‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Delivers Royal Swoons and Jolly Good Laughs

Photo courtesy of Prime Video.

Red, White & Royal Blue was released on Prime Video on August 11, 2023. It’s a big screen adaptation of the best-selling novel by Casey McQuiston. It tells the story the first son of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) of England who fall in love and must keep their relationship a secret due to their titles and high-profile lives.

I read the book when I first started my reading journey back towards the end of 2022. I absolutely adore this book so much. The story is so good and I love the relationship that blossoms between Alex and Henry. When I heard that it was going to be adapted into a film, I lost my mind. I was so excited and I patiently waited for months for it to be released to the world. I have to say I’m pretty impressed with what they did with the book.

I do want to give a minor disclaimer that I haven’t gone back and re-read the book since I read it the first time so I’m not going to compare and contrast here. I just want to tell you my thoughts on the film adaptation. Let’s get into this.

The casting was well done. Taylor Zakhar Perez exudes all of Alex’s charm and brings his extraverted personality to life on the big screen in the best way possible. I cannot tell you how perfectly casted he was. I’m so happy that he was chosen to bring Alex to life because he did such a good job. I actually loved him in The Kissing Booth 2 but this role is going to open so many doors for him. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

As for his royal highness Prince Henry, I thought there were moments when Nicholas Galitzine shined and moments when he didn’t. I do think they did a great job casting him as Prince Henry because he did have those royal qualities down to a tea and the elegance that a member of the royal family should have. My main qualm with Galitzine’s performance overall was that it didn’t feel believable at some points. The acting didn’t feel genuine to me.

The chemistry between Zakhar Perez and Galitzine had its moments where it felt electric and moments where it felt forced. The tension between Alex and Henry in the film is definitely there. The love that Alex and Henry have for each other is portrayed so well in the film.

The interesting thing I noticed is how the romance was more of a focal point in the film because the politics was more of the focal point in the book. I’m honestly happy that the politics were dialed back a little bit because it was too much in the book. so much so that some of the political scenes gave me a headache. I’m glad that the romance was put at the forefront since the story is technically about the relationship that blossoms between Alex and Henry.

Considering the runtime is a little over 2 hours, there were no parts the felt slow or draggy. It’s ironic that the original cut was 3 hours long. I’m curious to see if the scenes that were cut might get released in the future.

There were no points where I wasn’t entertained. it’s just a good rom-com that will make you laugh and swoon.

I do recommend reading the book first before watching the film or reading it after you watch it because it’s so good.

Red, White & Royal Blue is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

Director: Matthew Lopez

Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson

Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter