Who doesn’t love a dreamy royal romance? A story about a regular person falling for a prince or discovering they are a princess? A book with all the pageantry of the monarchy? Because there are SO many YA books about royalty, I’m doing three separate lists: contemporary, historical, and fantasy royal romance! Here’s my YA Books About Royalty: Contemporary Romance list.
Updated in February 2024!
YA Books About Royalty: Contemporary Romance
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Who doesn’t love Royal YA Books? What could be more fun than discovering that you could actually be royal? In these books, a regular girl (or guy!) either a) discovers they are royal or b) falls in love with a real life royal!
Find great fictional royal books for teen girls, YA fans and every reader! Includes new adult and LGBT royal romance titles!
Table of Contents for YA Books About Royalty: Contemporary Royal Romance
OMG I’m Royal: YA Contemporary Books About Finding Out You’re a Princess
Royal Rebels: YA Books About Regular People in Love With Rebellious Royals
Royal Reality: YA Books About Royals on Reality TV and Alternate Reality Royals
Royal Hate to Love Romances
Wait, What? I’m Accidentally in Love With a Royal: YA Royal Mistaken Identity Books
Royal Sister Stories: YA Books About Sisters Competing for a Prince
Royal + Celebrity: YA Books About Royalty Meeting Music Royalty
OMG I’m Royal: YA Contemporary Books About Finding Out You’re a Princess
Imagine having a totally normal life and then discovering you’re actually a royal. These books explore that journey!
Royal Blood by Aimee Carter
Read my review of Royal Blood!
As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, 17-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about keeping secrets.
But when she’s forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family, who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists, her identity is mysteriously revealed, and suddenly the world is dying to know every juicy lie the press prints about her.
After a fun night turns deadly and Evan becomes the primary suspect in a murder investigation, the escalating rumors and fallout threaten to tear her life apart. As she fights to uncover the truth about what happened, she discovers royal secrets that are even more scandalous than she imagined – secrets that could change the monarchy forever.
And her own may be next.
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (2000)
The most classic YA royal romance of them all!
She’s just a New York City girl living with her artist mom…
News flash: Dad is prince of Genovia. (So that’s why a limo always meets her at the airport!)
Downer: Dad can’t have any more kids. (So no heir to the throne.)
Shock of the century: Like it or not, Mia is prime princess material.
The worst part: Princess lessons from her dreaded grandmere, the dowager princess of Genovia, who thinks Mia has a thing or two to learn before she steps up to the throne.
Well, her father can lecture her until he’s royal-blue in the face about her princessly duty, no way is she moving to Genovia and leaving Manhattan behind.
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (2022)
Also check out the sequel, Tokyo Dreaming!
Izzy learns that her mystery father is actually the Crown Prince of Japan. She’s whisked to Tokyo, where she meets her dad and the rest of the royal family.
Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in―it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town.
But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity…and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.
Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of.
But there are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn.Izumi soon finds herself caught between two versions of herself.
Back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after?
Royal Rebels: YA Books About Regular People in Love With Rebellious Royals
Prince Charming (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins (2019)
Also check out the sequel, Her Royal Highness!
Daisy is just an ordinary teenager whose sister is marrying the prince of Scotland. Could the Prince’s charming younger brother steal Daisy’s heart?
Daisy Winters is an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with red hair, a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland.
Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.
Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal. But the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride.
The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean
Heavy is the crown James has been born to wear, especially as the first Black heir to the British throne. But with his father’s recent passing, and with a new boyfriend to hide, James is woefully unprepared for the sudden shine of public scrutiny.
When his secrets come spilling forth across tabloid pages and the man he thought he loved has suddenly disappeared, James finds himself on the precipice of ruin.
As every detail of his life becomes public knowledge, his sense of safety is shattered and the people he trusts the most become the likeliest suspects. What dangers lurk behind the palace walls—and will the new king find out before it’s too late?
Royal Reality: YA Books About Royals on Reality TV and Alternate Reality Royals
American Royals by Katharine McGee
In this alt-history version of America, George Washington accepted a crown, giving the U.S. its very own royal family. Now three royal siblings struggle with royal life and romance!
When America won the Revolutionary War, General George Washington won a crown. Now the House of Washington still sits on the throne.
Like most royal families, the Washingtons have an heir and a spare. Each child knows exactly what is expected of them. But these aren’t just any royals. They’re American.
As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare , so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything.
And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.
Wear it Like a Crown by Zarah Detand (2019; new adult/LGBT)
A guy is hired to handle a “gay scandal” in Buckingham Palace. The problem? He’s had a lifelong crush on the gay prince.When Buckingham Palace calls for a team of professional fixers to handle a gay scandal, Leo braces himself. Prince Joshua is surely a royally spoilt brat with a silver spoon in his mouth.
But as they plan the Prince’s coming out, their close contact blossoms into a tentative friendship. Leo won’t ruin it by admitting that Joshua used to star in most of his teenage fantasies.As fate would have it, they bump heads and lock horns at every twist and turn—yet they click as if they’ve known each other for years, not days.Little does Prince Joshua know that they have.
Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm (2018)
The sister of a beauty queen wins the hand of the a handsome Scottish laird-to-be in a reality show called Prince in Disguise.
Life is real enough for Dylan―especially as the ordinary younger sister of Dusty, former Miss Mississippi and the most perfect, popular girl in Tupelo.
But when Dusty wins the hand of the handsome Scottish laird-to-be Ronan on the TRC television network’s crown jewel, Prince in Disguise, Dylan has to face a different kind of reality: reality TV.
As the camera crew whisks them off to Scotland to film the lead-up to the wedding, camera-shy Dylan is front and center as Dusty’s maid of honor.
The producers are full of surprises―including old family secrets, long-lost relatives, and a hostile future mother-in-law who thinks Dusty and Dylan’s family isn’t good enough for her only son.
At least there’s Jamie, an adorably bookish groomsman who might just be the perfect antidote to all Dylan’s stress . . . if she just can keep TRC from turning her into the next reality show sensation.
Royal Hate to Love Romances
What’s better than a hate to love romance journey? That same story when one of the people is a royal!
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2022; New Adult/LGBT)
What if the handsome prince decided he was in love with a guy, who also happened to be the President’s son?
When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal.
There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined.
Wait, What? I’m Accidentally in Love With a Royal: YA Royal Mistaken Identity Books
Royally Lost by Angie Stanton (2014)
Becca’s stuck on a family holiday in Europe and meets a runaway prince in disguise.
Dragged on a family trip to Europe, Becca wants nothing more than to go home. Trapped with her emotionally distant father, overeager stepmother, and a brother who only wants to hook up with European hotties, Becca is miserable. Until she meets Nikolai.
Nikolai has everything—he’s a crown prince, heir to the throne, and girls adore him. But the one thing he doesn’t have is freedom . . . so he flees his kingdom and goes on his own European trip.
And when Nikolai and Becca meet, sparks fly. But Becca’s family vacation ends in a matter of days. Will Nikolai and Becca be forced to say good-bye, or will they change history forever?
The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright (2016)
The Princess Diaries meets the Prince and Me.
Going all the way to England for college–to Oxford, no less–would be exciting enough.
But no sooner does Evie set foot on English soil than she falls for a boy who turns out to be a real prince–in fact, second in line to the throne of England.
Edmund is dreamy, even though loving him can be a royal pain, from the demands of his family to the stuck-up aristocrat who thinks she should be the one to win Edmund’s heart.
All that is swept aside, however, when the riddle of Evie’s past surfaces, and the new couple becomes obsessed with figuring out who the real Evie is, with the growing suspicion that the truth will be a shocker.
Royally Crushed by Niki Burnham (2011)
A trio of “ordinary girl meets royal” stories!
Three royally romantic, continuous stories in one great bind-up!
In Royally Jacked, Valerie opts to move to Europe with her dad after her parents split. At first she fears she’s made a horrible mistake—until she meets Prince Georg, and all bets are off!
As Valerie learns in Do-Over, there’s no substitute for the real royal thing. Back in Schwerinborg, she’s hoping there are still some sparks flying with Georg. Things are looking good—until a ski trip to the Alps has their romance hitting some moguls. Could Val’s love life be heading for a face-plant?
In Spin Control, Valerie can’t believe a prince is her first real boyfriend—until he dumps her! Or he may as well have, because while they’re “taking some space,” Valerie visits her mom back in the U.S. and ends up reconnecting with her hometown crush.
David might not be a prince, but can he take her mind off Georg?
Truly, Madly, Royally by Debbie Rigaud (2019)
Zora, an African-American teen activist, meets a European prince.
Zora Emerson is not here to play. She’s enrolled in a prestigious summer program, and is ready to use what she’s learning to change the world.
Zora’s not expecting to vibe with any of her privileged classmates. So she’s shocked to find she’s got chemistry with Owen Whittelsey, who is charming, funny, undeniably cute.
But he turns out to literally be a prince. As in, his parents are the king and queen of a small European country. What?
Suddenly, Zora’s summer is looking a lot more complicated — especially when Owen asks her to be his date at his older brother’s wedding. Can her feelings for Owen, not to mention her sense of self, survive the royal chaos?
Royal Sister Stories: YA Books About Sisters Competing for a Prince
Romancing the Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney (2017)
When two sisters in boarding school fall for the same prince, trouble ensues.
For the first time ever, the Weston sisters are at the same boarding school. After an administration scandal at Libby’s all-girls school threatens her chances at a top university, she decides to join Charlotte at posh and picturesque Sussex Park.
Social-climbing Charlotte considers it her sisterly duty to bring Libby into her circle: Britain’s young elites, glamorous teens who vacation in Hong Kong and the South of France and are just as comfortable at a polo match as they are at a party.
It’s a social circle that just so happens to include handsome seventeen-year-old Prince Edward, heir to Britain’s throne.
If there are any rules of sisterhood, “Don’t fall for the same guy” should be one of them.
But sometimes chemistry–even love–grows where you least expect it. In the end, there may be a price to pay for romancing the throne…and more than one path to happily ever after.
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (2015)
Bex meets the crown prince at Oxford and a embarks on a whirlwind Cinderella romance.
American Bex Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister Lacey was always the romantic, the one who daydreamed of being a princess.
But it’s adventure-seeking Bex who goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall – and Bex who finds herself accidentally in love with the heir to the British throne.
Nick is wonderful, but he comes with unimaginable baggage: a complicated family, hysterical tabloids tracking his every move, and a public that expected its future king to marry a Brit.
On the eve of the most talked-about wedding of the century, Bex looks back on how much she’s had to give up for true love… and exactly whose heart she may yet have to break.
Royal + Celebrity: YA Books About Royalty Meeting Music Royalty
When the heir to the throne falls in love with a famous singer songwriter (hmmm is this Prince William and Taylor Swift fanfic?)
The Royal Game by Linda Keir (this is an adult book but perfect for teens too!)
American pop singer Jennie Jensen is ready to marry the love of her life, England’s heir to the throne. But someone is determined to keep her from her fairy ending.
As Jennie tries to navigate the minefield of media scrutiny and royal protocol as she learns that not everyone in England is excited about the prospect of Prince Hugh marrying an American.
When Jennie receives a threatening note, she can’t help but see the parallels between herself and another young woman who struggled to adjust to royal Hugh’s mother, Princess Penelope, who was killed in a mysterious plane crash.
Was Penelope murdered? And is Jennie next? With the eyes of a nation on her as the royal wedding approaches, she’s in a race against time to save her marriage … and her own life.
What happens when a Prince meets the Queen of hip hop? Sparks fly!
American Royalty by Tracey Livesay (2023)
New in 2023!
Sexy rapper Danielle “Duchess” Nelson is on the verge of signing a deal that’ll make her one of the richest women in hip hop.
But an incident with a rising pop star has gone viral, unfairly putting her deal in jeopardy. Concerned about her image, she’s instructed to work on generating some positive publicity… or else.
A brilliant professor and reclusive royal, Prince Jameson prefers life out of the spotlight. But with the Queen’s children involved in one scandal after another, the Queen is desperate.
In a quest for good press, she puts Jameson in charge of a tribute concert in her late husband’s honor. He finds the perfect artist: what’s more appropriate for a royal concert than a performer named “Duchess”?
Too late, Jameson discovers the American rapper is popular, sexy, and raunchy. Dani knows this is the good exposure she needs to cement her deal and it doesn’t hurt that the royal running things is fine as hell. Thrown together, they give in to the explosive attraction flaring between them.
But as the glare of the limelight intensifies and outside forces try to interfere, will the Prince and Duchess be a fairy tale romance for the ages or a disaster of palatial proportions?
Hope you enjoyed YA Books About Royalty: Contemporary Romance
Do you have other favorite YA contemporary books about royalty that I didn’t include? Let me know in comments!
If you loved YA Books About Royalty: Contemporary Romance, Check out my other royal lists: YA Books About Fantasy Royalty and YA Books Featuring Historical Royals!
I also have a reading list in honor of the coronation featuring books about notable coronations in British history. Check it out!
I am shocked! I actually read all of these. The Royal We, American Royals, and Prince Charming were all 5-star reads for me. I really enjoyed RW&RB and Princess Diaries as well. I just read The Heir and the Spare like a week or two again, and I remember really liking Royally Lost back in the day. I know I have read more royal YA books, but you know, I am old and can’t think that quickly.
You are clearly a royal book fan! If you think of any more to recommend, come back!
I read The Royal We and remembering how I was on the fence about it. I think I was annoyed towards the end but I can’t remember why. Lol.
I’ve read Red, White, & Royal Blue at least 3 times now. It’s the BEST.
I want to read American Royals, though.
I really enjoyed Red, White and Royal Blue. And American Royals.