When Red, White & Royal Blue was published in 2019, an FBI Hate Crime Report showed an uptick in anti-LGBTQ+ attacks. While readers enjoyed the love story between Alexander Claremont-Diaz and Henry Mountchristensen-Fox-Windsor, one out of every 10 LGBTQ+ people was the victim of a hate crime. And while Amazon Studios won the bidding war to obtain the movie rights to the enemies-to-lovers tale, the Trades Union Congress found that nearly seven out of 10 LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. reported harassment at work.
During a time of increased hate against the LGBTQ+ community, how did author Casey McQuiston give readers a safe space to enjoy a love story between a bisexual First Son of the United States and a gay Prince of England? The answer is shockingly simple. Virality.
To back up, as mentioned, Red, White & Royal Blue is told from the point of view of Alexander Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States. His mother, Ellen Claremont, is the first female President of the United States. The story opens with him, along with his sister, June, and their friend, Nora (who also happens to be the granddaughter of the Vice President) attending the royal wedding of Phillip Mountchristensen-Fox-Windsor to represent the United States. While at the wedding, Alex drunkenly argues with the groom’s brother, Prince Henry, his sworn enemy. During the argument, the two end up in front of the wedding cake, which boasts an extravagant $75,000 price tag. By the end of the confrontation, he and Henry are both on the ground, covered in said cake.
To avoid a further international public relations nightmare, upon returning to the U.S., President Claremont instructs Alex to go on a series of public appearances with Prince Henry to dispel the rumors that the two dislike each other. Alex despises this assignment due to his, well, dislike of Henry. As time goes by, though, he and Henry begin to develop an actual friendship that soon turns into more.
As mentioned, the story is an enemies-to-lovers tale, a favorite among modern rom-com audiences. Think Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice – coincidentally, one of Henry’s favorites in RW&RB. Throughout the novel, Alex comes to terms with being bisexual, falls in love with Henry and deals with the fallout of his and Henry’s relationship being exposed to the world through an email leak. The culprit of the leak? President Claremont’s challenger for the presidency, a far-right senator, of course.
In an interview with Glamour in December 2019, McQuiston said that they didn’t think much about what would happen after the book hit the shelves. Soon after publication, though, loyal fans of the novel began posting online about the story in droves. Twitter and Tumblr alike came alive with fan art, fan fiction and heaps of praise for the love story. The novel debuted on The New York Times bestsellers list for the week of June 2, 2019. As mentioned, Amazon Studios won the bidding war for the film rights to the story.
As 2019 turned to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and forced people into their homes. The pandemic is credited for the rise of TikTok, which, in turn, created one of the most passionate sections of the internet: BookTok.
BookTok is short for “Book Tik Tok,” a community on the platform that shares what they read, why they read, how much they read and more. As of September 2023, the BookTok hashtag has 176.5 billion views. BookTok is credited with bringing business to book retailers such as Barnes & Noble, with the chain embracing the trend. Walk into any Barnes & Noble in 2023, and you won’t have to look far to find a “Trending on BookTok” table.
One of the largest groups within the BookTok community is the romance readers. These readers have helped kickstart and continue the popularity of multiple modern romance authors, including Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Jenny Han and our very own McQuiston.
When asked for books that feature queer characters, BookTok creators recommended RW&RB. When asked for recommendations about a queer love story, BookTok creators recommended RW&RB. When asked for a beginner book in the romance community, BookTok creators recommended RW&RB. The message was clear – looking for something to read? Read RW&RB.
Within months of its release, the novel sold over 100,000 copies. McQuiston soon gained a loyal following, writing and releasing two more novels between 2020 and 2023. RW&RB continued to gain popularity within the BookTok community and beyond.
Then the film adaptation of the beloved novel was released, and the story reached new heights.
For context, the support of BookTok extends outside of strictly novels, with readers rushing to streaming services the moment a television or film adaptation drops. The Summer I Turned Pretty, a series by Han, was adapted into a television series on Amazon Prime Video. So was Daisy Jones & The Six, a novel by Jenkins Reid. The success of these projects is hard to ignore. TSITP has been one of the most-watched shows for two summers now. Daisy Jones, released as a limited series, was nominated for nine Emmy Awards in 2023.
How did the RW&RB adaptation fair in 2023? Pretty darn well.
The film stars Taylor Zakhar-Perez and Nicholas Galitzine as Alex and Henry, respectively. While changes were made to the story for the film adaptation, the love story between Alex and Henry is kept relatively unchanged from beginning to end. The film was a hit with audiences, with Amazon reporting that it was the #1 film worldwide on Prime Video the week after it was released. In the same report, Amazon boasted that the film was the third most-watched romantic comedy of all time on Prime Video.
The film’s release led to a resurgence of love for the novel online, once again led by Twitter and Tumblr users. This time, TikTok blew up with videos of users analyzing the film, breaking down Easter eggs and lusting over both lead actors. After the film’s release, the novel jumped back onto The New York Times bestsellers list and continued its impressive marathon of over 25 weeks on the list, as of September 2023.
In short, the film release solidified Red, White & Royal Blue as a modern queer classic.
Speaking as a bisexual woman, the joy I felt while reading the novel and watching the film was unparalleled to any other I’ve had before. Reading and watching Alex and Henry fall in love offered me a welcome escape. While I prefer nonfiction books, this rom-com stayed in my mind for weeks after reading. The power of representation has been spoken of in length over the last decade. However, I can confirm that there is something uniquely moving about reading (or watching) a character that’s a member of your community come into themselves. Alex is an intelligent, vivacious, funny character that I’m inspired by. I’m grateful that McQuiston created Alex and I’m grateful that a new generation of bisexuals have him to look up to.
Red, White & Royal Blue is now streaming on Prime Video. You can order a copy of the novel from your preferred retailer here.
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