As A "Red, White & Royal Blue" Super-Fan, Here Are 16 Book-To-Movie Differences I Noticed

RIP June.

Today is the day – Red, White & Royal Blue finally drops on Prime Video for the world to see!

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As a fan of this book, I've been waiting for this adaptation for a LONG time, and I've been gagging to see Taylor and Nicholas as Alex and Henry, respectively, since they were announced in the roles.

The movie is really fun, but I think we all know that no book-to-movie adaptation can please everyone. Needless to say, a few things have been changed in the movie version of Red, White & Royal Blue.

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Director Matthew Lopez actually revealed this to us himself: "First and foremost, it was about Alex and Henry for me, and inevitably there were going to be things left out. If it's not about Alex and Henry, it doesn't belong in the film".

So, here are just a few things that I noticed – as a big fan of the book – are different in the movie, for better or for worse...

Note: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, maybe bookmark this and come back!

1. The most glaring change that's been made is that Alex no longer has a sister.

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June, or as Alex affectionately refers to her, Bug, is Alex's older sister in the novel. She acts as a constant confidante and best friend to him, and also has a lot of interaction with Henry and her mother, the President. I'm personally gutted that's she been removed from the story, as she was a really great character who helps Alex when he's questioning his sexuality, and is there for him during his confusing relationship with Henry. She also helps with the character development of the President, and enriches the whole Claremont-Diaz family dynamic.

Together with Alex and Nora – who does make it into the movie, albeit in a smaller role – the three are known the world over as the "White House Trio", and they get into all sorts of shenanigans as a group. So all of that is missing, too. June also briefly fakes a relationship with Henry when the press begins suspecting he and Alex are together, which obviously doesn't occur in the film.

2. June being axed also sort of affects Pez's role in the story.

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Pez – played by Malcolm Atobrah – is Henry's best friend who is described as a wealthy philanthropist with an outlandish sense of style. He begins a sort of relationship with June, and then he, June, Henry, Alex, Nora, and Henry's sister Bea become a big group of mates, which is super cute. At the end of the book, Henry actually joins Pez in his philanthropic work, and helps set up an LGBTQ+ shelter in Brooklyn so that he can be close to Alex at NYU.

Some of June's traits have been reassigned to Alex's BFF Nora, played by Rachel Hilson, but since her role is much smaller in the film, Pez's is also. In fact, he barely appears in the movie and probably could've been cut altogether! Indeed, as Matthew also shared with us, he filmed some things that are in the novel that had be taken out of the final edit of the film. I'm assuming that includes pretty much all of Pez's scenes???

3. The whole book is written from Alex's point-of-view, which changes how we see Henry A LOT.

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It totally makes sense that Alex and Henry share protagonist duties in the movie, since it would be shame to waste Nicholas Galitzine in this film. However, the fact that everything is from Alex's perspective in the book changes the story so much. For instance, when Henry ghosts Alex after he's about to tell him he loves him – that is BRUTAL in the book. Simply because Henry just disappears from the narrative for about 20 pages or so! It's heartbreaking.

The lack of Henry's POV also makes Alex seem more of an active character, since he's driving forward all of the action in the novel. This works quite well given that Alex is supposed to be an aspiring politician and a bad boy teen idol, of sorts. Henry, meanwhile, is more mysterious and guarded, and as a reader you almost fall in love with him as Alex does by learning bits and pieces about him along the way. In fact, if you don't feel protective of Henry by the end of the book, then I don't know what to tell you!

Conversely, in the movie, a lot of the later action – in particular the email hack – occurs though Henry's eyes, which is very different from the book.

4. Instead of a formidable queen on the throne, there is now a king.

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It's hard not to draw parallels with the real British royal family when reading the book, especially given that they are ruled over by an often-spoke-about-but-never-seen-until-the-end queen. I'm assuming this was changed in the movie as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on 8 September 2022, over three years after the book was published. Instead, Stephen Fry stars as King James III.

5. Alex's parents are divorced and he has a step-dad in the books.

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It's quite a big storyline in the book that Alex and June's parents are divorced. Oscar Diaz lives in California, meanwhile Ellen Claremont lives in The White House with her new husband, Leo. Alex talks with Henry about the dissolution of his parent's marriage, which is something Henry can relate to since his dad died years before where the book begins. They almost trauma-bond over this, so it's a bit of a shame that's missing from the film.

6. Bea is a much smaller part, and her addiction issues are completely missing from the film.

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Henry's sister, Princess Beatrice, is a much larger part of the book. She also acts as a confidante to her brother, and regularly stands up for him to their older brother, Phillip, their mother, and the queen. She has also struggled in the past with an addiction to cocaine, which is described by Henry as a dark part of the family's history. When Henry and Alex's emails are leaked to the press, this implicates Bea, whose addiction Henry writes about several times. This allows for yet more trauma-bonding between Bea, Henry, and Alex, which is missing from the film.

7. In the book, Alex gives Henry his number, instead of Henry "finding" it.

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As you may already know, Alex and Henry are tasked with pretending to be friends for the sake of international relations. Well, in the film Henry finds out Alex's number using MI6 (lol), but in the book, Alex just walks up to Henry and gives it to him because he thinks it’s easier than going through their aids all the time. This simple change not only highlights that Alex is someone who goes after what he wants, but it also suggests that Alex – at least subconsciously – is interested in getting to know Henry.

8. Another fun thing in the book is that Alex and Henry often sign off their emails with quotes from famous queer figures.

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I don't know how they would've added this into the film, but it's a really cool part of the book! When they're apart and longing for each other's company, Henry and Alex end their emails with excerpts of love letters between famous LGBTQ+ folk like Michelangelo, Virginia Woolf, Allen Ginsberg, and Radclyffe Hall!

9. The turkey bit goes on for agessss, and sort of represents a breakthrough in their relationship.

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There's a bit in the book where Alex's bedroom is overrun by turkeys for a ceremonial event. I can't exactly remember why he offers his room up to host the turkeys, but he ends up messaging Henry about it for quite a few pages. It's kind of the first time they have a ~real~ conversation, and it ends up with some cute, flirty banter that opens up a new chapter of their friendship. This scene does appear in the movie, and their flirting over messages is depicted, but it's MUCH more slow-burn in the book.

10. The Wimbledon excursion – complete with secret bang – has been cut out.

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There's another GREAT bit in the book in which Alex is invited to attend a match at Wimbledon with the royals. It's designed to make a show of the prince's friendship with Alex, but by this time, they've already kissed so their romance is in full swing! Alex gets to meet Prince Phillip, Henry's elder sibling who doesn't know he's gay and probably wouldn't accept it. After Phillip says something that upsets Henry, he steals Alex away and asks him to "fuck" him in a random cupboard. It's basically really hot, and tells us more about Henry's difficult relationship with his family.

11. Alex doesn't give him his necklace in the book, he takes Henry's signet ring and adds it to the necklace.

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Alex wears a necklace around in his neck that has the key to his childhood home in Texas both in the movie and the book. Henry's version of this is his signet ring, which he takes off when he tries to end things with Alex. In the film, they swap these treasured items with each other, but in the book, Alex takes Henry's ring and adds it to his necklace along with the key. It's a small change, but I prefer the book version. What do you think?

12. The song that Alex plays in V&A is "Your Song" by Elton John, not "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.

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This is a pretty small change, but "Your Song" (by famously gay singer Elton John) becomes somewhat of a motif between Alex and Henry. Henry plays it on the piano for Alex, and then Alex plays it on his phone in the V&A when they crash the place in the book. I don't know why it changed to "Can't Help Falling in Love" (probably a rights thing) but it definitely still works.

13. The bit where Alex flies to London to win Henry back is so much more dramatic and amazing in the book!

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So, as I mentioned, Henry's ghosting of Alex is pretty brutal in the book, and Alex takes it really hard. They've basically been obsessed with each other before that point, and you really feel Alex's emotions due to him being the sole protagonist of the novel. Henry, however, is just gone, and you have no idea what's he thinking. It's honestly like he's ghosted you, the reader!

Alex decides to head to London after his attempts to contact Henry fall on deaf ears, and he really has to fight his way into the palace. At first Henry is super cold, but you eventually discover that he's just scared. The scene plays out much the same way in the movie, but I think Henry comes off way worse. I had a lot more sympathy for him in the novel because he isn't angry with Alex, he's trying to be practical. But the way in which he can't deny his love for him is pretty electrifying. They also have sex again, which doesn't make it into the movie. Booooo.

14. Alex and Henry's emails are leaked by the opposition, not a scorned journalist.

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The character of Miguel is kind of made up of two book characters – Liam, a high school friend of Alex who he used to fool around with, and Rafael Luna, a politician who works with Alex's dad. Alex looks up to Rafael, who is openly gay and Latine, and feels let down when Rafael suddenly lends his support to the Republican party candidate running against his mother in the presidential election.

In the film, it's heavily implied that Miguel leaked Alex and Henry's love emails to the press, but in the book, republican presidential candidate Jeffery Richards is behind it. Richards has Alex followed and hacks into his emails in order to expose his relationship with the prince and make Ellen Claremont look bad enough to lose the election. However, Rafael comes through in the end after he blows the whistle that it was Richards' campaign that hacked Alex.

15. Henry's mother is the one who stands up for him at the end, and helps convince the queen to let Henry be with Alex.

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Henry's mum, Princess Catherine, is mentioned briefly in the film, but never makes an appearance. She is the King's daughter and mother to Henry, Phillip, and Bea. In the book, she is sort of a shadowy figure, who seems to have closed herself off to the world since her husband's death. At the end, however, when it looks like the queen wants to keep Henry in the closet forever, Catherine finally stands up for her son.

She apologises to all of her children for being so absent in their lives over the past few years, and seems keen to not only become more involved with them once more, but to even take over from her mother and usher in a new age of inclusivity and diversity. Ah, imagine! In the film, it kinds of comes down to Henry to stand up for himself, which he does with the support of Alex and Bea.

16. And finally, they don't go out onto the balcony in the book (although you really want them to!!!)

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At the end of the movie, Alex and Henry go out onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace and make an appearance as a couple, which is super sweet! I like this change from the book. In the novel, they do spot all the crowds in support of them – crowds that the queen has attempted to hide behind curtains – but they don't go out and greet them. They do, however, go out in a car to wave to the crowds and Alex even stops off at a mural of him and Henry to take a pic.

Is there anything we missed? What do you think about the changes the movie made? Let us know in the comments below!