Lars van der Hooten

Meg Cabot From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

## Appearances

The Princess Diaries
The Princess Diaries, Vol. II: Princess in the Spotlight

The Princess Diaries, Vol. III: Princess in Love

The Princess Diaries, Vol. IV: Princess in Waiting

The Princess Diaries, Vol. IV and a Half: Project Princess

The Princess Diaries, Vol. V: Princess in Pink

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VI: Princess in Training

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VI and a Half: The Princess Present

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VII: Party Princess

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VII and a Half: Sweet Sixteen Princess

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VII and 3/4ths: Valentine Princess

The Princess Diaries, Vol. VIII: Princess on the Brink

The Princess Diaries, Vol. IX: Princess Mia

The Princess Diaries, Vol. X: Forever Princess

MiaThermopolis.com

Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Wedding Disaster

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Crush

Princess Lessons: A Princess Diaries Book

**Lars van der Hooten** is Mia Thermopolis's body guard.

## Biography

### Early Life

Lars is Nordic, specifically Swedish. Lars trained in the Israeli Army and at a bodyguard training facility in the Gobi Desert. Lars has been married and divorced three times.

### Mia's Freshman Year

#### Princess Diaries

Lars is first introduced as Phillipe's driver, who Mia realizes (after learning she is a princess) is actually his bodyguard. He is first seen in action frisking a delivery boy who Mia has to tip extra for the inconvenience. After Mia is outed by the press Lars is assigned to follow her from class to class, just like Wahim and Tina. When Mia cries about this Lars gives her his handkerchief.

On the way to the Cultural Diversity Dance, Lars offers to drive so that Mia and Josh Richter can talk in the back. Mia also has Lars carry her diary for her so she can write in it at dinner and the dance. When they arrive at the dance Josh pulls Mia out of the car before Lars has found a place to park so that Josh can pull his publicity stunt. Later Mia believes that Lars put a nerve-paralyzing hold on Josh, as he is seen slumped over. Mia asks Lars not to tell her dad anything that happened at the dance, and Lars appears to respect her wishes.

#### Princess in the Spotlight

Lars goes with Mia to Rocky Horror Picture Show with the Computer Club and Lilly and Boris. As he was already dressed for the wedding and armed, per his job description, his costume was James Bond and required no altering. Lars is noticeably tired by the end of the night with the teens, drinking 5 cups of coffee. Lars offers to pay Michael back for the movie tickets, but Michael refuses.

#### Princess in Love

Lars goes with Mia and her friends to go ice skating, and when she falls and bites through her tongue he takes her to see Dr. Fung. Mia lets Lars in on her plan to write anonymous love notes to Michael in order to get him to like her, and he helps her pick out a card. He also points out to her that she doesn't really have anything to lose, as she didn't sign her name so he has no way of knowing the cards are from her.

When Mia goes to pull the fire alarm to stop Lilly's planned walk out Lars offers to pull it himself, to keep her from getting in trouble. Mia refuses, as she is the princess and so she must be the one to do the difficult jobs, but Lars cannot stop laughing at the whole plan. When Mia plans her press conference in revenge for Grandmère having the Sunday Times fashion spread printed Lars makes some calls to reporters to help her plan. After Mia locks herself in her room, Phillipe has Lars take Mia's bedroom door off the hinges, forcing Mia to retreat to her fire escape in 30º weather.

When Mia finally makes it to the Nondenominational Winter Dance Lilly tells her to sit down so that she will know where to find her when she needs to. Lars and Wahim join her, causing her to feel like a big idiot, sitting at a dance alone between two bodyguards. She tells Lars she wants to go home, and he starts to stand, but stops and stares at something behind Mia. Mia turns around and it's Michael, who had clearly rushed to the dance, and after talking they kiss.

#### Princess in Waiting

While Mia was in Genovia with her Genovian bodyguard, Francois, Lars went snorkeling and wild boar hunting in Belize with Wahim. He comes back very tan. When Mia passes out from jet lag Lars carries her upstairs to her apartment. On Michael and Mia's first date Lars goes into the living room to watch TV with the Drs. Moscovitz.

#### Valentine Princess

Lars got a taser for Christmas and has been teaching Mia krav maga. Mia gives Lars a Valentine with a heart and a gun on it that says "Valentine... I'm gunning for you!" Which appears to make Lars tear up.

#### Project Princess

Lars goes with Mia on her Housing for the Hopeful trip to Hominy Knob, West Virginia. He brings the least luggage - only a single small duffel bag, though it has a tent and an air mattress inside. Lars actually works with Mia's group on the house, helping Michael and Dr. Gonzales with the plumbing. Lars goes with everyone when Michael drives into town. After Mia, Tina, and Lilly perform Survivor by Destiny's Child Lars laughs so hard that he chokes and on his s'more.

#### Princess in Pink

Lars gives Mia a hat he received from an NYPD bombsquad officer as a 15th birthday present. After Boris drops a globe on his head Lars runs to get Mrs. Hill. Lars helps Michael carry Boris to the nurse's office while Mia holds her sweater to his head. He informs Mia that being a doctor requires good grades in both science and math, crushing her momentary dream of becoming a medical professional. Lars and Wahim both have to wear tuxes to prom, but Mia and Tina get them matching boutonnieres.

### Mia's Sophomore Year

#### Princess in Training

Lars watches sports in the common room at Michael's dorm, but he interrupts their conversation after midnight when he stops hearing voices. Lars helps Perin to separate Lana Weinberger and Mia when they get into a fight after French before the debate. Lars goes with Mia and Michael to the pizza place but sits on the other side of the restaurant so that they can talk.

#### Party Princess

Lars gets a new Sidekick phone, which distracts him most of the time. When Mia has a dystopian movie marathon with Michael he helps Lilly run her lines for *Braid!*. Lars goes to Michael's party with Mia and leaves with her when she is upset after her sexy dance incident. After she confronts Michael in his dorm, Mia borrows Lars' Sidekick so she can e-mail Michael. He helps Mia steal all of the copies of Lilly's literary magazine to hide, as there are too many for Mia to carry, and he helps her return them when she decides not to destroy them.

#### Sweet Sixteen Princess

After Mia's PTA meeting failure Lars quotes Gloria Steinem at her, having picked up the quote from one of Helen's magazines. Lars interferes when Janine from My Super Sweet Sixteen tries to put a microphone on Mia and somewhere along the line gets Janine's phone number. He invites her to Mia's birthday party and ends up skating with her.

### Mia's Junior Year

#### Princess on the Brink

Lars sits at the bar while Michael tells Mia about his plan to move to Japan. When Mia goes to the restaurant kitchen to process what Michael told her, Lars sticks his head in to say that sometimes guys have to do things like this to prove themselves.

When Mia sneaks out to have sex with Michael Lars calls Helen when he discovers that she is not at the Moscovitzs'. When Mia is sent to the Four Seasons after getting sick Lars stays until she realizes that she has to go to catch Michael at the airport and drags Lars along. Due to Phillipe having the limo they are forced to take a cab, which turns out to be Ephraim Kleinschmidt's cab. Due to traffic Lars does not believe that they will make it and encourages Mia to call Michael, but she tells him that after what happened in the hallway she can't just call him - he probably wouldn't pick up anyway. They miss Michael and Lars has to pick Mia, crying, up off the floor of the airport so they can get in the limo which comes to the airport to get them.

#### Princess Mia

Helen calls Lars and cancels on him as Mia has decided not to go to school. After missing school for a few days Phillipe comes with Lars and has Lars carry Mia out of the building and into the limo to take her to Dr. Knutz's office. Only Lars, Phillipe, Helen, and Mr. G know that Mia is in therapy.

When Kenny blows up the lab Lars grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out J.P.'s sweater, as J.P. jumped to cover Mia. After Lilly yells at Mia, Lars offers to call Phillipe or Helen, but Mia decides to just skip class and cry in the third floor stairwell. Lars lets Boris up to see her and comfort her and the three of them walk back to G&T together.

### Mia's Senior Year

#### Forever Princess

Lars knocks paint on to reporter who begins asking too personal of questions, ending the interview. Lars tells J.P. that the girls are all going prom dress shopping. After Mia and J.P.'s date Lars ends up having to hail them a cab so they can shake off the paparazzi that are hounding them.

Mia attends Michael's CardioArm donation to Columbia but she and Tina make Lars and Wahim wait outside. Lars sees Lilly dragging Mia by the wrist out of the bathroom, but she signals to him not to do anything.

After Michael donates a CardioArm to the Royal Genovian Hospital, Mia workshops some texts to send him with Lars. He sits at the bar while they meet and when they decide to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride he reluctantly sits up front with the cabbie while Mia and Michael ride in back.

Lars watches Mia's prom dress fashion show with her family. After prom he waits while Mia and J.P. argue, and when the elevator doors open he asks if they are going anywhere and Mia tells him they are not. Michael later asks Lars if he needs to go and beat up J.P. and Lars tells him he definitely should, despite Mia's objections. Michael says the world might be better if someone had beaten up J.P. a long time ago and Lars jokes that due to bodyguard union regulations he can't beat anyone up after midnight. Mia tells Lars to take the rest of the night off so she and Michael can go back to his place and Lars shrugs and lets them go.

### Later Years

Lars is asked out by one of Mia's suitemates, Shawna, but he turns her down. He is excited to go to the royal wedding as he will be able to have a reunion with all of his bodyguard friends. Wahim asks Lars to come with him when he starts his private security company but Lars turns him down as he doesn't like management.

Due to the GMO Orange controversy a protestor threw a Genovian orange at Lars but he picked it up and bit right into it, peel and all. He and other members of the Royal Genovian Guard stay on a nearby island while Mia and Michael are on vacation on a private island to shoot away any drones that are trying to spy on them. When they return to New York, Mia tells Lars and Michael about Olivia Harrison and her aunt and uncles embezzling to ask for advice, but Lars tells her he would shoot Rick O'Toole and make it look like an suicide. Lars escorts Brian Fitzpatrick out of the Frank Gianini Community Center when he is caught in the bathroom with a camera and a microphone.

Lars accompanies Mia, Lilly, Tina, and Tina's new bodyguard Halim to Cranbrook, NJ to meet with Catherine O'Toole about Olivia. When Catherine slams the door on Mia's foot Lars rushes in and pins her to the wall before signaling to the R.G.G. that Mia is safe. After they get permission to pick Olivia up from school they arrive at the school and see the fight that is starting, which Lars offers to break up but Mia insists on going herself. Lars and Halim follow her out and form a barrier to get her and Olivia safely back to the limo. A woman tries to take a selfie with Mia but Lars pushes her out of the way. The woman tells Lars she won't come and visit Genovia now but Lars tells her they don't want her there. He also stops Dr. Bushy from taking a photo with Mia and Olivia. Once in the limo Lars tells François to drive. When they get to the Plaza, Lars tells Olivia not to stop and answer any questions or accept anything from anyone - even if she sees her best friend in the crowd - because it could cause a stampede. After Olivia is punched in the face by Annabelle Jenkins Lars speaks with the R.G.G. to find out what happened, but he did not tell Phillipe what was going on as he was in a meeting with Catherine.

Lars and Lilly begin a casual relationship stemming from Lilly's attraction to him. She sends Mia sex toys as a birthday present, knowing that Lars has to open them all. She is later caught sneaking out of the R.G.G. barracks at 6am, presumably from Lars's room. They also sneak off together when Lilly is back in Genovia for the birth of the twins.

Lars carries Nishi Desai to bed when she falls asleep before dinner (due to jet lag) when she visits Genovia for the royal wedding. He bets Serena Yehoshua that both of the twins will be boys and will be named Michael and Phillipe, which he loses when Frank and Elizabeth Renaldo are born.

## Physical Appearance

Lars is described as good looking and Mia believes that Lars could take Wahim in a fight. He is large and hairy.

Lars is 6'6" and 280lbs of pure muscle.

## Personality and Traits

Lars carries a 9mm Glock and sometimes nunchuks.

He is relatively quiet, though this may be due to the nature of his job.

Lars speaks at least 3 languages, including English, French, and a third that he swears in when he sees the press at the Cultural Diversity Dance.

Lars is trained in Krav Maga.

Lars has a good sense of humor.

Lars does not mind when Mia and Michael make out.

Lars' favorite book is *The Art of War* by Sun Tsu.

Lars watches Pretty Little Liars.

## Relationships

### Mia

Lars acts as a bit of a protective older brother towards Mia, not just from death threats, as is his job. He seems to genuinely care about her and offers her a tissue when she cries, as well as seemingly getting revenge on Josh after the events of the Cultural Diversity Dance.

## Continuity

In Royal Wedding, Lars calls the R.G.G. to find out why no one stopped Annabelle from punching Olivia, but in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess Sabine says that she already told Lars everything but he didn't tell Phillipe because he asked not to be disturbed.

## References

1. ↑ The Princess Diaries, Vol. III: Princess in Love
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Princess Lessons: A Princess Diaries Book
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Princess Diaries
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Princess Diaries, Vol. II: Princess in the Spotlight
5. ↑ MiaThermopolis.com
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Crush
9. ↑ From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Wedding Disaster
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The Princess Diaries, Vol. IV and a Half: Project Princess
11. ↑ The Princess Diaries, Vol. VII and a Half: Sweet Sixteen Princess