The Princess Diaries Books in Order: How to read Meg Cabot’s Series?

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The Princess Diaries is a young adult series written by Meg Cabot. It’s about Mia who is the princess and heir to the throne of Genovia, a small country in Europe. Mia lived most of her life in Greenwich Village and uses a talent for writing to chronicle her life in personal diaries. So, this is her story, from the time she discovered that she was in fact a Princess to adulthood.

How to Read The Princess Diaries Series in Order?

This is a chronological reading order of the Princess Diaries book series:

  1. The Princess Diaries – Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there’s nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra. Is she ever in for a surprise. First Mom announces that she’s dating Mia’s Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia.
  2. Princess in the Spotlight – Just when Mia thought she had the whole princess thing under control, things get out of hand, fast. First, there’s an unexpected announcement from her mother. Then Grandmère arranges a national primetime interview for the brand-new crown princess of Genovia.
  3. Princess in Love – Princess Mia may seem like the luckiest girl ever. But the truth is, she spends all her time doing one of three things: preparing for her nerve-racking entrée into Genovian society, slogging through the congestion unique to Manhattan in December, and avoiding further smooches from her hapless boyfriend, Kenny.
  1. Princess in Waiting – Between canceled dates with her long-sought-after royal consort, a second semester of the dreaded Algebra, more princess lessons from Grandmère, and the inability to stop gnawing on her fingernails, isn’t there anything Mia is good at besides inheriting an unwanted royal title?
  2. Project Princess – Princess Mia embarks on an epic adventure for one so admittedly unhandy: Along with her cohorts from school, she’s off to build houses for the less fortunate. It doesn’t take Mia long to realize that helping others is very hard work.
  3. Princess in Pink – In her heart of hearts, Mia has but one wish: an evening spent with Michael in a tux and a corsage on her wrist – in other words, the prom. Michael, however, does not seem to share the dream that is the prom.
  1. Princess in Training – Student body president, that is – nominated by her power-mad best friend, Lilly. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, but as usual, she has bigger problems to worry about, like Geometry. And now that Mia’s one true love, Michael, is uptown at college, what’s the point of even getting up for school in the morning?
  2. The Princess Present – Every year, Princess Mia spends the holidays in Genovia with Grandmère. This year, she’s looking forward to the most perfect Christmas ever: her boyfriend, Michael, and her best friend, Lilly, are coming to Genovia, too. But even a princess’s plans can go awry.
  3. Party Princess – The student government over which Mia presides is suddenly broke. But Grandmère’s got a wacky scheme to raise the money, catapult Mia to theatrical fame, and link her romantically with an eligible teen bachelor who’s not her boyfriend.
  1. Sweet Sixteen Princess – Mia doesn’t always have the best luck with parties, so even though it’s her sweet sixteenth, she doesn’t want a birthday bash. As usual, Grandmère has other ideas and thinks a reality TV special is just the thing in order to celebrate royally.
  2. Valentine Princess – when you’re Princess Mia, nothing happens the way it’s supposed to. For one thing, Grandmère seems determined to prove that boy (or Michael, as he is commonly known) isn’t the right one for the crown princess of Genovia. And Mia isn’t having much luck proving otherwise, since Michael has a history of being decidedly against any kind of exploitative commercialization (Valentine’s Day, as it is commonly known).
  3. Princess on the Brink – At last, Mia is a junior. A upperclassperson. So why is it that everything is going so terribly wrong? What is she doing in Intro to Creative Writing? When she has made it through Algebra and Geometry, why must she be faced with Precalculus?
  1. Princess Mia – Mia has been invited to speak at a gala for Domina Rei, an elite society of powerful businesswomen. But what could she possibly have to say? Michael has broken up with her, her bff Lilly won’t speak to her, and her parents are forcing her to see a therapist. Just when things couldn’t get worse, Mia discovers a long forgotten diary of a teenage princess of Genovia. What it reveals might change everything.
  2. Forever Princess – It’s Mia’s senior year, and things seem great. Well … everyone adores her dreamy boyfriend, J.P., but Mia is not sure he’s the one. Her first love, Michael, is back from Japan … and back in her life. That senior project? It’s a romance novel she secretly wrote, and no one wants to publish it.
  • Ransom My Heart, written by the Princess of Genovia Mia Thermopolis. He’s a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She’s an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister’s dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?
  1. Royal Wedding – For Princess Mia, the past five years since college graduation have been a whirlwind of activity, what with living in New York City, running her new teen community center, being madly in love, and attending royal engagements. And speaking of engagements. Mia’s gorgeous longtime boyfriend Michael managed to pop the question! The answer was a royal oui.
  2. The Quarantine Princess Diaries – The princess recorded her most heartfelt emotions while dealing with her husband’s quarantine after exposure to the virus; her personal (and political) battles while imposing health restrictions on her small European nation; life during lockdown (even in as idyllic a location as a palace on the Riviera); and of course, dealing with her demanding royal family, especially her grandmother.

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

Return to Genovia with the spin-off series From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess―this time through the illustrated diary of a spunky new heroine: Princess Mia’s long-lost half-sister, Olivia!

  1. From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (set before Royal Wedding) – Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old with an average life, so she doesn’t want to complain. Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she’s knocked down at the bus stop…
  2. Royal Wedding Disaster (set during Royal Wedding, of course) – Olivia’s half-sister Mia is very busy learning how to take over the country while trying to plan a wedding and her father is actually getting remarried himself-to Mia’s mother!-and spends most of his time “renovating” the summer palace, although Grandmere says he is just hiding from the wedding preparations. Olivia hardly gets to see either of them. Fortunately, Grandmere has her own plans for Mia’s wedding, and needs Olivia’s help to pull them off.
  1. Royal Crush (set after Royal Wedding) – Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is turning thirteen. Even better, she’s finally starting to get the hang of this princess thing. Just in time, too, since her half-sister, Princess Mia Thermopolis, is expected to give birth to twins any day now!
  2. Royal Crown – Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison should be having fun. Her best friend is visiting from America, her sister’s royal coronation is only three days away (the first coronation of a female ruler in two centuries), and she’s even got a new boyfriend who is actually a very smart and charming prince!

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