Can you imagine a romance between the United States’ first-son and the prince of England? It is almost crazy, right? Well, that is exactly “Red, White and Royal Blue”, an amazing LGBTQIA+ book with a perfect royalty cliché and the ups and downs of being in love.
On one side of the story, there is Alex Claremont Diaz, a cute popular Latin guy whose mom is the first female president of the US. Alex is that kind of boy that everyone can be in love with, he is handsome, smart and very funny. However, being the son of the most powerful woman in the world is not that easy. Alex is always the target of media’s gossip and, sometimes, it is hard to pursue the political career without knowing for sure what he wants.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, we meet Henry, the nerd English stereotype and only the Prince of England. Henry is smart and optimist, but the weight of being in the royalty with all the outdated thinking, just makes it way more difficult for him to come out. Therefore, for more than 20 years, he has been covering his true self, which is very relatable to the readers that had been through it.
Alex hates Henry, hates his talking and his breathing. Basically, he hates everything about England’s golden boy. Thus, when Alex’s family is invited to celebrate Prince Philip’s wedding, in the UK, he sees himself in a very bad position: fraternize with his worst enemy.
After some disagreements in the ceremony, Alex and Henry, to avoid a diplomatic disaster, will have to spend a weekend pretending to be best friends, and both know there’s no way it could work. Nevertheless, although they start a fake friendship, their relationship grows in every single way, and they start realizing they never really met each other, not properly. Furthermore, Alex and Henry find out that they have a lot in common and, going from enemies to lovers, two of the most important people in the world start a beautiful and meaningful relationship.
The book, written by the amazing Casey McQuiston, caught my eye in the first chapters. I honestly couldn’t stop, just swallowing the pages feeling like I needed to be reading, otherwise I wouldn’t breathe. The author’s writing is completely perfect, with the very right measure of sweetness, and very easy to get addicted to.
I felt completely amazed by Alex and Henry’s enchanting story, since hidden flirts up until love letters with famous quotes. Henry’s overcoming, his attempt to be gay in the British royalty, matches perfectly Alex’s uncertainty about his sexuality and his life in politics, making them both go hand in hand on a beautiful journey of self-discovery.
Above all, it is very important to embrace and talk about the LGBTQIA+ pride, since no one deserves to be ashamed of who they are. In June, we celebrate the Pride Month, a moment for us to think and to solemnize diversity. Unfortunately, in only one year, more than 300 hundred people died in Brazil just because they had the courage to embrace themselves and face prejudice. It is a very large number and we, as the new generation, have the mission to stop it; to stop prejudice, to stop violence and to stop judgement.
The Pride Month is celebrated since 1969, bringing up the idea to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and the right of loving who you want to love, not mattering if it’s a girl, boy or non-binary. For 51 years, LGBTQIA+ people are still fighting for their rights and everyone should fight with them, since is a battle for the simple right of living and freedom of love.
Finally, ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ is one example of a must-read on the giant list of good LGBTQ + pride books. Knowing and studying is never too much. Moreover, we must keep learning and getting better, in an attempt to reach a more comprehensive and less hateful world. So, as Alex says, “history, huh? Bet we could make some”!