Why Some ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Fans Are Surprised the Film’s Queer Characters Use Condoms

Fans of Casey McQuiston's 2019 novel Red, White & Royal Blue have celebrated so many aspects of the newly released film adaptation of the book, as they've praised the chemistry between the two leads as well as the power of the queer love story. But one seemingly small moment in the film has left some fans confused: namely, the characters' use of condoms.

In Red, White & Royal Blue's pivotal sex scene — in which the first son of the United States and the second prince of England finally get their first explicit, intimate moment together — eagle-eyed fans spotted two condom wrappers in one overhead shot.

One viewer of the film jokingly criticized the props, writing on Twitter that "the most unrealistic part of the movie isn't that it's the president's son and the prince of england, it's that they used condoms."

Although the user immediately clarified he was joking, his post blew up with people agreeing with him.

"Yeah they'd def be on Prep [short for pre-exposure prophylaxis]," one user wrote in response.

"The first son also flatly says he's never had sex with a man before so I don't think prep is in his radar," one user disagreed.

These users referred to the fact that many men who are part of the LGBTQ+ community take pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, which is a medication taken to prevent HIV.

Though PrEP does not prevent against other sexually transmitted infections — and it is still advised to practice safe sex by wearing a condom — it significantly lowers the risk of contracting HIV.

As it turns out, director Matthew López made an intentional choice to portray Prince Henry and Alex Claremont-Diaz using condoms rather than relying on any sort of preventative medications.

According to López, the film's production team discussed at length whether or not Prince Henry would be on PrEP.

"Robbie [Taylor Hunt, the film's intimacy coordinator] and I decided together that the prince is probably not on PrEP, because it would be too dangerous for him to ask for prescription," López told Variety. "So the prince absolutely uses condoms. And because we couldn't really effectively answer the PrEP question narratively, we wanted to also just tell the story that the prince engages in safe sex practices and takes his sexual health seriously."

Another reply to this Twitter user's tweet seemingly confirms what López hoped fans would take from the small detail.

"Everything in a film frame is there for a reason," the Twitter user wrote. "The condom wrappers send a subtle, but important message. On a larger scale, stories plant the seeds in our collective consciousness about what is possible. This is a positive story about gay love, and it comes at a time when gay love is being delegitimized around the world. This is an important story coming at a significant moment. Let's celebrate this."