We just can't get enough of a good royal feud, can we? Prime Video has unveiled the first full-length trailer for its upcoming gay rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, and it's a pomp and circumstance-fueled riot that's sure to give Hallmark's royal romance collection a run for its money. Premiering August 11 on the streamer, Red, White & Royal Blue centers on a highly publicized feud between the U.S. President's son and a British prince. Forced to stage a truce lest their bitter rivalry upset global relations, sparks fly and hijinks ensue over the course of a ridiculously overwrought publicity tour.
Based on Casey McQuiston's 2019 New York Times bestselling novel, Red, White & Royal Blue stars Taylor Zakhar Perez (The Kissing Booth 2) as Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the first woman President of the United States, played by Uma Thurman. Nicholas Galitzine, who previously played a prince in Prime Video's 2021 Camila Cabello-led Cinderella revival, also stars as Britain's Prince Henry. Branded the rom-com of the summer, Red, White & Royal Blue marks the directorial debut of lauded playwright Matthew López, who won a Tony Award for The Inheritance in 2020.
Take one look at the trailer and you, too, will understand why Red, White & Royal Blue has taken Twitter and BookTok by storm. It's all sumptuous palaces and sun-spotted greenery—the stuff of classic period drama romance—with a zip of actually funny comedy. Uma Thurman bullies her way around the Oval Office with a thick Texan drawl like some female version of Lyndon B. Johnson, and Sex/Life's Sarah Shahi's White House aide barks out a truly masterful threat at Prince Henry: "I will Brexit your head from your body!" The rom-com is back, people!
The opening scene of the trailer reveals the disastrous public display of hatred that lands Alex and Henry in international hot water. During a royal wedding, the superstar son of the American President and the beloved prince of the realm manage to knock over the ceiling-height wedding cake in an international incident branded "The Buttercream Summit." (Perfection.) The pair are forced to tout their faux friendship on a peacemaking publicity tour for the sake of Anglo-American relations, experiencing each other's restrictive bubbles of existence with a newfound understanding and, eventually, something deeper.
For director Matthew López, Red, White & Royal Blue is a rare fairy tale-style romance for queer audiences. "It feels like queer audiences are one of the main consumers of such stories, and yet we didn't have a lot of our own," López told PEOPLE. He went on to comment on the film's R rating, which many netizens have raised eyebrows at.
"I think I was a little surprised at the R rating just because, while I never was encouraged to limit what we were showing or limit what I was depicting, the scene is what I intended to show. It plays exactly how I wanted it to play," López said of a sex scene between the leading men, adding: "I do question whether or not if it had been a man and a woman, if we'd still gotten an R rating."
Red, White & Royal Blue was co-written by López and Ted Malawer, who wrote on the critically-acclaimed 2021 Ewan McGregor Netflix miniseries Halston. The film also stars Bridgerton's Thomas Flynn and Ellie Bamber (Willow), with narration by British stage legend Jemma Redgrave (Howard's End).
Red, White & Royal Blue premieres August 11 on Prime Video.
