Rom-Coms
7 Burning ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Questions We Need Answered in the Sequel
Even if 2025 turns out to be a disaster of a year, at least it will get us one year closer to Red, White & Royal Blue 2.
The sequel to Prime Video’s hit rom-com starring Taylor Zakhar-Perez and Nicholas Galitzine was announced last May, with the first film’s director Matthew López writing the script with Casey McQuiston, the author of the book on which the film is based.
Red, White & Royal Blue left off with Alex Claremont-Diaz (Zakhar-Perez), the son of the President of the United States, celebrating his mother’s reelection with his official boyfriend, Prince Henry (Galitzine), the grandson of the reigning British king, by his side. They had been outed by a nosy and jealous reporter, but the world seemingly embraced their love story, even if Henry’s rigid royal relatives were more resistant.
The film was a huge hit when it dropped in August 2023, making instant stars of Zakhar-Perez and Galitzine and leaving a legion of fans craving more. Well, we are getting it! But we have questions that we need the sequel to answer.
1. Will Alex and Henry get married?
This feels like the biggest question mark heading into the sequel. For those who didn’t pick up the collector’s edition of McQuiston’s book, the new chapter (from Henry’s perspective) is a quick peek into their life after their big declaration and the election. And mild spoiler alert, it is set partially on the eve of their wedding. Clearly, McQuiston isn’t opposed to the idea of marriage, but is it something they and co-writer López are really to pull the trigger on in the sequel? In the pantheon of rom-coms, weddings are common in the sequel. In other words, we hear the faint chime of wedding bells in the distance for these two.
2. What role does Alex play in his mother’s second term?
The author of the now-famous “Texas Memo” played a massive role in helping his mother, President Claremont (Uma Thurman), turn their home state of Texas blue and secure a second term in the White House. Registering a million new voters is pretty good! In McQuiston’s book, Alex actually played an even bigger role in the campaign than just being on the ground in Texas, so he is certainly primed to take on some responsibility in the administration. But where? Youth outreach? Voter registration? Secretary of Foreign Relations? He certainly has some experience there! More likely, it’s a very junior role for the twenty-something. But, we already know he has his sights set on a political run of his own someday, so maybe he starts out with a Senate seat.
3. How has the royal family changed now that Henry is out and proud?
Henry’s declaration on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with Alex by his side was met with a tidal wave of support from London, but how are things still chilly within the royal family? His grandfather, the King (Stephen Fry), made it very clear that tradition must take precedence, and his snobby little brother and heir to the throne seemed to agree. But there is no denying their claims the country isn’t ready for a gay prince were behind the times. Will they start to see the light of tolerance, or give the world one more reason to question the use of the monarchy in the 21st century?
4. Will we meet Henry and Bea's mother?
Readers of McQuiston’s book know that Princess Catherine, the mother of Henry and Bea (Ellie Bamber), was central to facilitating a change of heart at the head of the royal family (in the book, it was the queen not the king). But in the movie, she is nowhere to be found. It is mentioned that she is off saving elephants somewhere, so she’s around. But wouldn’t she want to return to check in on her son now that he’s one half of the most famous couple in the world? And maybe it’s just us, but we NEED a scene between Thurman’s President Claremont and whatever British icon they inevitably cast as Princess Catherine.
5. Will Zahra and Shaan finally share a scene?
As President Claremont’s chief of staff, Zahra (Sarah Shahi) is a veritable Fort Knox of highly classified secrets, including her own relationship with Shaan (Akshaye Khanna), Prince Henry’s equerry. But frustratingly, the couple never shared a single scene together in the movie! Mind you, in the book, Zahra places the call to Shaan to connect Alex and Henry when Buckingham Palace goes dark after their emails are leaked. But she also goes with him to London on that late-night flight. We need these two together, if only to see what Zahra looks like when she isn’t managing the antics of Alex and focusing on her own British man.
6. Are Nora and Percy still together?
The two besties of Alex and Henry saw sparks fly in the book and the movie, but are they still together? Nora (Rachel Hilson) is an independent woman focused on getting “more female-identifying candidates into Congress.” Percy (Malcolm Atobrah) is gallivanting off in Europe as a philanthropist. Can long-distance and different professional spheres be bridges to give these two a chance?
7. What will Alex and Henry’s dynamic be like now that Nicholas Galitzine is He-Man buff?
If you like Red, White & Royal Blue, you have definitely seen the photo Galitzine posted to his Instagram where he is busting out of a long-sleeve shirt as he preps to play He-Man in the Masters of the Universemovie. For Galitzine fans, there has never been more to love — literally. But with Henry being the less physically imposing of the couple, it looks like he could give Alex a run for money in the muscle department. Without a book to go on, we don’t know how Alex and Henry’s relationship will evolve — muscles or not. But if Galitzine plans on keeping this new physique, we have a feeling the sequel is going to be spending a lot of time in the gym.
