A Q&A with Katy Birchall!

We spoke to author Katy Birchall about her new book, Hot Young Royals, a glitzy royal romance, perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries and Made in Chelsea.

Could you tell us a bit about Hot Young Royals?

Hot Young Royals is about teenager Ruby Carter who moves in with her wealthy, glamorous aunt Lady Tabatha after the death of her mum. Sent to the most prestigious school in the country, Clairmont Hall, Ruby is thrust into a glittering new world of wild parties, couture wardrobes, polo in London and yachts off the Amalfi Coast, schoolmates with titles and crowns, big secrets and, of course, shocking scandal.

Falling for a duke destined for the princess was never part of Ruby’s plan, but when he proposes a fake dating scheme that will help them both, fake feelings and real ones begin to blur. And Ruby has no idea that the biggest royal scandal is yet to hit, one in which she plays a central role…

Think The Princess Diaries meets the OG Gossip Girl meets Made in Chelsea.

What made you want to write this story?

I really just wanted to write something that readers could lose themselves in, offering a colourful, entertaining and sparkling refuge from our world that can feel a bit grey and unpredictable and scary to navigate. I wanted to write an escape. So, I sat down one night and started writing the kind of book I would like to read – a fun, swoony, steamy one about modern princesses and hot dukes, giving a glimpse into their glamorous, scandalous lifestyles. I had so much fun writing Hot Young Royals, I hope that comes across on the page.

The ‘fake dating’ romance trope is incredibly popular on BookTok but what made you want to write about this trope, and why do you think people love storylines like this so much?

As a writer, I love the fake dating trope because it’s a great set up for a plot arc. Through fake dating, there’s potential for comic opportunity, drama, sizzling underlying tension, a dash of heartbreak, and, ultimately, the chance to follow two people, who likely didn’t understood each other at the beginning, learn about themselves as they learn about the other and fall helplessly in love along the way.

I can understand why readers love storylines like this for the same reasons. There’s something wonderful about a usually-stubborn character learning they were wrong about someone, seeing that person in a new light, and then realising that this journey they’ve been on together to fool the world has been fooling them the whole time, too.

I think we’re all hopeless romantics at the heart of it.

Who was your favourite character to write and why?

Lady Tabatha was a lot of fun to write because she’s so eccentric and ridiculous and doesn’t give a hoot what anyone thinks. I laughed out loud a few times when I wrote some of the things that come out of her mouth. Because of her social standing, she gets away with a lot. She has money to burn, which can make for some exciting scenarios, and beneath that shallow-socialite act of hers she’s a complex and often caring person. She loves the spotlight, she loves the scandal, but she also loves her niece — and that love can knock her unexpectedly, especially when she glimpses something of her late sister in Ruby. Tabatha masks her grief with her outlandish behaviour and comedy. You can’t help but love her. There’s so much more to her story than I could fit in this book.

I also loved writing Ruby, though, who is the heart of Hot Young Royals. She’s lost at the beginning and so deserving of happiness and safety. She hides away from the world but slowly finds a strength she didn’t know she had – I hope readers find themselves relating to that.

Throughout history there have been so many princesses who have made a positive impact on the world. Are there any fictional or real-life princesses you admire?

Oh my goodness, so many! I’ve even written a non-fiction book about them called How To Be a Princess: Real-Life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines. It seems like the perfect life, but being a royal must be incredibly hard – everything you do is analysed and scrutinised and you have to find a way to turn that into something powerful and meaningful that can affect real and important change. Some have been exceptional at this: Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Maha of Thailand, Kiko, Crown Princess of Japan, and Diana, Princess of Wales. I also think that Catherine, Princess of Wales, is doing great things, especially when it comes to supporting issues surrounding early childhood, and I imagine she will continue to do so.

The book touches on grief and loss, and the emotional impact this can have on teenagers. Do you think it’s important for fiction to explore topics like these, and why?

Yes, of course, because fiction is a way to make sense of the world and some of the horrible things we have to face. There are so many times in life when we experience an emotion that we feel no one else understands – we think it’s only ever happened to us – and that can be incredibly isolating and terrifying. Feeling like you’re on your own is devastating. But when you read about a character in a book going through something similar or experiencing an emotion that reflects what you’re feeling, you suddenly don’t feel so alone. That can mean everything.

Ruby, the main character, loves reading thrillers and murder-mysteries. Do you have a go-to genre you love to read?

I love almost everything, it depends on my mood! I have always loved the romantic genre and when I’m feeling down about something, I tend to resort to some old favourites for comfort, in particular Jane Austen’s Emma or Pride and Prejudice – I am a total Janeite. I also love modern romantic comedies too and have written a couple of series of sports romances under other pseudonyms (Katherine Reilly and Ivy Bailey).

I do love a good murder mystery, though – Morse is my favourite detective – and I love Lucy Foley’s books. I’m also a big fan of non-fiction espionage books, mostly by Ben Macintyre. My book shelves are such an array of genres, but I like that.

How would you describe the book in three words?

Glamorous. Scandalous. Royal.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

My top three tips would be firstly, write what you love. If you walked into a bookshop, what book would you want to see on the shelf? Write that one. Your love and passion for the story and characters will flow into the writing and that will make a significant difference. My second tip would be to learn your craft: read, read, read. You learn about your own style through reading the style of others. Also, when you see how brilliant other writers are out there, it makes you want to be better.

Lastly, and most importantly, write. It seems so obvious, but if you’re an aspiring writer than do everything you can to put aside time to actually sit down and write. I know it’s hard and life is busy, but this is important to you. It’s part of who you are. It doesn’t matter what it is you write at first, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the story planned out yet, just give it a go. You’ll work out soon enough if it has legs and if it doesn’t, who cares, at least you know now – go write something else, something even better.

Hot Young Royals is out now.