Julie Andrews Declines Princess Diaries 3: "I Think I'm Retired"
Julie Andrews will not reprise her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries 3, telling InStyle magazine that she has effectively retired from on-screen acting. The decision, confirmed in an exclusive interview published on 10 August, ends months of speculation about whether the 90-year-old star would return opposite Anne Hathaway for the long-awaited sequel.
Andrews was characteristically frank about the choice. "I think I probably passed… I think I'm retired, really, would be about the best description for that," she told InStyle. She added that the film's creative team had asked her "all last year" whether she would join the project, and that declining was "very, very hard to say no" because she felt she had "a wonderful ride" with the franchise. Variety confirmed the details on 11 August.
The road to this decision has been a long one. Disney first announced development of a third Princess Diaries film in November 2022, with screenwriter Aadrita Mukerji attached to the script. A month later, Andrews herself told Access Hollywood she doubted a return was possible. The project continued to move forward regardless: Adele Lim signed on to direct in 2024, and Anne Hathaway is set to reprise her role as Mia Thermopolis, now Queen of Genovia. Lim told Variety in May that shooting schedules were still being worked out and no release date has been announced.
The original The Princess Diaries, based on the novel by Meg Cabot, opened in 2001 under the direction of the late Garry Marshall. A sequel followed in 2004. Andrews' Queen Clarisse — elegant, witty, and quietly formidable — became one of the most beloved elements of both films, and her absence from a third installment leaves a considerable gap for the creative team to address.
Andrews has not acted on screen in several years, though she has remained creatively active. She has taken voice roles in films including Minions: The Rise of Gru, The King's Daughter, and Aquaman, and she serves as the narrator of Netflix's Bridgerton as the voice of Lady Whistledown — a role she told InStyle she enjoys because she can record her lines from home, and which she does "mostly to keep my brain alive." In 2025, that voice-over work earned her third career Emmy.
For fans of the franchise, Andrews' confirmation closes a door that has been ajar for nearly four years. The sequel will move forward with Hathaway as its anchor and Lim — whose credits include Crazy Rich Asians and Joy Ride — in the director's chair. What shape Genovia takes without its original queen is now a question for the filmmakers, not the cast ledger.
