39 pages • 1 hour read
Casey McQuistonRed, White, and Royal Blue
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Alex finds out that the traditional Thanksgiving turkeys to be pardoned by the president are being housed overnight in an expensive hotel. Since he considers this government waste, he insists that the two birds be brought to his room in the White House. Alex immediately regrets the decision and is frightened of the crated, gobbling beasts. In the middle of the night, he calls Henry, who humors him through his panic attack.
As Christmas approaches, Alex is happy to have his father as a White House guest, though he also anticipates the epic battles that always ensue whenever his divorced parents are under the same roof. On Christmas Eve, Oscar Diaz proposes campaigning for his ex-wife. Ellen rejects the idea out of hand and says, “People don’t like women, but they like mothers and wives. They like families. The last thing we need to do is remind them that I’m divorced by parading my ex-husband around” (88).
When a huge fight starts, Alex tells his parents to grow up and storms out of the room. Distraught that his family can’t manage a few days of harmony, Alex calls Henry. After bending Henry’s understanding ear for an hour, Alex ends the call. Alex tells June about the call the following day and says, “He’s not my friend. He’s someone I like to antagonize all the time, and one time I talked to him about something real.” June retorts: “That’s a friend, Alex” (94-95).
When New Year’s Eve arrives, the White House Trio throws their annual fundraiser, and June has invited Henry to the party. He arrives with his flamboyant friend Pez in tow. Since Pez has been dying to meet June, the two immediately go off to get acquainted. Over the course of the evening, Alex tries to get Henry to dance. Instead, Henry drinks far too much champagne and disappears outside into the garden. Alex follows him out, and the two of them sit together in silence. Henry confesses that there are relationships he would like to pursue that his position disallows. He explains, “I’m saying that I have … people … who interest me […] But I shouldn’t pursue them. At least not in my position” (107). Alex fails to take the hint, and Henry kisses him. Alex responds enthusiastically, much to his surprise.
Chapter 5 Summary
Alex thinks of his kiss with Henry for weeks. Alex has always considered himself to be straight, so the entire experience leaves him bewildered. McQuiston writes, “He needs a list. So: Things he knows right now. One. He’s attracted to Henry. Two. He wants to kiss Henry again. Three. He has maybe wanted to kiss Henry for a while. As in, probably this whole time” (114).
To distract himself from his sexual identity crisis, Alex asks Ellen to make him a part of her campaign team immediately rather than waiting until after he graduates, and she agrees. Alex is overloaded with classes and political work. He can’t stop thinking about his feelings for Henry, but When he tries to text or call the royal, he receives no answer.
In an effort to sort out his own sexual preferences, Alex recalls brief episodes of experimentation in high school. At the time, he didn’t consider them to be gay experiences, but now he needs to rethink his assumptions. In a state of complete confusion, he asks Nora to help him figure out the situation. She is openly bisexual and has no trouble identifying Alex’s feelings. She declares that he’s bisexual and that Henry is obviously gay.
Shortly afterward, Alex sees several tabloid articles in which Henry is photographed dating a blond actress and kissing her. Alex reacts with jealousy. McQuiston writes: “Faintly, under it all, it occurs to him: This is all a very not-straight way to react to seeing your male frenemy kissing someone else in a magazine. A little laugh startles out of him” (125). Alex begins to put himself in Henry’s shoes and realizes the difficulty of his position as a royal.
Chapter 6 Summary
Henry is still trying to avoid contact, but Alex knows the prince is expected to attend a state dinner at the White House in late January. When he arrives for the event, Henry is awkward in Alex’s presence. With the help of a Secret Service agent, Alex is able to get five minutes alone with Henry. He immediately picks up where they left off on New Year’s Eve by kissing Henry passionately. The two agree to meet in Alex’s room at eleven o’clock. Before Henry appears, Alex paces nervously: “He’s not sure if he should take anything else off. He’s unsure of the dress code for inviting your sworn-enemy-turned-fake-best-friend to your room to have sex with you, especially when that room is in the White House” (134).
Henry arrives a few minutes later. After some initial awkwardness, the two men engage in a torrid session of lovemaking. Alex realizes, “In an instant of sudden, vivid clarity, he can’t believe he ever thought he was straight” (139). Afterward, Alex admits that he’s bisexual, while Henry says that he is very gay. Alex fleetingly thinks how nice it would be to have an open relationship but immediately realizes the impossibility of that dream. Several hours later, Henry tiptoes back to his room to avoid arousing suspicion.
By mid-February, Alex receives an invitation to a polo match in Connecticut, where Henry will be competing. Alex is enthralled watching Henry play the game on horseback so masterfully. Afterward, the pair sneak off to a tack room in the stable for a quick liaison. In early March, Alex and Henry trade a series of texts regarding a fundraiser in Paris that Alex will be attending. Alex presses Henry to meet him there even though Henry has a prior engagement in Germany. After much good-natured badgering, Henry agrees to try to get to Paris.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
In this segment, we see an amplification of the texting motif. Alex calls Henry in the middle of the night when he becomes irrationally frightened of the two turkeys crated in his room. This opens the lines of communication between the men further, and Henry begins revealing bits and pieces about his personal life as well.
The theme of public duties and private impulses receives a fair amount of attention in these chapters when the two men are forced to meet at a White House event, and Henry makes his interest in Alex known. Henry recognizes his attraction toward Alex, but the latter still doesn’t understand his own feelings until the two men kiss for the first time on New Year’s Eve. The kiss is a revelation to Alex. He immediately begins to reassess his sexual orientation. This doesn’t cause him any sense of shame, as it must have done for Henry. Alex’s middle-class, biracial, American upbringing has been a blessing since he never had to conform to any ideal of perfect behavior. Alex’s quick acceptance of his sexuality underscores the theme of being true to one’s self. He has little difficulty with this concept. It will take many more chapters before Henry comes anywhere near the same level of self-acceptance.
Even though Alex sorts out his feelings quickly, he’s acutely aware of the difference between what he wants for himself and what the rest of the world expects from him. He initiates an affair with Henry covertly, with the collusion of Secret Service agent, Amy. This would be the traditional way to handle such a situation. The White House is infamous for the number of illicit affairs that have been conducted within its walls. The difference this time is that Alex is determined to break the mold. He wants his relationship with Henry to be out in the open, dissolving the barrier between public and private. At this stage of the relationship, Henry is only capable of covert affairs.
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