Red, White, and Royal Blue

Alex is called into a private meeting with his mother. He dreads her anger but is surprised when she asks him if he’s sure that Henry is the one. Without hesitation, Alex says yes. He hastens to add how sorry he is for the mess he’s made of Ellen’s campaign. She tells him that she was his mother long before she became a politician and that she will back his decision no matter what the political fallout may be. 

Alex is sequestered in the White House while the PR staff crafts a statement saying that the private lives of members of the First Family have no bearing on the country’s politics. Senator Richards implies that Alex has revealed state secrets via email to Henry and is making the most of the administration’s embarrassment.

As social media and the press have a field day with their private communication, Alex is most concerned about the psychological impact on Henry and himself: “He cares that they know, in his own private words, what’s pumping out of his heart. And Henry. God, Henry. Those emails—those letters—were the one place Henry could say what he was really thinking” (336).

Buckingham Palace has refused all communication from the White House. Henry is on lockdown and hasn’t been seen outside the royal residence. In an uncharacteristic move, Zahra tells Alex to get packed. They’re going to London for an unannounced visit. On the way to Kensington, Alex frets about whether Shaan will allow them access to Henry. Zahra gets on Shaan’s private line and threatens her counterpart with dire consequences unless he agrees to allow them in. She then reveals to Alex that Shaan is her fiancé, pointedly remarking that they understand how to keep their personal life under wraps. 

Alex and Henry are reunited, though Henry’s mental state is hardly ideal. His mother has come to visit, and they have an argument about her complete disinterest in her children’s lives. The next day, the queen grants them all an audience. Philip, Bea, Henry, and Alex arrive to find Henry’s mother, Princess Catherine, waiting to accompany them. After Queen Mary convenes the meeting, she hints that perhaps the emails were faked and that the Crown could make a statement to that effect. Henry stands up for himself and Alex. When Philip objects, Henry give him a dressing down:

What are we even defending here, Philip? What kind of legacy? What kind of family, that says, we’ll take the murder, we’ll take the raping and pillaging and the colonizing, we’ll scrub it up nice and neat in a museum, but oh no, you’re a bloody poof? That’s beyond our sense of decorum! (346-47).

Bea spills a pot of tea on Philip’s lap, and he leaves the meeting. The queen insists that people will never accept the gay couple. Bea shows them all a snippet of positive internet feedback embracing the pair. Catherine throws open the curtains and points out a demonstration in the street below, expressing its support for Alex and Henry. She tells the queen that change is inevitable.