings are so real. With a target audience of people in their late teens through to their thirties, this film really captured the queer feelings of realising your sexuality, of coming out, of being outed. The scenes between Alex and his mother were acted so beautifully by Zakhar Perez and Thurman, and I could see so much of my own coming out story in Alex’s. When Alex’s mother hugs him, tells him she loves him, and asks him to consider if he feels “forever” about his relationship with Henry, I could feel the emotion seeping through the screen. It was beautiful, and Thurman and Zakhar Perez nailed the dynamic of mother and son traversing this new and very public change in Alex’s life together.
However Henry’s coming out is less heart-warming; the scenes with Henry where he is struggling with being outed to the entire world were soul destroying to watch, and putting aside Henry being a prince for a second,
Galitzine portrayed a young man who is afraid of what people would think of him so perfectly that I did not blink during the scene where Henry confronted his grandfather, the King (played by Stephen Fry, a gay actor, which gave the audience a few chuckles when his character was homophobic).
A lot of queer people are tired of the constant angst and pain we get in our queer films, tired of the disastrous coming out and having to be shoved back into the closet, which is something this film deals with so humorously – one of my favourite scenes in the entire film involves Henry being physically trapped in Alex’s wardrobe, only for the head of Alex’s staff, Zahra (played by Sarah Shahi, who has such incredible comedic timing in her head-to-head scenes with Zakhar Perez), to open the door and find him. Henry then stumbles out towards Alex, and it feels like a metaphor for Henry taking that step towards what he wants, towards a happy ever after with Alex.
I think this film deserves to be praised for not only its representation, but for its joy. This is a rom-com at heart, regardless of the gender of the lovers. It’s funny, it’s silly, it’s trope-y, and it’s real. So many queer people have been waiting for something like this, something that does deal with the difficulties with coming out and societal pressures but in a way that doesn’t make you want to rip your heart out and never feel joy again. And though there is angst in this film and moments that make you tear up, it’s a happily ever after, and that is something so refreshing to see with a queer couple on the big screen. It’s a funny film, and it’s one that can be enjoyed by anyone looking for a good, funny rom-com, regardless of sexuality.
Words: Emma-Ann Cranston
Red, White, and Royal Blue is streaming now on Prime Video
