Hear Me Out: ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ is the most important film of the year
Set in a future world where the first female president of the United States is nearing her reelection, Red White & Royal Blue is a YA romance novel that centres around ‘First Son’ Alex Claremont-Diaz and a crisis management campaign that he finds himself in the middle of with Britain’s Prince Henry. After an initial perceived mutual hatred, the pair begin to slowly but surely grow fond of one another. Their relationship becomes romantic, a complicated development given their respective geopolitical positions.
The book, written by esteemed queer romance writer Casey McQuistion, was published in 2019 and immediately garnered widespread adoration from readers worldwide. A film adaptation by Amazon Prime was announced soon after, with actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine stated to be playing the leads. Production on the film was confirmed as well underway on June 21st, 2022, and the team excitedly announced Perez’s and Galitzine’s chemistry as “palpable”. Something that we’ve now experienced for ourselves after the first official trailer dropped last week.
Directed by Matthew López, the film also boasts Uma Thurman as President Ellen Claremont and Sarah Shahi as Zahra Bankston. The cast’s talent is undeniable – in the trailer, we see some of the novel’s most anticipated moments, with the infamous cake scene and later the attempt to hide Prince Henry in Alex’s hotel closet go… well, not quite as planned.
McQuiston is a lover of queer romance; when coming up with the concept behind Red, White & Royal Blue, they refer to their fondness of ‘Prince Charming’ tropes, particularly in hiding “complex and dark” truths behind seemingly bland personalities. Galitzine plays Prince Henry in perfect keeping with this notion – he’s as stoic and mysterious as he first appears in the book, which only makes for a delicious slow burn and delightful fuel to the enemies-to-lovers fire with the opposing Alex, who’s confident and outgoing by contrast.
In actuality, while the influence of BookTok undoubtedly propelled this work to greater prominence, the timing of this film couldn’t be more significant. The LGTBQ+ community has persistently endured immense hardships from its inception, but in recent months, they have confronted a barrage of new legislation, derogatory language, and hate crimes that relentlessly undermine and negate their fundamental right to exist. At face value, some may deem Red, White & Royal Blue as nothing more than another quirky and upbeat queer romance. And it is, but it’s also so much more than that.
It deals with issues pertaining to acceptance within ideologically immovable institutions, such as the British Monarchy and American red-state homophobia, as well as the world’s online culture of ‘outing’ people and its extension to media-fuelled witch hunts. Alex and Henry’s relationship is one that’s complicated behind closed doors because of fear of public opinion and scrutiny. As representatives of their respective countries, conservatism is key, particularly in Henry’s case, and being anything other than the norm (heterosexual) is undeniably unacceptable.
We see this play out in front of us in the book during a scene where Henry and Alex attempt to have an open and honest conversation with the Queen. It’s uncomfortable and difficult to read, but McQuistion deals with it in such a way that we still find comfort in our main beloved characters.
Historically, many queer representations in film have been under the umbrella of tragedy. From Brokeback Mountain to Call Me By Your Name – and even in recent works like The Whale – queer representation has been at the bleak hands of stories rife with devastation. It makes sense as to why because achieving sexual acceptance has always been a fight, and often these stories are important to tell.
But rarely are we given stories that deal with such realities whilst maintaining positivity and hope. With the exception of films like Love, Simon, queer films – good queer films – are hard to come by. And that’s why Red, White & Royal Blue will be a breath of fresh air. We follow Alex and Henry throughout their trials and tribulations, but ultimately, it’s a win for the community because they’re able to rise above societal prejudice and revel in their well-earned happy ending.
Red, White & Royal Blue will be released on Amazon Prime on August 11th, 2023. Check out the full trailer below.
