Alex and Henry Are Back! Casey McQuiston Announces Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence
We’re officially back in our feelings, because Alex and Henry are returning to the page once again—and yes, we’re still recovering emotionally from the news. Casey McQuiston has revealed Red, White, & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence, a brand-new epistolary novella set to be released on December 1, 2026, and centered on the beloved love story of Alex and Henry. The announcement alone has us spiraling in the best possible way, especially knowing that pre-sales are already live, meaning we can start securing our copies and checking our local bookstores for more information right now.
According to the official synopsis, this new novella is told entirely through an intimate collection of notes, letters, postcards, journal entries, and personal scraps exchanged between Alex and Henry. Following the aftermath of the infamous email leak that made their relationship global headline news, the couple made a firm decision: no more email for personal communication. Instead, they return to something far more tender and timeless: handwritten letters.
Spanning over two decades of their lives together, The Private Correspondence promises everything from sarcastic back-and-forths to deeply emotional reflections, steamy fantasies, and heartfelt conversations about building a future and starting a family. It also offers a closer look at their long-term journey alongside familiar supporting characters, giving us a deeper emotional archive of a love story that has already become iconic in LGBTQ+ romance fiction.
At this time, the official cover for the novella has not yet been revealed, but honestly, the anticipation is already doing enough damage on its own.
Shortly after the announcement, Casey McQuiston took to Instagram to clarify what this new book is—and just as importantly, what it is not. In their post, they shared that most of what appears in The Private Correspondence has lived in their imagination for years, describing it as the future they always envisioned for Alex and Henry in the book universe. They reflected on returning to these characters over a decade after first creating them, noting how both they and the characters have grown alongside each other.
They also explained that while it has been a strange, joyful experience reconnecting with Alex and Henry, they feel a deep sense of clarity about their trajectory now that they’re older, “maybe a little wiser,” while still finding the couple largely unchanged at their core. Most importantly, they emphasized the emotional continuity of the story and how much love they still hold for these characters and their world.
McQuiston also addressed a few key fan questions directly. They confirmed that the novella is not connected to the upcoming film sequel, as the book canon and movie canon exist as separate universes. The Private Correspondence continues only the original literary storyline and does not include any spoilers for the film adaptation.
They also clarified that Red, White & Royal Wedding remains canon within the film universe, while this novella belongs exclusively to the book timeline. In other words, Alex and Henry now officially live in parallel emotional universes, and we are very much following both.
As for what’s actually inside The Private Correspondence, McQuiston described it as a collection of letters, notes, scribbles, and ephemera exchanged over the course of twenty years, spanning from 2022 to 2039. That’s all they’re saying for now, but honestly, that alone is enough to send us into a full reread spiral.
In additional Instagram Stories, McQuiston teased specific years they were especially excited for readers to experience through these letters: 2026, 2028, 2031, and 2039. They later clarified that while fans haven’t correctly guessed most of these dates (aside from the wedding year), only one corresponds to a major milestone event. The others, they explained, refer to key emotional moments contained within the correspondence itself, small but meaningful glimpses into Alex and Henry’s shared life over time.
It’s exactly the kind of teasing that makes this universe feel alive again, like we’re being handed fragments of a future we already care deeply about. And honestly? We couldn’t be more excited. Seeing Alex and Henry return—this time through the quiet, intimate act of letter writing—feels like stepping back into one of the most beloved LGBTQ+ love stories in recent memory. There’s something incredibly special about revisiting them not through grand political stakes or public spectacle, but through private words exchanged across years of love, growth, and chosen family.
We can’t wait to get our hands on The Private Correspondence, and once again immerse ourselves in Alex and Henry’s world… one letter at a time.
Red, White, & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence is available to preorder through all major book retailers. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Photo by Sylvie Rosokoff. Cover via Barnes & Noble.
