The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

**The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement** is an American live-action film that was released on August 11, 2004.

It is the sequel to the 2001 film The Princess Diaries.

## Plot

Five years after the first film, Mia Thermopolis graduates from Princeton University, returning to Genovia. There, she awaits her grandmother, Queen Clarisse's, abdication. Dancing with all eligible bachelors at her 21st birthday party to find a husband, she meets a dashing young gentleman named Nicholas, and the two become mutually attracted. During the evening, Mia's tiara falls off, caught by Member of Parliament (MP), Viscount Mabrey, who secretly plans to steal the crown.

During the Parliamentary session the next morning, Mia hears Mabrey revealing his nephew, Lord Devereaux, to be the next male heir to the throne. By law, Mia can only be Queen if she marries within the month. Clarisse invites Lord Devereaux to stay at the palace, and Mia is shocked to discover he is Nicholas. Her best friend, Lilly Moscovitz, surprises her with a visit. Together, they look through potential husbands. Mia eventually chooses Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth, and days later, they are engaged. Mabrey plans to have Nicholas seduce Mia so the engagement will fail. Joe tries to persuade Clarisse to publicly pursue their feelings for each other as her reign as queen is coming to an end.

Mia has to ride side-saddle for a ceremony but is inexperienced, so Queen Clarisse provides an ancestral wooden leg decoy so it seems she's doing so. When Mabrey spooks Mia's horse with a rubber snake, Joe inadvertently tears off the wooden leg. Humiliated, she flees to the stables, where Nicholas fails to comfort her. At a garden party, Mia and Nicholas quarrel about her relationship with Andrew. As they argue, he kisses her. At first, she kisses him back but then backs away. Pursuing her, they fall into a fountain. Queen Clarisse tells Mia that her behaviour with Nicholas has to stop.

At the Genovian Independence Day parade, seeing some boys harassing a little girl, Mia abruptly halts the parade to help. Learning the girl, Carolina, and the others are orphans, she has a vendor give them all tiaras and lets them walk with them in the parade. Everyone is impressed, while Mabrey sees it as a political manoeuvre. Nicholas is also struck by Mia's care for Genovia and begins doubting taking over the throne. Mia later declares the conversion of a royal palace into a temporary children's centre.

At Mia's bachelorette slumber party, princesses attend from around the world. They mattress surf and sing karaoke. Meanwhile, Nicholas tries to stop his uncle from pursuing the throne as Mia is doing well as a ruler. Mabrey realizes Nicholas has fallen for her but believes Mia will never love him. Mabrey encourages him to pursue her, later revealing to his surly and mistreated housekeeper Gretchen he plans to let this ruin Mia's chances of becoming queen. Manipulating Nicholas, he makes him believe it was his late father's wish for him to become king. Nicholas helps Mia succeed at hitting the target as she is practicing for her coronation rites. He tells her he is leaving but asks to see her once more before he goes. She declines, as she is under close guard.

That night, Nicholas convinces Mia outside her window, to sneak out. By a lake, they share secrets, dance, and eventually fall asleep. They awaken to find a man filming them. Mia thinks Nicholas set her up, while he insists he had no idea. The scandalous footage is already being broadcast before she returns. Disappointed, Andrew kisses Mia to see if there is a romantic spark between them. There isn't, but do not call off the wedding for the good of Genovia. The wedding is the following day, and Mia's mother, Helen, comes with her new husband and their new born son. Nicholas decides against attending, until Gretchen tells him Mabrey engineered the televised scandal.

Before the wedding, Joe tells Mia Nicholas is innocent. Walking down the aisle, she suddenly stops and runs out of the church. Queen Clarisse follows and Mia says she doesn't want to be forced to marry. Clarisse encourages her to follow her heart, something she never did, costing her Joe, the love of her life. In the church, Mia points out her unmarried grandmother has ruled Genovia for many years, asking the members of parliament to reconsider the law, asking them if they would force the significant women in their lives to marry without love. Mabrey again suggests his nephew be named King, but Nicholas appears, refusing. Mia proposes the law on royal marriages be abolished, and the Parliament unanimously assents. Clarisse proposes to Joe, and they are promptly married.

A week later, Mia is preparing for her coronation when Nicholas arrives. Professing his love on bended knee, they kiss. The next day, Queen Clarisse steps down, and Mia is crowned "Her Majesty Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Queen of Genovia", with all in attendance in the palace.

An epilogue shows the Genovian Parliament now allows female members, one of whom is Charlotte (Clarisse's lady-in-waiting). In a final scene, Queen Mia officially opens a new children's home with Carolina.

## Cast and Characters

* Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis
* Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi
* Héctor Elizondo as Joe
* John Rhys-Davies as Viscount Mabrey
* Heather Matarazzo as Lilly Moscovitz
* Chris Pine as Nicholas Deveraux
* Callum Blue as Andrew Jacoby
* Caroline Goodall as Helen Thermopolis
* Kathleen Marshall as Charlotte Kutaway
* Tom Poston as Lord Palimore
* Raven-Symoné as Princess Asana
* Larry Miller as Paolo
* Matthew Walker as Captain Kip Kelly
* Shea Curry as Brigitte
* Anna A. White as Brigitta
* Cassie Rowell as Olivia
* Erik Bragg as Lionel
* Sean O'Bryan as Patrick O'Connell
* Scott Marshall as Shades
* Abigail Breslin as Carolina
* Stan Lee as Cameo Appearance
* Jonny Blu as Himself
* Spencer Breslin as Prince Jacques

## Music

See Also: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (Soundtrack)

The song, "Your Crowning Glory", a duet between Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) and Princess Asana (Raven-Symoné) was the first time Andrews had sung in public or on screen since she had throat surgery in 1997.

## Reception

The film opened in 3,472 theatres in North America and grossed $23 million in its opening weekend. It grossed $134.7 million worldwide, $95.2 million in North America and $39.6 million in other territories.

### Critical Response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 26% of 120 critic reviews are "fresh" (positive), and the average rating is 4.57/10. The site's critical consensus is that "Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews bring charm and elegance to the movie, but there's not enough material for them to work with in this sequel." At Metacritic, the film has an average score of 43/100 from the 31 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".

The film's writer, Shonda Rhimes, later said that she treasured the experience if for nothing else – the opportunity to work with its star, Julie Andrews. Andrews was later cast as the voice of Lady Whistledown in Rhimes' 2020 series, Bridgerton.