Princess Diaries Series: Forever Princess Part 1

Meg Cabot.

Forever Princess.

Dedication.

For my agent, Laura Langlie, with love and many thanks for her endless patience, kindness, and, most of all, her sense of humor!

Epigraph.

"It's exactly like the ones in the stories," she wailed. "Them pore princess ones that was drove into the world."

teen STYLE.

EXCLUSIVE!.

teen STYLE chats with Princess Mia Thermopolis on what it means to be royal, her upcoming high school graduation and prom, and her fas.h.i.+on must-haves!

teenSTYLE caught up to Princess Mia this spring as she was engaged in one of her many volunteer activities-tidying 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 teenSTYLE!

teenSTYLE: 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 doc.u.ment last year revealing that my ancestress, Princess Amelie, had declared it a const.i.tutional monarchy-exactly like England-four hundred years ago. That doc.u.ment was proven valid by the Genovian parliament last spring, and now we're two weeks away from elections for prime minister.

teenSTYLE: 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 monarch...in Genovia's case, since we're a princ.i.p.ality, a prince or princess.

teenSTYLE: That's great! So you'll always have the tiara, the limos, the palace, the beautiful ball gowns....

Princess Mia:...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 Rene, is running against him.

teenSTYLE: 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 gown- Princess Mia: Although frankly, I find Prince Rene'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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p waste dumping- teenSTYLE: Er...we can see this is an issue about which you feel pa.s.sionately. We encourage our readers to take a keen interest in current events-like 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 Rene means. I believe Dad's response-that if anything, what our citizens need right now is improvements to their daily lives-is utterly correct. My father, not Prince Rene, 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 need...and what they don't need is an Applebee's!

teenSTYLE: So...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.

teenSTYLE: Really? So you want to be a journalist?

Princess Mia: Actually, I'd love to be an author. I know publis.h.i.+ng is really hard to break in to. But I've heard if you start by writing romance novels, you have a better chance.

teenSTYLE: 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.

teenSTYLE: 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 j.a.pan. He hasn't come back yet, right?

Princess Mia: As far as I know, he's still in j.a.pan. And we're just friends.

teenSTYLE: 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: Uh...yeah.

teenSTYLE: So...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 season...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 here- 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 Princeton- COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE.

Dear Princess Amelia: Congratulations! The Committee on Admissions joins me in the most rewarding part of this job-informing 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 here-

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 achievements-

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. Your- 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 a.s.sistant.

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 publis.h.i.+ng houses receive well over 20,000 submissions a year, and in order to stand out, your ma.n.u.script needs to be PERFECT. For a nominal fee ($5 per page), your ma.n.u.script, Ransom My Heart, could be on store shelves by next Christmas- The Senior Cla.s.s of Albert Einstein High School requests the pleasure of your company at the senior prom on Sat.u.r.day the Sixth of May at seven o'clock in the evening at the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom Thursday, April 27, Gifted and Talented Mia-We're going shopping for prom dresses-and for something to wear to your birthday s.h.i.+ndig-after school. Bendel's and Barneys first, then if we strike out there, we'll hit Jeffrey and Stella McCartney downtown. You in?-Lana Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device L-I'm sorry. I can't. Have fun, though!-M What do you mean, you can't? What else do you have to do? Don't say princess lessons because I know your grandmother has canceled them while she gets ready for your big pahtay, and don't say therapy either because you only have that on Fridays. So what gives? Don't be such a byotch, we need your limo. I blew all my taxi money for the month on a new pair of D&G patent leather platform slingbacks.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device Wow. Coming clean about Dr. Knutz to my friends was freeing and all of that, just like he said it would be.

Especially since it turns out most of them have been in therapy, too.

But some of them-such as Lana-tend to treat the subject way too casually sometimes.

I'm staying after school to help J.P. with his senior project. You know he's putting on his final performance piece for the senior project committee next week. I promised I'd be there for him. He's worried about some of the performances his actors are giving. He thinks Amber Cheeseman's little sister, Stacey, doesn't really seem to be giving it her all. And she's the star, you know.

OMG, that play he wrote? G.o.d, what are you two, attached at the hip? You can spend ten minutes apart, you know. Now come shopping with us. Pinkberry after! My treat!

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device Lana thinks Pinkberry solves everything. Or, if not Pinkberry, Allure magazine. When Ben.a.z.ir Bhutto got a.s.sa.s.sinated, and I couldn't stop crying, Lana got me a copy of Allure magazine and told me to get in the bathtub and read it cover to cover. Lana was seriously all, "You'll feel better in no time!"

And I'm pretty sure she really meant it.

The weird thing was, after I did what she said, I sort of did feel a little better.

I also knew a lot more about the dangers of SmartLipo. Still.

Lana. It's an artistic thing. J.P.'s the writer/director. I have to be there to support him. I'm the girlfriend. Just go without me.

G.o.d, what is with you? It's PROM. Fine, be that way. I'll forgive you, but only because I know you're freaking out over this election thing of your dad's. Oh, and where you're going to go to school next year. G.o.d, I can't believe you didn't get in anywhere. I mean, even I got into Penn. And my senior project was on the history of eyeliner. Good thing my dad's a legacy, I guess.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device Ha, yeah, well, it's true! I got the lowest math SAT score you can get. Who'd want me? Thank G.o.d L'Universite de Genovia has to accept me, on account of my family being its founder and major benefactor, and all.

You're so lucky! A college with beaches! Can I come over for spring break? I promise to bring plenty of Penn hotties...Oops, gotta go, Fleener is breathing down my neck. What is UP with these pinheads? Don't they realize we only have two weeks left at this place? Like our grades even MATTER anymore!

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device Ha, I know! Pinheads! Yeah! Tell me about it!

Thursday, April 27, French Okay, it's been four years since I started going to this place. And it still feels like all I ever do is lie.

And I don't just mean to Lana or my parents, either. Now I'm lying to everyone.

You would really think, after all this time, I'd be getting better about that.

But I found out the hard way-a little less than two years ago now, actually-what happens when you tell the truth.

And even though I still think I did the right thing-I mean, it did bring democracy to a country that has never known it before, and all-I'm not making that mistake again. I hurt so many people-especially people who I really care about-because I told the truth, I really think it's better now just...well, to lie.

Not big lies. Just little white lies, which don't hurt anybody. It's not like I'm lying for personal gain.