The romanticizing of royals has been a trope in media for a long time. From Princess Diana and Prince Charles walking down the aisle to Kate and William taking the plunge, people have dreamed of what such a life might be like.
There are many reasons why this is a popular romance trope that continues to be written about. The class, mystery, and general aura draw the reader in, making the royal romance books one of the most popular in the romance genre.
You’ll usually find two subgenres of royal romance books. One is the historical royal romance, which touches on more realistic royal romances. The second is modern royal romance. Out of both subgenres, this is more inclusive and plays loose with facts since it isn’t based on actual history.
There are plenty of great royal romance books out there, but I have narrowed down the list and featured some of the best for your reference. So, let’s get started and check out the most popular books with royal romance at their center!
Best Royal Romance Books in 2024
1. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of Ellen Claremont, the current president of the United States. He spends most of his days with his sister and the vice president’s granddaughter, who are two of his closest friends. When he accompanies his mother to an event, Alex gets into an argument with Prince Henry. The two have never been friendly, but this argument has taken their relationship to a new level.
After rumors started swirling, the plan to rectify this is to fake a friendship for the press. While Alex’s mother starts campaigning for her second term, something begins to grow between Alex and Henry. He finds himself falling for the Prince, something he never expected to happen.
If the relationship were to get out, Alex does not doubt it would ruin his mother’s campaign. The thing is, secrets always get out eventually, no matter how hard we try to stop them from happening.
2. Royally Screwed by Emma Chase
Prince Nicholas Pembrook of Wessco is used to getting his way and having people bend over backward to assist him with whatever is necessary. It’s rare, if not improbable, for him to run into someone who wouldn’t react this way to someone In royalty.
Enter waitress Olivia Hammond. Olivia Hammond is the one person who refused to do this. The day they meet, she throws a pie at him in frustration. Rather than get angry, Nicholas is taken with the young woman and starts to pursue her romantically.
Eventually, Olivia does agree to go on a date with him, much to the dismay of Nicholas’s mother. His family is displeased with the news because they do not want him to date a commoner. It is simply not done.
Ultimately, Nicholas will have to choose between Olivia and his family. Where exactly does his heart lie?
3. The Selection by Kiera Cass
America Singer’s life is bleak. People in her world don’t have many options to grow or change. Life is very monotonous. The only small ray of good is with Aspen, the love of her life. However, it is a secret love because they are a caste below America. If it were to get out, there would be consequences, so they are forced to sneak around.
When America is one of thirty-five girls chosen to compete for Prince Maxon’s heart, she is devastated. The last thing she wants to do is leave her home and Aspen. America has no interest in participating in this competition, which can get quite fierce.
Seeing no way out, America is forced to go anyway. When she meets Prince Maxon, everything America ever imagined in her life changes. Could her future be ruling beside Prince Maxon?
4. American Royals by Katharine McGee
In this alternate version of American history, the United States never became a democracy. Instead, it became a monarchy, with George Washington becoming the first and only king of America. His family has been on the throne for over two centuries, and the current royal line has three children in total.
The three children in question are Beatrice, Samantha, and her twin brother Jefferson. Beatrice is the heir and hates it. She is getting closer and closer to when she will have to marry. Samantha and her brother have little more freedom because they are not the heirs.
Beatrice is tasked with finding a husband at a ball, which is the last thing she wants to do. At this ball, all three siblings experience the highs and lows of love… with a royal twist. Will duty prove to win out over what the heart truly wants?
5. The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
Piper Evan’s life isn’t perfect, but she’s managed to achieve some happiness. She works as a teacher and anonymous podcaster. When not working, she takes care of her mother and just tries to lay low. If people don’t notice her, then that’s great. It’s exactly how she wants it.
Things in Piper’s life get complicated after British royals rent the place next door. The idea that there are royals on their tiny island spreads fast. Soon, the media is everywhere… and to make it worse, Piper can’t stop running into Harrison Cole, one of the royals in question!
Something starts to grow between Piper and Harrison, something neither of them expected. She didn’t want to get involved with another person after her ex, but falling for a royal is certainly outside of what Piper saw in her future!
6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Mare Barrow is a teenage girl from a poor family who doesn’t expect much from the future because she is part of The Reds. In her world, The Reds, or those with red blood, are regular people. Those with Silver blood are at the top of society, with powers to boot.
Her life changes when she starts working in the Silver Palace because soon after working there, Mare discovers she has power. This scares the Silvers, so they devise a plan: calling her a long-lost Silver Princess and forcing her to become engaged to a Silver Prince.
Mare has to keep this secret while helping a rebel group try to take down the Silvers once and for all. It’s a delicate balance, one Mare needs to work hard to maintain. If she doesn’t, not only her life but also her entire family will be in jeopardy.
Also Read: Red Queen Series in Order
7. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole tells the story of Naledi Smith and Prince Thabiso, two people from very different walks of life. Naledi is busy juggling work and grad school and doesn’t have time for anything else! This includes romance, which is especially a waste of time for her.
Prince Thabiso is a prince looking for his betrothed, who is missing. When he meets Naledi, she doesn’t just think he is a regular person but mistakes him for a pauper. It’s shocking at first… until Thabiso realizes he’s never been able to live a normal life when everyone around him has always recognized him.
So, Thabiso decides to go along with the lie, still intending to woo Naledi. He’ll just be able to do it without fearing that she’ll only see his crown and not him.
8. Twisted Games by Ana Huang
Rhys Larsen and Princess Bridget wouldn’t have met had it not been for certain circumstances. When Bridget’s brother abdicates, it puts her next in line for the throne. She never thought she’d have to rule and always enjoyed her freedom. Now that her brother has stepped away, Bridget’s future is filled with a loveless marriage to someone she probably barely knows.
After this, Rhys is assigned to protect Bridget. At first, he doesn’t like her, but she soon breaks through his walls and gets under his skin. She’s an interesting woman, and he can’t keep out of his thoughts. This goes against everything he knows because, as a bodyguard, you’re not supposed to get involved with your clients.
The two people, from very different worlds, end up falling for each other. It’s forbidden, but neither seems able to stop themselves.
9. Royally Not Ready by Meghan Quinn
The main character of Royally Not Ready isn’t living the easiest life, but she’s made the most of it. She lives in South Beach, Miami, and is just living her life when the strangest man approaches her. After introducing herself as Keller Fitzwilliam, he tells her the craziest thing. He needs to take her back to his home country.
She ignores him because chances are he’s just a crazy person. Then he mentions her mother and tells the story of her mother’s life, which she never knew. Her mother was from some country north of the British Isles and came from royalty. She is also the only heir, making her next in line to be queen.
She shouldn’t go for so many reasons, but she desperately wants to learn more about her mother, a woman whom she knew nothing about.
If only Keller Fitzwilliam would stop being such a buzzkill! Would it kill the guy to crack a smile now and again?
10. The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert
Sometimes, two people from very different walks of life meet and sparks fly. Cherry Neita is a woman who is sick of romance. She’s not very lucky in love and decides to swear off dating. However, just because she isn’t dating does not mean she wants to give up the physical aspect of romance.
When she meets Prince Ruben of Helgmore, she is taken with him instantly. He’s very attractive and makes her feel something she hasn’t felt in a long time. So, she asks him if he wants to hook up. Everything is going well until the press catches them kissing in an alleyway.
Before Cherry can process anything, Ruben claims that Cherry is his fiancé. This comes complete with a beautiful ring Cherry would love to keep, but not if it means marrying some royal guy; she only wanted to have a one-night stand with him!
11. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Jude is a young human teenager living in the High Court of Faerie. After her parents were killed and she and her sisters were kidnapped, she was forced to live among them. She should hate them, but Jude doesn’t. What Jude wants is to be accepted by them and become one of them. The problem is they hate her and all humans despite having brought her and her sisters there in the first place.
So, Jude decides she wants a place in court and will stop at nothing, even if it means going against Prince Cardan, the king’s youngest son. Once she makes this decision, Jude’s life starts to get very complicated. She gets thrust into Faerie politics and must somehow navigate it all while keeping herself and her sisters out of harm’s way.
Will Jude be able to accomplish all of this with her life still intact?
12. The Swedish Prince by Karina Halle
The idea of fairy tales and Prince Charming is for chumps. Our main character in Lush Money doesn’t give much thought to these concepts. When you’ve grown up poor and eventually lost your parents, forcing you to be the caregiver of your five younger siblings, you have no time for such things. Fairy tales are for people who have time and options. Our main character has none of those.
Things start to change when she meets Viktor, a mysterious man she is instantly drawn to. However, there is something about him that is different from other people she has met. Eventually, she discovers he is Sweden’s crown prince and is running from his future.
His being a prince means she absolutely can’t fall in love with him, yet she somehow does. There’s no way it could ever work, though. She’s just a poor girl trying to keep her family together, and he’s a prince!
13. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
Mailk and Karina are two people who desperately want to save and protect the ones they love. They are also willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. Despite these similarities, the two are on a collision course as they both have plots to kill the other.
Mailk desperately wants to save his younger sister, who has been kidnapped by an evil spirit. The only way to save her is to kill Karina, the Crown Princess of Ziran. He plans to do this by conning his way into the Solstasia competition.
Karina wants to save her mother. She was recently assassinated, and all she wants is to bring her back. There is a way to do it, but she needs the beating heart of a king. To get this, she plans to offer her hand in marriage to whoever wins the Solstasia competition.
This puts Mailk and Karina on a dangerous and flirtatious course. Will they end up doing the unthinkable, or will their attraction take hold?
14. American Royalty by Tracey Livesay
Danielle Nelson, better known under her music handle, Duchess, and Prince Jameson are as different as night and day. Yet somehow, the Duchess finds herself performing at a tribute concert for the Prince’s late father after being hired by Jameson.
To say this was not how Danielle saw her life turning out is an understatement. She dreamed of becoming a hip-hop star and was close to doing it until a viral moment threatened to ruin it. What Dani must do is find good publicity, so this is why she jumps at the chance to perform for the royal family.
Jameson didn’t mean to hire her. The royal-turned-professor only agreed to put on the concert because his mother put him in charge without asking what he wanted first. So, after a suggestion from a student, he hires Duchess, unaware of the type of music she makes.
Yet… he can’t bring himself to look away from her!
15. How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole
Marrying into the royal family is a dream for many young women, and Shanti Mohapi is one of them. After marrying Sanyu, the king of Njaza, she has crafted a picture in her mind of how it will go. Yet, things rarely go how we imagine them.
The marriage ends up being a disaster. No one in the kingdom seems to like her, and no one will listen to her whenever Shanti tries to input her opinion into the matter. Sanyu is sympathetic to this fact, even if he never wanted to marry someone he never knew. He only did it because it was part of his kingly duties.
It all comes to a head when problems occur in both the kingdom and marriage. Shanti runs, not wanting to be a part of this any longer. This leaves Sanyu to figure out how to save his people and find Shanti before it’s too late.
16. Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
After getting her heart broken by the girl she assumed to be her girlfriend, Millie Quint knows she has to get the hell out of her town. The best way to do it is to go to boarding school, so she starts applying to everyone she can find, eventually getting accepted into one in Scotland.
Millie is amazed the second she touches down in Scotland. It’s beautiful, and she’s so glad she was accepted here… at least until she meets her roommate, Flora, the Princess of Scotland. They get off on the wrong foot, but eventually, they start to hit it off.
A tentative friendship forms between the two. Then, those friendly feelings shift into romantic feelings, reminding Millie of the situation from back home. She wants to give in to her feelings, but nothing good can come from dating a princess.
17. Once Upon a Royal Summer by Teri Wilson
Once Upon a Royal Summer by Teri Wilson is a lovely romance with a royal twist! Lacey and Henry meet one summer at an amusement park of all places. Lacy works at this theme park playing a princess fairy tale character. It might not seem like the most glamorous job, but she loves it. The children make it more than worth it.
Then there is Henry, the crown prince of Bella Moritz. After his daughter makes a wish to have a normal life, he decides to take her to an amusement park. Today, they are going to just be a normal family. With his wife deceased, his young daughter is all he has, and Henry will do whatever it takes to keep her happy.
Lacey and Henry come from very different backgrounds, but a series of circumstances might cause them to fall in love!
18. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen focuses on Lara, a princess who is bent on getting revenge for her fallen kingdom. Her enemy is King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom. This kingdom takes whatever it wants, regardless of who might be hurt in the process.
To get close to the king, she poses as a bride. It’s an act to create peace between the two kingdoms, and it will get her up close and personal with the king, just what she wants. Once he is in a vulnerable situation, Lara will end him.
However, nothing goes according to plan. The more time she spends in the Bridge Kingdom, the more she learns there is more to the war than meets the eye. Then, of course, there is the growing attraction she has toward King Aren, but that’s another story.
19. The Royal Treatment by Melanie Summers
Melanie Summers’s The Royal Treatment is a titillating royal romance that tells us what happens when enemies realize they are attracted to each other. Arthur, a crown prince of Avonia, hates Tessa Sharpe, a woman who calls herself the Royal Watchdog. The feeling is completely mutual.
She hates the royal family of Avonia, believing it to be an outdated process. They live off the people’s dime and just coast along in life. Arthur wants to stay out of the spotlight, but when his family comes close to losing their power, he realizes they might have to change their image.
This leads Arthur to go to Tessa and give her the keys to the castle to show he is not lazy or arrogant. Tessa accepts, agreeing to stay for two months. The attraction between them is strong, and it’s only a matter of time before they give in.
20. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean tells the story of Izumi “Izzy” Tanaka. She was born and raised in California by her mother. It wasn’t an easy life because, as someone who is of Japanese descent, she was picked on and just treated like she didn’t belong.
Her life changes course when Izzy learns that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Izzy’s mother had never told her much about her father, and learning that he’s a prince shocks her to her very core.
So, naturally, Izzy goes to Japan hoping to meet her father. She had always dreamed about meeting him, but soon after arriving there, she was overwhelmed by all the royal rules. To top it off, Izzy can’t stop thinking about one of the royal family’s bodyguards. He’s not exactly the most friendly man in the world, but god is handsome beyond belief.
Could Izzy’s life get any more complicated?
Conclusion
There you have it! These were some of the best royal romance books available today that you should start reading right now!
The royal romance trope is a classic one we just can’t get enough of. The books featured above are certainly not a complete list of books with royal romance in them, as there are several others out there and more coming out regularly, but I believe they are the ones that stand out the most.
If you are a fan of royalty and love keeping tabs on them, I am sure you will love reading these royal romance books, too. So, pick one and read it, and if you like the book, go for the other books mentioned above!
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