A scene from the Prime Video production.
Photograph by Jonathan Prime/Prime Video.
What if the son of the American president fell in love with the grandson of the British monarch? That’s the hard-to-resist premise of Casey McQuiston’s romance novel Red, White & Royal Blue. The book—primarily set in DC and London—has become a blockbuster since it came out in 2019, and in August a film version premieres on Prime Video, starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine.
The book has found an especially eager audience in Washington. “You’re able to see a love story blossoming in a city that you love,” says Marta Hernandez, a former Hill staffer who co-runs the @capitolhillbookclub Instagram. “It gives us that full DC political experience: going to Dirksen, the White House, places near Georgetown. There are fun little Easter eggs to find throughout it.” The film version will definitely emphasize the romance part. “I love taking the juiciest parts of The Crown and the juiciest parts of The West Wing and then putting two queer boys at the center of it,” says director and cowriter Matthew López.
Like many movies set here, Red, White & Royal Blue was filmed elsewhere—England, in this case. (Yes, those shots of the Potomac are actually the Thames.) But while there are some visual moments that will be painful for locals, López says he made an effort to keep the depiction of political Washington somewhat authentic: “This is a fairy tale, but for it to work, it has to be grounded in something resembling a recognizable reality. Especially when it comes to the world of DC and the White House.” To that end, the director tapped journalists and Obama-era staffers to help shape the local scenes. The movie’s political speeches were guided by a former political speechwriter.
Much of the Washington action takes place in the Oval Office, which in the film is occupied by a Texas-bred President played by Uma Thurman. That character was partly inspired by former Texas state senator Wendy Davis, while The West Wing’s C.J. Cregg and Veep were on the creators’ minds for other White House characters.
Though many of the DC references were influenced by conversations with insiders, López himself thought of one zinger that will resonate with Washingtonians. He was trying to imagine what an irritated President’s son might say about a journalist, and he came up with a line about how Politico is a “little wannabe Washington Post website.”
“That was from my nasty little brain,” says the director. “Apologies to Politico—it was low-hanging fruit. I hope Politico doesn’t have a film critic.”
Inside the “Red, White & Royal Blue” Movie
“I hope Politico doesn’t have a film critic.”
What if the son of the American president fell in love with the grandson of the British monarch? That’s the hard-to-resist premise of Casey McQuiston’s romance novel Red, White & Royal Blue. The book—primarily set in DC and London—has become a blockbuster since it came out in 2019, and in August a film version premieres on Prime Video, starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine.
The book has found an especially eager audience in Washington. “You’re able to see a love story blossoming in a city that you love,” says Marta Hernandez, a former Hill staffer who co-runs the @capitolhillbookclub Instagram. “It gives us that full DC political experience: going to Dirksen, the White House, places near Georgetown. There are fun little Easter eggs to find throughout it.” The film version will definitely emphasize the romance part. “I love taking the juiciest parts of The Crown and the juiciest parts of The West Wing and then putting two queer boys at the center of it,” says director and cowriter Matthew López.
Like many movies set here, Red, White & Royal Blue was filmed elsewhere—England, in this case. (Yes, those shots of the Potomac are actually the Thames.) But while there are some visual moments that will be painful for locals, López says he made an effort to keep the depiction of political Washington somewhat authentic: “This is a fairy tale, but for it to work, it has to be grounded in something resembling a recognizable reality. Especially when it comes to the world of DC and the White House.” To that end, the director tapped journalists and Obama-era staffers to help shape the local scenes. The movie’s political speeches were guided by a former political speechwriter.
Much of the Washington action takes place in the Oval Office, which in the film is occupied by a Texas-bred President played by Uma Thurman. That character was partly inspired by former Texas state senator Wendy Davis, while The West Wing’s C.J. Cregg and Veep were on the creators’ minds for other White House characters.
Though many of the DC references were influenced by conversations with insiders, López himself thought of one zinger that will resonate with Washingtonians. He was trying to imagine what an irritated President’s son might say about a journalist, and he came up with a line about how Politico is a “little wannabe Washington Post website.”
“That was from my nasty little brain,” says the director. “Apologies to Politico—it was low-hanging fruit. I hope Politico doesn’t have a film critic.”
This article appears in the August 2023 issue of Washingtonian.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Takoma.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Sandwich Guy Has Become DC’s Hero
How Washingtonians Can Run, March, and Rally Against the Trump Administration Takeover
Pirro’s Office Fails to Get Indictment Against Sandwich Guy
DC’s Police Union Head Is the Biggest Cheerleader of Trump’s DC Police Takeover
Health Officials Flee CDC After White House Fires Director, Tensions Between Parents and ICE Erupt in Mount Pleasant, and There’s a New Red Panda
Washingtonian Magazine
September Issue: Style Setters
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
Fiona Apple Wrote a Song About This Maryland Court-Watching Effort
The Confusing Dispute Over the Future of the Anacostia Playhouse
Protecting Our Drinking Water Keeps Him Up at Night
More from News & Politics
In Wild Coincidence, White House Drowns Out Epstein Rally With Jets; Tech Titans Will Gather on Rose Garden Patio Tonight; and Madison Cawthorn Hopes to Return to DC
The “MAGA Former Dancer” Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program
Epstein Survivors Will Rally in DC Today, Trump Denies That He Has Died, and Someone Is Dotting Capitol Hill Trees With Bananas
We’re Calling It Now: Sandwich Guy Is the DC Halloween Costume of the Year
No Phones Allowed at This New DC Bar. Seriously.
Trump Defies Internet Sleuths by Posting Furiously About Hulk Hogan and Other Stuff, Rudy Giuliani to Receive Nation’s Highest Civilian Honor, and Chester the Toucan Got Rescued in Arlington
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
How Washingtonians Can Run, March, and Rally Against the Trump Administration Takeover