'Red, White & Royal Blue's Prince Henry And Alex Have Real Instagram Accounts
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Amazon Prime Video is hitting on all cylinders this summer with the drop of their newest romance movie, Red, White & Royal Blue. The film tells a LGBTQ+ love story involving the president of the United States's son and the prince of England. Of course, in true rom-com fashion, these two start off hating each other's guts before *spoiler alert* falling madly, deeply in love.
The story is riveting and it also has a lot of elements that seem like they could be real—or, at least, based on a true story. So, is the romantic history between "First Son" Alex Claremont-Diaz and the British Prince Henry based in reality? Are they modeled after real people? And are fans going to get more details in a sequel? Here’s everything you need to know:
Is the movie based on a true story?
While this is certainly a love story for the ages, it is, unfortunately, totally fictional. Red, White & Royal Blue is based on a 2019 New York Times bestselling book by author Casey McQuiston.
“When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House,” the Amazon book description reads. “There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.”
As fans of the book know, Alex and Henry are thrown together by their parents to try to get them to pretend to be friends—and they end up falling in love.
The two characters do have IG accounts, though.
Yup, Prince Henry and Alex have Instagram accounts where they "follow" the events of the book's plot through their post. So in that respect, they are kinda-sorta real?
Here's Henry:
And Alex:
Happy Insta following!
Will the movie follow the book's plot?
It's unclear exactly how closely the movie will follow the book's plot, but director Matthew López says his team worked with McQuiston and did their best to stay true to the tone and the story inside.
“Casey has been an incredible source of support for me throughout the making of this film,” López told Glamour. “I respect them for being appropriately protecting of the novel and am grateful to them for also giving me space to tell my own version of their story. Obviously, when translating a nearly 500-page book to the screen, there are things you have to lose and things you will need to change. It is an adaptation, not a recitation."
The film also may have cut the character of Alex's sister, who plays a pretty prominent role in the book. From this family photo on Instagram, it seems she won't be included (or at least that's what fans think!):
The book has a special collector’s edition with a new surprise.
Red, White & Royal Blue. Movie Tie-In
$13.63
amazon.com
A new collector’s edition was published in 2022 (timed to news of the film), featuring a chapter from Prince Henry’s point of view, along with illustrated endpapers. The new Henry chapter also takes place six years after the events in the book.
It was filmed in 2022.
Yup, all the filming for this movie wrapped last year, according to IMDB. Worth noting: It has an R rating, which López says took him off guard.
“I think I was a little surprised at the R rating just because, while I never was encouraged to limit what we were showing or limit what I was depicting, the scene is what I intended to show. It plays exactly how I wanted it to play," he told People. "I do question whether or not if it had been a man and a woman, if we'd still gotten an R rating."
That being said, López also said that he’s happy with the end result. “It's the movie I set out to make,” he told People.
Who is in the cast?
You might recognize the main characters from other popular movies and shows that have aired in recent years. For instance, Prince Henry is played by Nicholas Galitzine, who played another famous prince—Prince Robert—in Camila Cabello’s Cinderella. Taylor Zakhar Perez, who was in Netflix’s Kissing Booth, plays Alex. And Uma Thurman plays Alex's mom, the first female president of the United States, Ellen Claremont.
Will there be a sequel?
As of right now, there’s no word on whether there is a sequel in the works. And unfortunately, things don't look so good for a second movie since the book isn't part of a series. But, ya know, let's wait and see when the movie comes out.
And in the meantime, you can read some of McQuiston's other books, like "One Last Stop" and "I Kissed Shara Weaver."
Red, White & Royal Blue debuts on Prime Video on Aug. 11. Mark your cals and get your popcorn ready!
You Might Also Like
