Amazon Prime has dropped a trailer for the film adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue.
McQuiston’s novel, published in 2019 by St. Martin's Griffin, tells the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of an American president, and Henry, a British prince, who fall in love after a bitter rivalry. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a clever, romantic, sexy love story.”
The film adaptation is directed by Matthew López and stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex and Nicholas Galitzine as Henry.
The trailer opens with Uma Thurman, who plays President Ellen Claremont, telling her son, “I sent you to the royal wedding with simple instructions: Don’t cause an international incident. You’ve done some pretty stupid things in your day, but this—”
“Takes the cake?” Perez responds. The trailer then cuts to Alex and Henry on the floor, in the aftermath of a fight, as a wedding cake falls on them.
The scenes that follow depict Alex and Henry making nice in public in an attempt to do damage control. In one, Galitzine asks Perez, “Do you ever wonder who you’d be if you were an anonymous person in the world?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Perez responds. Galitzine says, “Christ, you’re as thick as it gets,” and kisses Perez, as Lil Nas X’s “Thats What I Want” plays in the background.
Red, White & Royal Blue also stars Stephen Fry, Rachel Hilson, and Sarah Shahi. It is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on Aug. 11.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
