Julie Andrews Confirms She Won’t Return for The Princess Diaries 3
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: Casey Durkin/NBC via Getty
It looks like Genovia will have to carry on without its most regal resident.
Julie Andrews has officially confirmed that she will not return as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries 3, more than two decades after she last starred alongside Anne Hathaway in the beloved Disney franchise.
And while we’ll certainly miss Queen Clarisse and her royal lessons, Andrews believes it’s time for the story (and the throne) to belong to Mia. “I think the story has to continue in Princess Mia,” Andrews told Today. “It’s her story. It’s not really mine.”
Andrews revealed that the creative team behind the upcoming sequel spent much of last year asking whether she would be interested in returning. Ultimately, she declined.
In an interview with InStyle, the actress described herself as essentially retired and admitted that saying no to another trip to Genovia wasn’t easy. But after two movies as Queen Clarisse, Andrews feels she had a wonderful run and believes the franchise can move forward without Mia’s grandmother returning.
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Productions
The Princess Diaries first arrived in theaters in 2001, introducing audiences to Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis, an awkward San Francisco teenager who discovers she’s actually heir to the throne of the fictional European kingdom of Genovia. Andrews starred as Mia’s sophisticated and occasionally intimidating grandmother, Queen Clarisse, who takes on the rather monumental task of turning her granddaughter into a princess. The movie became one of the defining coming-of-age films of the early 2000s and was followed by The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004.
Now, more than two decades later, Genovia is preparing to open its doors once again. Only this time, it appears Mia will have to rule without Grandma Clarisse by her side.
Suddenly we’re feeling very emotional about Genovian politics.