Julie Andrews Won’t Return for ‘The Princess Diaries 3’

Fans hoping to see Julie Andrews return as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries 3 will be disappointed. The 90-year-old actress has confirmed that she will not appear in the upcoming sequel.

Andrews, who starred alongside Anne Hathaway in the first two Princess Diaries films, revealed the news in an Aug. 10 interview with TODAY.com.

“I’m not going to be in it,” Andrews said when asked about the third movie.

She explained that the new film is taking the story in a different direction and that the focus should now remain on Mia Thermopolis, played by Hathaway.

“I think the story has to continue in Princess Mia. It’s her story. It’s not really mine,” Andrews said.

A new chapter for Mia

The original Princess Diaries, released in 2001, introduced audiences to Mia Thermopolis, an ordinary teenager from San Francisco who discovers that she is the heir to the throne of Genovia.

Andrews played Queen Clarisse, Mia’s grandmother and the woman responsible for teaching her how to become a princess. The pair returned for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004, in which Mia faced a new challenge: she was expected to marry before becoming queen.

By the end of the second film, Mia successfully changes the law and becomes an unmarried queen. Clarisse, meanwhile, steps down and marries Joe, played by Héctor Elizondo.

The third movie is expected to continue Mia’s story, although many details about the plot remain under wraps.

Hathaway recently offered an update, saying the filmmakers had made progress on the story. She revealed in July that the team had essentially started over with a new direction for the script.

“I think we had a story breakthrough,” Hathaway said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. “We all feel really good that this is gonna be the one.”

However, Hathaway is currently pregnant with her third child, making the timing of the film uncertain.

Will other cast members return?

It is not yet clear which other familiar faces will appear in The Princess Diaries 3.

Chris Pine, who played Mia’s love interest Nicholas Devereaux in the second film, has not been confirmed for the sequel. Heather Matarazzo, who played Mia’s best friend Lilly Moscovitz, and Robert Schwartzman, who played Mia’s first-film love interest Michael Moscovitz, also have uncertain futures in the franchise.

Schwartzman said in 2025 that he had early conversations about returning.

The first two movies were directed by Garry Marshall, who died in 2016. Adele Lim, known for Crazy Rich Asians and Joy Ride, is attached to direct the third installment.

Andrews has long questioned a third film

Andrews has previously expressed doubts about returning to the franchise.

In 2022, she told Access Hollywood that another movie probably would not be possible because so much time had passed since the original films.

In 2024, she said she would be happy if another movie were made but suggested that sometimes it is better to leave a successful story alone.

“I’d be very happy if we did do another one. But I don’t expect to,” she said at the time.

The third movie was officially announced in 2022, nearly two decades after the release of The Princess Diaries 2.

A remarkable career continues

Although Andrews will not be returning to Genovia, she remains active in the entertainment world.

She will be the subject of a new Disney documentary scheduled for next year. She admitted to TODAY.com that she feels “a little nervous” about the project but believes this is the right time in her life to tell her story.

Andrews became a major star on Broadway in My Fair Lady before moving into film and television. Her performance in Disney’s Mary Poppins earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1965. She received another Oscar nomination the following year for The Sound of Music.

Her other notable credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie, Victor/Victoria, Shrek 2, Despicable Me and Bridgerton, in which she has voiced the mysterious narrator Lady Whistledown since 2020.

Andrews is also an accomplished author. Her latest children's book, Shy, written with her daughter Emma Walton and illustrated by Eva Byrne, was released Aug. 11. The story follows a timid puppy who finds confidence after being adopted.

Despite stepping away from The Princess Diaries, Andrews says she is grateful to still have opportunities to create.

“It’s very pleasant at my age to be needed and embraced because I love doing it,” she told PEOPLE.

For Andrews, the key to such a long career is simple: “It is the secret to love what you do.”