Forever Princess
Authors: Meg Cabot
Forever Princess
For my agent, Laura Langlie, with love and many thanks for her
endless patience, kindness, and, most of all, her sense of humor!
“It's exactly like the ones in the stories,” she wailed. “Them pore princess ones that was drove into the world.”
A LITTLE PRINCESS
Frances Hodgson Burnett
STYLE
EXCLUSIVE!
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STYLE
chats with Princess Mia Thermopolis on what it means to be royal, her upcoming high school graduation and prom, and her fashion must-haves!
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STYLE caught up to Princess Mia this spring as she was engaged in one of her many volunteer activitiesâtidying up Central Park, along with the rest of her fellow Albert Einstein High School seniors, since they'll all be taking part in commencement ceremonies there in a few weeks!
What could be less princessy than painting park benches? And yet Princess Mia managed to look entirely regal in a pair of 7 For All Mankind dark-rinse low-rise skinny jeans, a simple white crew-neck tee, and Emilio Pucci ballerina flats.
This is one royal who truly knows what it means to have
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STYLE!
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STYLE: Let's cut right to the chase. A lot of people are confused about what's happening with the government in Genovia right now. Our readers really want to know: Are you still a princess?
Princess Mia:
Yes, of course. Genovia was an absolute
monarchy until I found a document last year revealing that my ancestress, Princess Amelie, had declared it a constitutional monarchyâexactly like Englandâfour hundred years ago. That document was proven valid by the Genovian parliament last spring, and now we're two weeks away from elections for prime minister.
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STYLE: But will you still rule?
Princess Mia:
Much to my chagrin. I mean, yes. I will inherit the throne upon the death of my father. The people of Genovia will elect a prime minister, the same as the people of England, while still having a reigning monarchâ¦in Genovia's case, since we're a principality, a prince or princess.
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STYLE: That's great! So you'll always have the tiara, the limos, the palace, the beautiful ball gownsâ¦.
Princess Mia:
â¦And the bodyguards, the paparazzi, no private life, people like you hounding me, and my grandmother forcing me to agree to meet with you to get my name in your magazine so we can attract more tourists to Genovia? Yes. Not, of course, that we aren't in enough magazines right now, seeing as how my dad is running for prime minister, and his own cousin, Prince René, is running against him.
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STYLE: And leading in the polls, according to the latest news reports. But let's move on to your plans for after high school. You're scheduled to graduate from Manhattan's prestigious Albert Einstein High School on May 7. What kind of accessories do you plan on wearing to set off your mortarboard hat and gownâ
Princess Mia:
Although frankly, I find Prince René's campaign platform ridiculous. He's been quoted as saying, “You'd be surprised how many people in the world have never even heard of Genovia. Many of them believe it's a made-up place, something out of a movie. I'm out to change all that.” But his ideas of changing Genovia for the better include generating more income from tourism. He keeps insisting Genovia could be a vacation destination spot like Miami or Las Vegas!
Vegas!
He wants to install restaurant chains like Applebee's, Chili's, and McDonald's in order to appeal to cruise ship tourists visiting from America. Can you imagine? What could be more disastrous to Genovia's delicate infrastructure? Some of our bridges are five centuries old! Not to mention what it would do to the environment, which has already been severely damaged by cruise ship waste dumpingâ
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STYLE: Erâ¦we can see this is an issue about which you feel passionately. We encourage our readers to take a keen interest in current eventsâlike your eighteenth birthday, which we know is coming up on May 1! Any truth to the rumors that your grandmother, the Dowager Princess Clarisse, has been in New York City for some time, planning a completely over-the-top eighteenth birthday celebration for you, aboard a yacht?
Princess Mia:
I'm not saying there isn't necessarily room for improvement in Genovia, but not in the way Prince René means. I believe Dad's responseâthat if anything, what our citizens need right now is improvements to their daily livesâis utterly correct. My father, not Prince René,
has the experience Genovia needs right now. I mean, he's been prince there his entire life, and has ruled for the past ten years. He knows, more than anyone, what his people need and don't needâ¦and what they don't need is an Applebee's!
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STYLE: Soâ¦you're planning on studying political science in college?
Princess Mia:
What? Oh, no. I was thinking of majoring in journalism. With a creative writing minor.
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STYLE: Really? So you want to be a journalist?
Princess Mia:
Actually, I'd love to be an author. I know publishing is really hard to break in to. But I've heard if you start by writing romance novels, you have a better chance.
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STYLE: Speaking of romance, you must be getting ready for something every girl in America is starting to get excited for! A little something called PROM?
Princess Mia:
Oh. Um. Yeah. I guess.
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STYLE: Come on, you can tell us. Of course you're going! We all know things between you and longtime steady boyfriend Michael Moscovitz ended last year when he went off to Japan. He hasn't come back yet, right?
Princess Mia:
As far as I know, he's still in Japan. And we're just friends.
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STYLE: Right! You've often been seen in the company of fellow AEHS senior John Paul Reynolds-Abernathy IV. That's him painting that bench over there, isn't it?
Princess Mia:
Uhâ¦yeah.
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STYLE: Soâ¦don't keep us in suspense! Is J.P. the special guy who'll be escorting you to Albert Einstein High's senior prom? And what will you be wearing? You know metallics are in this seasonâ¦can we count on you to glitter in gold?
Princess Mia:
Oh, no! I'm so sorry! My bodyguard didn't mean to kick that paint can over onto you. How clumsy of him! Do send me the dry-cleaning bill.
Lars:
Care of the Royal Genovian press office, Fifth Avenue.
Her Royal Highness
Dowager Princess
Clarisse Marie Grimaldi Renaldo
requests the pleasure of your company at a soiree to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of
Her Royal Highness
Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo
on Monday the First of May at seven o'clock in the evening at South Street Seaport, Pier Eleven
The Royal Genovian Yacht Clarisse 3
Yale University
Dear Princess Amelia,
Congratulations on your admission to Yale College! Announcing the good news to a candidate is the absolute best part of my job, and it gives me great pleasure to send you this letter. You have every reason to feel proud of our offer of admission. I know that Yale would be an even richer and more vital place for your being hereâ
Princeton University
Dear Princess Amelia,
Congratulations! Your academic accomplishments, extracurricular achievements, and strong personal qualities were deemed by the admissions officers to be exceptional and ones we want here at Princeton. We are pleased to be sending you this good news and especially to be welcoming you to Princetonâ
C
OLUMBIA
U
NIVERSITY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE
Dear Princess Amelia:
Congratulations! The Committee on Admissions joins me in the most rewarding part of this jobâinforming you that you have been selected for admission to Columbia University in the City of New York. We are fully confident that the gifts you bring to our campus will be unique and valuable and that your abilities will be challenged and developed hereâ
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Dear Princess Amelia,
I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has voted to offer you a place at Harvard. Following an old Harvard tradition, a certificate of admission is enclosed. Please accept my personal congratulations for your outstanding achievementsâ
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Dear Princess Amelia,
Congratulations! The Brown Board of Admission has completed its evaluation of more than 19,000 applicants, and it is with great pleasure that I inform you that your application has been included among our acceptances. Yourâ
Daphne Delacroix
1005 Thompson Street, Apt. 4A
New York, NY 10003
Dear Ms. Delacroix,
Enclosed please find your novel,
Ransom My Heart.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to read it. However, it does not suit our needs at the present time. Good luck placing it elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Ned Christiansen
Editorial Assistant
Brampft Books 520 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10023
Dear Author,
Thank you for the submission of your book. Although it was carefully read, it is not what we are looking for here at Cambridge House. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Cambridge House Books
Dear Ms. Delacroix,
Thank you so much for your submission,
Ransom My Heart
. We here at AuthorPress were highly impressed by it, and we think it shows a lot of promise! However, it's important to keep in mind that publishing houses receive well over 20,000 submissions a year, and in order to stand out, your manuscript needs to be PERFECT. For a nominal fee ($5 per page), your manuscript,
Ransom My Heart
, could be on store shelves by next Christmasâ