Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue follows 21-year-old Alex, the son of the first female president of the United States. Alex enjoys his status as America’s heartthrob. So it’s a shock, and it presents numerous problems, when he realizes he actually has romantic feelings for Prince Henry of England, his enemy-turned-best friend, and isn’t straight like he thought he was. Through both Alex and Henry, Red, White & Royal Blue explores the intersection of one’s…

In Red, White & Royal Blue, all the characters—high-profile political figures and their family members—exist in a complex media ecosystem. Some of the time, characters are seemingly able to work with or manipulate the media to achieve their goals or stay in control, as when a White House press team came up with the idea to present Alex, June, and Nora as the “White House Trio,” thereby presenting the genuine friendship between…

When the novel begins, 21-year-old Alex has few friends and only two (his sister June and Nora) his own age. June and Nora, as well as some of Alex’s adult friends like Senator Rafael Luna, all take issue with Alex’s lack of close friendships. As they see it, Alex is lacking support he desperately needs, and he’s unable to make friends in part because he isn’t honest with himself about who he is…

As a LGBTQ romance novel about the relationship between the American president’s son and a prince of England, Red, White & Royal Blue is necessarily concerned with both American and British politics, particularly when it comes to social issues. Both countries, the book acknowledges, are far more diverse—and accepting—than some of the novel’s more conservative voices suggest, and both have long histories of anti-LGBTQ sentiment and legal discrimination. Henry, for instance, delights in uncovering…