So there are a lot of stories where the prince falls in love with the perfect girl and they live happily ever after… right!?
But now, it is time to turn the narrative. This time, the prince gets… his prince. Yes, as in, the prince loves a boy. As in, a much needed modern day LGBTQ+ romance. And I. Am. Here. For. It.
Rule #1: Don’t get caught
I read this sentence and I knew right then, I’d love this book.
Red, White and Royal Blue made me smile the whole time. Literally, I cannot think of a time recently where I’ve smiled so freaking much! But to be fair, the story of Alex and Henry is just that perfect. The book is a fun, romantic, steamy tale of love but more importantly, of self-discovery and acceptance. Set in the background of the US presidential elections, this novel tells the story of how two young men fall in love.
Alex — First son of the United States — hates Henry, Prince of the United Kingdom with a passion. They could not be more different from each other. While Alex is a lively jubilant personality who aspires to be a politician like his Mom one day (and how cool is that in this story, it is a female who is the US president!!), Prince Henry is the epitome of calm and collected diplomacy. Alex hates how nothing affects Henry. Henry cannot imagine ever being as inherently confident as Alex. Their interactions have always been painfully frigid — until the world notices their well disguised rivalry which sparks an international PR incident.
Scrambling to make this right especially considering that the Presidential election campaign is almost on their heads, their PR team plans for the two guys to spend some time together — portray them as the best friends they definitely are not. But this idea turns out to be way more popular than they imagined, as the internet explodes over the “great friendship” shared by the Golden Boys of two of the biggest countries in the world. Now see, the thing about pretending is that sometimes, it becomes real. As the two men find time to talk and spend time together, they really do become best friends. Everything seems to be perfect—that is, until Henry shocks Alex by pulling him into a kiss.
And the rest, as they say, is history. What follows is a deeply engaging and absolutely heartwarming tale of love and what it means for two men to hold on to their dreams when all of the world seems dead set against it. Of course the relationship is kept a secret, with rushed meetings, stolen kisses and a hell of lot of phone calls and emails. It’s beautiful reading about how Alex and Henry’s story progress. It starts, as it always does, as something fun and casual. But as time goes, they fall for each other slowly but surely. But, there are consequences. (aren’t there always?)
One of my favourite quotes from the book is part of an email that Henry sends to Alex. He says,
“But the first time I saw you. Rio. I took that down to the gardens. I pressed it into the leaves of a silver maple and recited it to the Waterloo Vase. It didn’t fit any rooms. … I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire. And then I was a careless fool, and I fell in love with you anyway….”
I know most of you would not understand the sheer emotion behind the lines, but trust me it’s so beautiful and so heartbreaking, I almost cried reading Henry’s emails. Can you blame me for thinking Henry and Alex are too precious for this world?
Before I read this book, of course I knew and supported the LGBTQ+ community, but the importance of the community needing a voice becomes much more clear when you read stories like this. The story talks about the sacrifices people are forced to make, the constant feel of judgement they are surrounded by and the way that they rethink every one of their choices — because most of the time they feel like their choice is wrong, or even worse, they aren’t allowed to have a choice.
Once I finished this book, the only thing running through my mind was — Why do people like me get to so easily flaunt love, while people like Alex and Henry have to think a hundred times, fight a hundred battles before they can have theirs? When a section of society feels like who they are will never be accepted by all, that’s when you know that it is the society, not them, that messed up. They deserve better. We, as a society, need to do better. I urge you, this Pride Month, read an LGBTQ+ centric book with me. You’ll realize, love is love. You fall in love with a person’s heart and soul. And at the end of the day, all of us deserve to experience it equally. I hope Alex and Henry make a place in your heart, just as they did in mine. ❤
