From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Crush

**From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: Royal Crush** is the third volume of the middle grade series sequel to the Princess Diaries Series by Meg Cabot.

It was released in 2017.

## Book Description

Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is turning thirteen. Even better, she's finally starting to get the hang of this princess thing. Just in time, too, since her half sister, Princess Mia Thermopolis, is expected to give birth to twins any day now!

It's pretty much the worst time possible for a school field trip, but Olivia *must* attend the Royal School Winter Games. Between Grandmère chaperoning, Olivia's snobby cousin Luisa complaining about her relationship woes, and everyone insisting that Olivia has a crush on Prince Khalil (even though she isn't sure that he even wants to be friends anymore!), things are quickly turning into a royal mess!

## Timeline

Begins on Monday, November 23, 2015 and concludes on Sunday, November 29.

## Plot Summary

Olivia's 13th birthday is rapidly approaching. Mia's twin babies are due in 2 weeks, but she and Michael are not telling anyone the babies' sexes or what names they're considering. Due to stress, Mia is put on bed rest. Nishi Skypes Olivia while she is in class and tells her that she saw a picture of Mia on Rate the Royals and believes that Mia is going to have at least 1 boy baby. Olivia wants the babies to both be girls and is willing to bet Nishi that they are. If Olivia is wrong then she will have to send Nishi 4 photos of Khalil but if Nishi is wrong she will have to bring Olivia peanut butter. Nishi asks if Olivia likes Khalil, but Olivia tells her she doesn't. Secretly, Olivia is concerned as she and Khalil were friends but after he went to visit his parents over the summer things have been different.

Madame Alain announces that Royal Genovian Academy does not have enough participants to go to the Royal School Winter Games due to La Grippe, a flu that is going around Genovia. As the Winter Games are occurring in Stockerdörfl, Prince Gunther's home, he is adamant that more people sign up so they can all go. Olivia runs in to Khalil and he asks if she is coming to the winter games, but Olivia tells him that she can't since her sister is due to give birth at any moment and she wants to stay in Genovia for their birth. She tells Khalil that he probably thinks she's a dork because of this, but he tells her that he thinks she is the opposite of a dork and cryptically adds that she'll see.

At tea after school with Phillipe and Grandmère Olivia mentions her interaction with Khalil. When Phillipe realizes that she is talking about Prince Khalil of Qalif he becomes concerned and tells Olivia not to spend time with him any more. They tell Olivia that Khalil and his parents wen to Qalif over the summer to try to talk sense into his uncle but ended up having to smuggle what they could and sneak out of Qalif. Grandmère tells Olivia to be nice to Khalil as he may be insecure now that he is a prince with no country. Grandmère comments that Olivia is becoming very pretty, but Phillipe tells her not to put melodramatic nonsense into Olivia's head.

Mia and Michael's twins are born in the middle of the night and Olivia gets dressed up to go and see them. Paolo tells Olivia that Mia had one boy and one girl, which she realizes means she lost the bet and has to send pictures of Khalil to Nishi. Olivia is surprised that the babies are red and have cone heads, but Mia thinks they are beautiful. She and Michael have not yet decided on names as they want to get to know their personalities, though everyone has suggestions for them.

At school Luisa passes a note to Olivia telling her that her party better not be cancelled because of the babies birth, as she and Gunther have matching outfits, and asking for Olivia to tell her their names. Olivia tells her that the ball isn't cancelled but even if it was she could still find another occasion for her and Gunther to wear their matching outfits, unless they get in a fight again. Even though she and Gunther break up twice a week the suggestion that they fight offends Luisa, in addition to Olivia's refusal to release the names, and she calls Olivia a stick in the mud. Madame Alain announces that although they now have enough permission slips for students to attend the Winter Games they do not have enough chaperones.

At lunch, where R.G.A. is having free seating due to La Grippe, Luisa says that Las Vegas bookies are betting that the royal babies will be named Frank and Elizabeth, which Luisa hates. Olivia tells everyone that Frank was Mia's step-dad's name which everyone but Luisa finds touching. Olivia shows them all a photo of the babies but Luisa is disturbed by their cone heads. Olivia assures her they are healthy and normal and compares them to kangaroo babies, which further disturbs Luisa, though Khalil finds it interesting. Khalil asks Olivia if she has changed her mind about the Winter Games in front of everyone, who immediately begin asking her if she will come. Gunther promises to teach her how to ski while Victorine tells her that she can replace Marguerite as the photographer and that she could convince Helen to chaperone. Khalil apologizes to Olivia for making things more complicated for her but she tells him it's ok. He offers to get her cheesecake but the bell rings before he gets back.

When Olivia gets home, Rocky is trying to get Snowball to pull him like a sled dog. Rocky tells Grandmère about the Winter Games but Olivia tells her that R.G.A. isn't going, which appalls Grandmère. She decides to go and convince R.G.A. that they must go to the Winter Games to represent Genovia. Dr. Khan tells Mia that due to La Grippe and the outbreak at R.G.A. it would be best if Olivia and Rocky were away from the palace for a few days as they may be carrying the virus and could pass it along to the babies. Phillipe decides to send Olivia and Rocky to the Winter Games and Grandmère agrees to chaperone.

Olivia, Snowball, Rocky, Grandmère, and Rommel go to the train platform to go to Stockerdörfl. Luisa snottily asks why Grandmère is there and Olivia tells her that she is chaperoning. Grandmère is appalled that everyone is out of uniform, as Victorine is dressed in Boris P apparel and Roger, the 12th Duke of Marborough is in a Tupac shirt. Grandmère asks Roger about Tupac and he tells her he is a philosopher so she asks him to quote some of his writings. When he cannot, Khalil raps a Tupac song and Grandmère tells Roger to give his Tupac shirt to Khalil as he does not deserve to wear it. Olivia sneaks a picture of Khalil shirtless on the platform to fulfill Nishi's photo requirements. Madame Alain appears and asks what is going on but Grandmère tells her that Roger offered to give Khalil his shirt and then it is time to board the train. Luisa is horrified by Grandmère's behavior but Victorine is in favor of it as she would have been able to sing any of Boris P's songs if she had been called upon. Nadia and Princess Komiko point out that Luisa was staring at Roger's muscles. Olivia decides to change the subject by suggesting they make a get well card for Marguerite.

The students arrive in Stockerdörfl and are staying at Eis Schloss (Ice Castle). They encounter students from The Royal Academy in Switzerland dressed all in matching sweatsuits, who R.G.A. find intimidating. Olivia, Nadia, and Komiko share one room while Victorine and Luisa are in another. Victorine comes over to Olivia's room to tell the girls that Luisa is crying because she and Gunther have had a fight. The girls go over to comfort Luisa so that they can all go to dinner. Luisa is upset that Gunther is spending more time with his parents while they are in Stockerdörfl than he is with her but Olivia tells Luisa that she will have to be extra supportive of Gunther while they are in his home town. They go down to dinner, but Luisa goes to sit with Roger and the 17th Marquis of Tottingham instead of Gunther, which almost causes Gunther to cry but Nadia, Komiko, Victorine, and Olivia all try to comfort him. Khalil asks to join their table and sit next to Olivia. He asks her about Gunther and she tells him that he and Luisa are fighting.

Back in the room, Mia e-mails Olivia to tell her that a letter has come to the palace for her from Qalif and speculates that it is from her aunt, Catherine O'Toole. Mia presumes it is a birthday greeting but Olivia does not think that her aunt would write to her except to ask for money. A snowball thrown by one of the students at T.R.A.I.S. comes through the window and hits Olivia, so they text their friends to join them and go outside and start a massive snow ball fight. The students from the British Aristocracy Training School and French Academy of Royals join the fight, as well as some random guests from the hotel. Grandmère storms out and demands everyone stop or she will call their parents.

Tots makes fun of Grandmère and Olivia for looking weird, but Khalil tells Tots to knock it off because he thinks Olivia looks cute. Olivia is excited that Khalil called her cute, but Victorine tells her not to get her hopes up because last year he spent all of the Winter Games with Princess Sophie Eugenie, a student at F.A.R.S. While Olivia is waiting for the elevator to go up to her room she sees Luisa kissing Roger in a reflection, which alarms her as Luisa is still dating Gunther.

At breakfast the next day Luisa acts completely normal around Gunther. Grandmère tells Olivia that she knows she was part of the snow ball fight and she is disappointed in her. During the competitions Olivia uses her position as school photographer to get plenty of pictures of Khalil for Nishi.

Gunther insists on teaching Olivia to ski and everyone goes to watch, except for Luisa and Roger. Olivia successfully skis the bunny slope and takes the lift to ski again. She asks Serena what she should do about Gunther and Luisa, but Serena tells her it is above her pay grade. While Olivia and Serena are distracted the miss getting off at the bunny slope and accidentally ride the lift all the way to the black diamond. Serena tells Olivia they could just ride the lift back down but Olivia doesn't want to be embarrassed and decides to just carefully ski down the slope. As they are skiing down Olivia is just screaming and they are approached by two skiers who reveal themselves to be Gunther's parents, Prince Hans and Princess Anna-Katerina Lapsburg von Stuben and they offer to ski Olivia down the mountain safely. At the bottom the run into Luisa and Roger and Olivia introduces them. Gunther and the rest of Olivia's friends catch up with them and Gunther introduces them to his parents. Luisa asks Olivia how she met Gunther's parents but she confronts her about Roger and tells her not to hurt Gunther's feelings. Luisa counters that she saw Olivia take a picture of Khalil shirtless on the train platform. Olivia explains the bet she lost to Nishi but Luisa accuses of her gambling and secret photos being just as bad as Luisa cheating on Gunther. Luisa snatches Olivia's phone and threatens to send the pictures to everyone in school, but Rocky interrupts before she can and to tell Olivia that someone asked him to mush in the sled dog race.

Rocky loses the sled dog race and Nadia and Luisa both lose in their figure skating competition, but Luisa is an extremely sore loser, which Grandmère chastises her for. Gunther waits by the side of Luisa's competition and gives her a bear holding a heart, for her nickname for him, Goo Goo Bear. Tots and Roger make of the gift and nickname, embarrassing Luisa. Luisa tries to throw out the bear when they get back to the hotel, but Nadia asks to keep it. Olivia sends all her pictures to Nishi and deletes them from her phone.

Dinner that evening is at Gunther's parents' house and Grandmère tells Olivia that she has to invite them to visit - soon - as Genovia has lost some of its standing as a tourist destination due to La Grippe. Olivia is impressed by Gunther's house, which is actually a castle. Olivia compliments Anna-Katerina on her flower arrangements but Anna-Katerina complains that it is hard to find roses in November. Olivia uses the opportunity to tell Anna-Katerina that roses bloom in Genovia year round and invite her and Hans to come to visit, which Anna-Katerina agrees to. The R.G.A. students go outside to watch the fireworks and Olivia notices Roger staring at Luisa and Gunther.

At breakfast the next day Gunther asks to speak to Olivia. He tells her that he thinks Luisa likes someone else, and that he might like someone else as well. Olivia tells him that if they both like other people they should probably break up, but Gunther is concerned that they will not be able to wear their matching outfits. Olivia tells him they could still wear their matching outfits as friends. Olivia is hopeful that the person Gunther likes is Nadia. Grandmère asks Olivia about her conversation with Gunther and reveals that she knows about Luisa and Roger.

Nishi texts Olivia that she is not sure the photos count since Khalil's face is not visible. During the hockey game Roger starts a brawl which disqualifies R.G.A. after a student from T.R.A.I.S. calls him a "Genovian fondue fork licker." Roger gets a black eye and Luisa immediately runs to comfort him. After Gunther's snowboarding event Luisa comes over and gives him a huge kiss, but Gunther tells her they need to talk. He returns her bracelet and breaks up with her.

Hans and Anna-Katerina give Olivia a small gift before the students leave but tell her not to open it until her birthday. On the train Gunther and Khalil sit with Olivia, Komiko, Victorine, and Nadia while Luisa sits with Roger. The girls try to cheer up Gunther while Olivia notices Khalil texting someone who she presumes is Princess Sophie Eugenie.

When they get back to Genovia Dr. Khan declares Olivia and Rocky safe to be around the babies. Mia and Michael tell them that they are naming the babies Frank and Elizabeth after Frank Gianini and Elizabeth Harrison. Lilly has flown in to meet the babies as well. Mia gives Olivia her letter from Qalif but tells her it is not from her aunt. The letter is from Khalil and confesses to Olivia that he likes her and asks her out to get ice cream. Lilly and Mia are both excited about it and ask Olivia what she thinks but Olivia is upset as it is too late since she spent the last 2 days with Khalil and said nothing about the letter because she hadn't gotten it yet and she now believes that Khalil has gotten back together with Princess Sophie Eugenie. Mia and Lilly tell Olivia that she should text him, but Grandmère insists that Olivia respond in writing or in person, since Khalil wrote a letter. Mia reminds Olivia that Khalil is coming to her ball tomorrow night and she can talk to him then and Grandmère tells her that if Khalil has really moved on to dating someone else then he wouldn't be worth dating in the first place.

Olivia wakes up the next morning on her birthday to find everyone missing from the palace except Grandmère. Olivia complains to her that she doesn't feel any older but Grandmère tells her that she herself still feels 13. Olivia opens her presents and the one from Gunther's parents is a heart-shaped diamond-encrusted pendant, which Lilly, Mia, Helen, and Grandmère believe is a bribe to date Gunther, shocking Olivia. Grandmère gives Olivia a similar pendant she got from Grandpère to wear to her ball instead. Michael and Lilly take lots of pictures of Olivia being escorted by Phillipe into the party.

At the party Gunther asks her why she is not wearing the necklace they gave her. Olivia tells him that the gift is too generous to be from a boy she is not related to, but Gunther tells her that they could be related if they got married. Olivia tells Gunther that the is too young to be getting into a long term relationship and should focus on himself right now and also restates that she is not the right girl for him, so Gunther goes back to the party. Luisa tells Olivia that she looks like the one that really broke Gunther's heart and that he deserves someone nice. Khalil comes to talk to Olivia and gives her a small velvet box with a Persian miniature of animals by a lake inside. He explains that it is a piece of art from his country that he smuggled out and thought she would appreciate, as it is animals. Olivia thinks it is too valuable for her to keep, but Khalil insists so she suggests she donate it to the palace museum. Olivia explains the letter getting lost to Khalil and he tells her that he thought she liked Gunther, which she assures him she doesn't, except as a friend. Olivia tells him that the answer to his question is that yes, she would like to get ice cream and Khalil suggests they go right then, but realizes it is Olivia's birthday party. Olivia confesses to him that she doesn't really like Boris P so they ask Helen and Phillipe and go with Serena to get ice cream. Khalil tells Olivia that he was texting his mother on the train, not Princess Sophie Eugenie. Olivia takes a selfie with Khalil and sends it to Nishi, telling her it is the only other photo she is going to get.

## Continuity

Rocky is now said to be 10 years old, though he was said to still be 9 in Royal Wedding Disaster, which was set in June, and his birthday is in May so it should not have changed between Royal Wedding Disaster and Royal Crush.