SAY IT AIN’T SO. Julie Andrews has confirmed she will not return for The Princess Diaries 3. So while Genovia is set to welcome back Queen Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway), it looks like Queen Clarisse won’t be joining the royal reunion.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter alongside her daughter and writing partner Emma Walton Hamilton, the 90-year-old-actress explained that she’s moved on to a different phase of her life and career.
When asked if she would reprise her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, Andrews said, “I think the absolute truth is that I think I’m really past all that now.
“I’m not completely retired, but it’s a different kind of work that I do these days, [writing] books, and I do a lot of recording of podcasts and voiceovers. But truly, I don’t think I should be a part of it.”
Did anyone else feel that dagger in their hearts?
Andrews, who played Mia’s chic as f*ck grandmother in 2001’s The Princess Diaries and its 2004 sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, was also clear that she still enjoys working, just preferably without the whole on-camera palaver.
She said “it’s still lovely to be working on things” but “not necessarily on camera”.
“It isn’t that I’m not enthusiastic for it. It’s just that I really don’t feel I should be part of it now,” she continued.
This is truly a sad reality check for those of us who had assumed Clarisse would glide into the third film, deliver one perfectly timed line, and make us all gag at her presence. Still, Andrews sounds genuinely keen to see what comes next for Mia.
“[I] actually don’t know,” she said of the new film’s story. “I think it proceeds from the second Princess Diaries. It moves on, but by now Annie too is a little older than she was when she did it. So I’m interested to see what Meg [Cabot] and Annie and everybody comes up with!”
The news has understandably hit fans with all of the feelings:
i totally understand her decision, respectfully they can cancel the film now https://t.co/I2hCIOElgC
— lucy (@winonasfilm) August 11, 2026
Well they can keep it pic.twitter.com/w2sQPGSr3c
— 𝕻𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖇𝖔𝖎🖤 (@ManiC2013) August 11, 2026
Respect her decision. She’s earned a peaceful retirement
— Ella Rizzo (@ellarizz7bnm25) August 12, 2026
What even is the point of it without her, I’m sorry we ain’t tuning in. pic.twitter.com/RtTM5OYHT6
— 𝒂 (@coxrab) August 11, 2026
Genovia is officially in mourning… how are we supposed to watch The Princess Diaries 3 without Queen Clarisse teaching us royal etiquette 😭
— A. (@sweatermeather) August 11, 2026
Thankfully, Anne Hathaway is still set to return as Mia for the third film, with Adele Lim directing. Author Meg Cabot and my childhood icon, has read a script and called it “amazing”, saying she is “100 percent behind it”. So at least we have some sanctity in place.
Lead image: Disney
The post Julie Andrews Explains Why She Will Not Be Returning For Princess Diaries 3 appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
