Red, White, and Royal Blue

Zahra orders Alex to appear in public with Henry as a sign that their fight was simply friendly hijinks. Alex is sent to Britain to spend the weekend attending charity events with Henry to demonstrate their camaraderie to the press. After being assigned to guest quarters at Kensington Palace, Alex calls Nora late at night back in the States. His call is interrupted when Henry stumbles into his apartment to raid his freezer for an ice cream cone. Alex sees Henry rumpled, disheveled, and human for the first time. Henry is alarmed when he realizes he’s been caught by Alex. They exchange a few words about their shared insomnia before Henry leaves.

The next day the two are sent to visit a hospital cancer ward. Alex overhears Henry’s kind words to a girl with cancer and the prince’s confession that he likes Star Wars. He advises the little patient that anyone can be great so long as they stay true to themselves. As Henry and Alex are leaving the hospital, a sound like a gunshot sends them scurrying to a broom closet while their bodyguards investigate the noise.

The two are smashed together on the floor at close quarters, and they begin to talk about their past history. Alex says Henry snubbed him at the Olympics the first time they met.  As the half-Mexican son of a white female president, Alex feels sensitive about his appearance. Henry’s dismissive treatment tripped his insecurity. Alex tells him, “You’re basically a living reminder I’ll always be compared to someone else, no matter what I do, even if I work twice as hard” (51). Henry apologizes and explains that his father had died of cancer shortly before his first encounter with Alex and that he behaved badly toward everyone that year.

The bodyguard returns to inform the men that the noise was caused by firecrackers, not an assassin’s gun. Alex takes Henry’s phone and types in his contact information, telling him: “That’s my number. If we’re gonna keep this up, it’s going to get annoying to keep going through handlers. Just text me. We’ll figure it out” (53).

The press has been placated by the new bromance between Henry and Alex, and life resumes a normal pattern. Alex takes the opportunity to do some investigation on behalf of his mother’s reelection campaign. He calls on a good friend, Senator Rafael Luna, who is an openly gay politician from Colorado and asks him about rumors that an independent senator is planning on endorsing Ellen. Rafael doesn’t have any information and gently teases him about his new friendship with Henry.

Later that evening, the family gathers for an informal pizza night. Ellen’s current husband, Leo, is in attendance. He’s a millionaire inventor who retired from business to play the part of First Gentleman. During dinner, Ellen suggests that the White House Trio take official jobs with her reelection campaign staff. Alex and Nora are excited by the prospect of working in policy research and data analytics, respectively. June, however, wants to pursue her independent career in journalism. 

That evening, Alex and Henry begin to trade wry text messages about their public appearances and share anecdotes about members of their families. Alex is fascinated by Henry’s flamboyant best friend, Pez, and wonders about Henry’s personal relationship with him. He also learns that much of the prince’s public biography doesn’t square with Henry’s real interests. In one text, Henry confides, “I’ve tried to refuse my share of the crown’s money. Dad left us each more than enough, and I’d rather cover my expenses with that than the spoils of, you know, centuries of genocide” (72). Alex doesn’t expect this comment from the royal and is impressed.