Red, White & Royal Blue

Ellen tells Alex to sit down. He dreads whatever she’s going to say—but then she asks if he’s okay. Alex is shocked and feels himself halfway shutting down. This is not how he wanted to talk to his mom about his boyfriend. He settles for saying that he wanted to tell people “right,” not like this. Giving him the same look she gives to Congress and autocrats, Ellen says that she’s still Alex’s mother, and if he wants Henry, she’ll support him. Alex says he feels “forever” about Henry, so Ellen smiles and says, “fuck it.”

On September 27, the Washington Post publishes an article about Alex and Henry and how their relationship may affect Ellen’s reelection campaign. The First Family, the paper writes, haven’t released any statements. The Daily Mail broke the news, with photographs and copies of Henry and Alex’s emails. Alex used a private email server for White House residents. The article quotes Richards suggesting that in addition to this scandal calling Ellen’s “family values” into question, he’d like to investigate whether the server was used for classified information. So far, experts have found nothing classified in the emails.

Alex spends five hours meeting with strategists, staffers, and crisis managers. At one point, he pulls Ellen aside and admits he told Luna about Henry two days ago, but she doesn’t think he’s to blame. Despite it all, though, Alex doesn’t regret Henry, even if he thinks that probably makes him a bad person and a bad politician. Finally, they release him to the Residence, and Amy walks him to his bedroom. In the hallway, he encounters June, Ellen, Leo, and Oscar, all exhausted and June and Leo in pajamas. As June envelops Alex in a hug, he sinks to the floor and has a panic attack. They manage to get him to his bedroom, where the Daily Mail copies are still spread on his bed. Alex sleeps fitfully, dreaming of something sneaking up on him, Henry, Bea, Pez, June, and Nora. When he wakes, June is holding his hand.

At one point, Alex overhears Ellen and Zahra in the hallway. The crown, Zahra says, won’t take her calls—and she’d like permission to do something “slightly outside diplomatic protocol.” Later, Alex scrolls social media, taking in the angry comments and tweets. One woman’s tween daughter is “heartbroken” she won’t be able to marry Henry. Another person suggests Alex abused federal funds, and there are lots of slurs. June takes Alex’s phone. Hours later, Zahra tells Alex to pack a bag for London. She meets him in the hallway a bit later, holding one of his suits—the suit he’ll wear to meet the queen. Buckingham Palace has shut down all communication channels, but Zahra is certain she can get Shaan to let them in. Alex is shocked enough that Ellen agreed to let him go public; he doesn’t see the crown following suit.

In a daze, Alex and Zahra board the plane, followed by Cash and Amy. For the first time in hours, Alex has time to think. In a strange way, it’s nice to finally have a public claim on Henry. But mostly, he’s humiliated and feels violated, and he’s worried Henry feels that even more acutely than he does. Henry confessed a lot of incriminating things in his emails, from Bea’s stint in rehab to the queen telling him to stay in the closet. Alex paces until Zahra tells him to sit down. When he begins asking how exactly they’ll get into Buckingham Palace without getting arrested, she calls Shaan’s personal line. Cursing and threatening him, she demands he have a car waiting for them and arrange meetings with the queen and whoever else needs to be there.

Then, Zahra tells Shaan to put Henry on and hands the phone to Alex. They’re both on the verge of tears, and Henry says Philip broke a vase that belonged to Anne Boleyn. Then, they discuss that while the timing is imperfect, they’d both like to tell the truth. After hanging up, Alex thanks Zahra—clearly, he suggests, she’s his friend. She scoffs. Then, Alex asks how she had Shaan’s number. Zahra spits that she and Shaan are engaged, but unlike Alex, they “understand the meaning of discretion.” And now, she’d like a nap.

Bea answers the door to the music room expecting to have to yell at Philip. But when she realizes it’s Alex, she hugs him and lets him in. Alex and Henry hug and apologize, sinking to the floor. Bea brings snacks and takes away Henry’s brandy bottle. They catch Alex up: Philip would like to talk to Henry about “consequences,” the queen is enraged, and Catherine visited once to say she loved Henry and he could’ve told her about Alex. Henry says that he told his mum it doesn’t mean much if she continues to let Gran “trap[]” him. Bea supports what Henry said. They “deserve to have one parent, at least.” People online are also talking about Bea’s history of drug use, but she insists that while it all coming out like this isn’t ideal, she’s glad to not have to lie anymore.

Eventually, Henry falls asleep in Alex’s lap. Alex asks Bea what Henry isn’t saying—it often feels like Henry is hiding something, even when he says he’d like to tell the truth. Bea says that Henry is still grieving Arthur. To explain, she asks Alex to imagine that everyone is born with feelings, and they all have a “maximum depth of feeling.” Then the worst thing happens—and it happens when you’re a child, and it deepens that depth of feeling. After that, Bea says, whenever bad things happen, you feel it all the way down to the deep, deep bottom. Henry, she says, is hurting, and Alex needs to love this hurt part of him, too. Alex doesn’t fully understand, but he insists that “jumping off cliffs is kinda [his] thing.”

Soon after Henry and Alex sit down for breakfast, Philip bursts in and begins berating Henry for “embarrassing the family.” Philip is clearly angry about their parents’ marriage, and he insists disingenuously that he doesn’t care if Henry is gay, but Alex was a terrible choice. Alex can see how, over the years, Philip has worn Henry down with this behavior. But now, Henry stands up—he’s taller than Philip—and says he loves Alex. He’ll abdicate if need be; their great uncle abdicated because he was a Nazi, which is way worse, so it’s not like there isn’t precedent. But also, Henry shouts, why does their family embrace murderers and colonizers, but not a gay man? Philip, Henry spits, can keep his “legacy” and “decorum,” but Henry is done. Alex follows Henry out of the room, telling Philip Henry is one of the bravest people he knows.

Alex and Henry sit across from Shaan and Zahra in the van driving them to Buckingham Palace. Alex asks if the handlers are fighting, but Shaan says they’re not—they fought, Zahra says, when she found out Shaan knew about Alex and Henry the whole time. (That’s why she got such a big diamond ring.) The van takes them along a winding route through London, which seems to be buzzing with anticipation. They finally reach Buckingham Palace and approach a conference room. Henry’s mother, Catherine, is waiting outside with Bea. Alex notices Henry’s fearful expression—Henry doesn’t know if he can trust his mother’s love. But Catherine embraces him, Henry introduces Alex as his boyfriend, and Catherine kisses Alex. She says she’s going to appeal to the “old bird” using political strategy. She’s willing to fight if Henry is.

The group enters the conference room where Philip already waits. Then, Queen Mary enters, takes her seat, and slowly makes her tea while everyone looks on. Finally, she shares how she met the President of China a few months ago, and he told her all about computer programs that can alter photographs to promote “the most outlandish things.” Looking to Henry, she asks if that’s where the photographs came from. He says his relationship with Alex is real. Frowning nastily, the queen silences Henry and Catherine’s attempts to interrupt her. She says the family has suffered enough “humiliat[ion]” thanks to Bea’s “little problem,” and she has no idea why Henry didn’t listen to her to ignore his “unnatural” proclivities. His job is still to continue the bloodline and “maintain the appearance of the monarchy as the ideal of British excellence.”

Clearly angry, Catherine suggests they tell the truth: this is an invasion of Henry’s privacy, and he’s been victimized. Alex could become an official suitor. The queen turns to Henry and notes that they can use all their resources to find him a wife, and children’s hospitals won’t want him to visit anymore if he officially comes out. Henry argues that he knows now he has the right to his own happiness. When Philip insists that it’s silly to throw his entire life away for one hormonal decision, Henry states that he’s been gay since birth. The conversation turns to what Queen Mary suggests Henry’s job is: to father heirs. Alex blurts that that’s not impossible, but the queen says that either way, the English people won’t accept a gay prince.

As Catherine, Henry, and Queen Mary argue, Bea stands up and thrusts Shaan’s tablet at the queen. It’s a BBC report on the “worldwide support” Henry and Alex are getting, showing footage from New York, Paris, D.C., and London. Catherine stands and throws open the curtains to reveal the crowd standing in front of Buckingham Palace, many holding pride flags and supportive signs. Henry and Alex get up to look too, their eyes wet, and Catherine pulls Henry into a hug. The queen insists that if Catherine finds this protest convincing, she’s too soft—but Catherine insists that the people are ready for change. Perhaps, she continues, she should let Parliament know she’s concerned about the queen’s mental acuity.

As the queen fumes, Catherine apologizes to Henry for abandoning her children after Arthur died. Turning to the queen, Catherine says she wants them to be happy—and she’ll unseat the queen before she lets the queen abuse her children. When Philip begins to speak up, Bea spills tea in his lap and ushers him out of the room. Alex notices that the queen looks afraid—afraid of him and Henry and the threat they pose to the picture-perfect family she’s presented thus far. Queen Mary suggests that she doesn’t have a choice. Out in the hallway a minute later, Alex and Henry kiss. On their way to the airstrip, they stop to admire a mural of themselves, Alex portrayed as Han Solo and Henry as Leia. From the plane home, Alex calls June to ask for help.