"We might do things differently, but we still get things done." (Mia Thermopolis)
In Royal Wedding, Mia is 26 years old and has finally figured out how to deal with the whole 'being a princess thing'... well, kind of. There's A LOT that's going on in her life.
It's so awesome to see how much Mia has grown from an insecure and self-obsessed 14 year old who was trying to achieve self actualization in The Princess Diaries to a mature women who has stepped into her princess shoes, is more sure of herself and is trying to make the world a better place. That doesn't mean that Mia has completely changed. She's still snarky, witty and funny and her hypochondriac and neurotic tendencies have not disappeared. Her voice and personality is fantastic! Mia might be a princess, but the things that she goes through are extremely relatable.
It's also so cool to see what's been going on in the lives of The Princess Diaries characters. Lily and Tina are awesome best friends, Lana is hilarious and I didn't expect Boris to be so unlike Boris (He's given up the violin and is a pop star with a fan club that mostly consists of teenage girls). Grandmere is still scary, manipulative and offensive and Mia's brother, Rocky, is a 9 year old who is obsessed with dinosaurs and flatulence. However, while I love The Princess Diaries characters and their distinct personalities, their characterization is so flat in Royal Wedding. It's also weird that we don't hear much about Mia's college friends. Maybe they just didn't play as huge of a role in her life as her high school friends.
And of course, there's Michael Moscovitz, the love of Mia's life, who finally asks Mia to marry him. There are so many things that I love about Michael: His personality, - he's smart and practical, but he's also full of fun and mischief - his relationship with Mia and his emojis. I loved Michael in Ten Out of Ten, but I just like him in Royal Wedding. I remember loving Michael A LOT more.
Royal Wedding tries to do a lot of things plot wise and some CRAZY things happen. Aside from the whole engagement and wedding shenanigans, Mia finds out that she might have another sibling, Mia and Michael have a huge surprise and there's a side plot about Mia's internet troll and stalker, RoyalRabbleRouser. I love Olivia. She's smart, calm, perceptive and likable. I was also sad to find out that Mr Gianini passed away. However, I feel like the reason for his passing is so that Mia's mom and dad could back together and give their relationship a second chance. I was also extremely excited about Mia and Michael's unexpected surprise TWINS!!!. And, while the whole situation surrounding the identity of Mia's stalker is hilarious, the end result...just WHY?!
I experienced so much of nostalgia while rereading the The Princess Diaries series and reading Royal Wedding for the first time. It's so awesome to read about the engagement and wedding of one of my favourite teenage ships. What a perfect ending!
"I'm taking the road less traveled. It may not get me where I thought I was going, but it could take me somewhere even better." (Prince Phillipe)