Hot Boys

Meet the romantic leads of the big-screen adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue, an LGBTQ romance novel that became a surprise bestseller.

- IANA MURRAY

ENGLISH AFTERNOON TEA requires a level of decorum. But in a South Kensington hotel so posh there's no signage outside, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine gleefully ignore the unspoken rules of etiquette when the latter pulls out his phone.

"I need to find this video!" Galitzine says, feverishly swiping his screen. "I'm sorry, it's my favourite video on TikTok."

The two star in the new film Red, White & Royal Blue, an Amazon Prime adaptation of Casey McQuiston's absurdly popular novel about a clandestine romance between Prince Henry of Wales, played by Galitzine, and Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States, played by Zakhar Perez. Given the international nature of the story, we've been talking about accents-specifically, about whether Galitzine, who is British, had to adopt a more aristocratic inflection when he turned the question around on me. "Are you Scottish?" he asked. (I am.) The revelation ignited something in his brain, and soon he was scouring TikTok.

Galitzine is practically vibrating when he finally finds his prized clip. In it, two enraged young Scots lose it when a countryman claims that they pronounce "pie" as "peh". "SHUT YOUR MOUTH, I HATE YEEEH!" one guy yells, face vermilion. It's so, so dumb. It's also hilarious.

Zakhar Perez, 31, and Galitzine, 28, fold over and giggle, far too occupied to realize that the phone is on full blast in a tiny room filled with rich tourists. A group of suited Italians not-so-quietly mumble their annoyance from the next table, and Galitzine quickly offers an embarrassed apology.