The Ending of Red, White & Royal Blue, Explained

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Spoilers ahead for Red, White & Royal Blue. You've been warned!

After President Ellen Claremont secures Texas to win her re-election, she and her family (plus Prince Henry) go on stage to celebrate.

"There are people who will tell you elections don't matter," Ellen says in a victory speech. "But try telling to that to the auto worker in Michigan who worries whether or not their plant will be shut down. Tell that to the transgender high school student in Mississippi, voting for the very first time. Elections do matter because they give you a voice, and your voice is blended tonight with millions of Americans just like you: openhearted, fearless, and alive to a bolder, brighter, braver future."

While she's talking about the election, it also has a double meaning for the love story of her son and the British prince. After her speech ends, the focus switches back to Prince Henry and Alex. Henry asks Alex, "What do we do now?" Alex replies, "Do you still have my key on you?" (Earlier in the film, Alex gifted the key to his family's house in Texas, which he wears on a necklace, to Henry. This is a big difference from the book, where Alex wears his key necklace throughout the story.) Henry doesn't reply, but he obviously still is wearing the key necklace.

The scene switches to the two biking down a suburban road (sans any Secret Service or Henry's royal protection officers, gasp!) to Alex's childhood home. Alex unlocks the door, and before they enter, the couple say to each other "we won." This has a double meaning: It could be referring to Alex's mom's election victory, or the fact that they are now dating publicly, and have their happily ever after.

This scene is directly pulled from the book's ending: "'Hey,' Alex says. Henry turns back to him, his eyes silver in the wash of the streetlight. 'We won.' Henry takes his hand, one corner of his mouth tugging gently upward. 'Yeah. We won.' Alex reaches down into the front of his dress shirt and finds the chain with his fingers, pulls it out carefully. The ring, the key. Under winter clouds, victorious, he unlocks the door." (In a special collector's edition, a bonus chapter set a few years into the future shows Alex and Henry living in Brooklyn, and getting engaged.)

In the movie, we get just past them unlocking the door—Alex and Henry walk inside the house in the film's final moments. Henry jokes, "Wow, you really are working-class, aren't you?" Alex says, "Oh shut up, your Majesty! Do you want me to give you a tour of the house?" Henry replies, "Yes, lead the way, darling." The movie fades out as Alex begins to tell Henry, "All right, so I took my first steps right over there..."

And Alex and Henry lived Happily Ever After.

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