Synopsis for The Princess Diaries

Mia Thermopolis is a shy, awkward fifteen year old living in San Francisco with her mother, and acclaimed painter.  Mia's life has been pretty uneventful until her father dies.  She hadn't been in contact with her father very much -- just a card and a gift on her birthday every year, as her friend Lilly Moscovitz puts it -- but it is devastating anyway.

Then, her paternal grandmother from Europe (Genovia, to be exact) comes to San Francisco to 'have tea'.  Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia tells her granddaughter that her father was the Crown Prince of Genovia, and that she was his only heir.  This comes as an absolute shock to Mia, aka Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi.  Not liking this turn of events, she runs home and demands an explanation from her mother.

The next day her mother and grandmother meet in the kitchen of their renovated firehouse and hammer out a plan for Mia's transition from regular California teen to future Genovian ruler.  The rest of the movie deals with Mia getting a makeover, learning how to be a princess, and dealing with her new status.  The big question is does she accept her title and responsibilities or not?

Main Characters

The three obvious ones are Mia, her mother Helen Thermopolis, and her grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi.  Here are the other characters.

Lilly Moscovitz
Lilly is Mia's best friend.  Lilly is a very smart and opinionated activist.  She even has her own TV show, Shut Up and Listen, which airs on her school's public access channel.  Lilly is no more popular at Grove High School than Mia, but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants.  She's very much and independent spirit and at first cannot understand why Mia starts to dress like the 'A-crowd'.  When she finds out the truth, she is a little jealous only because as a princess Mia has an unlimited audience, and thus can do a lot of good in her position.

Michael Moscovitz
Michael is Lilly's older brother.  He's quiet, introverted, and as smart as Lilly.  He likes to work on cars and play the keyboard in his band Fly Paper.  He is the one with a crush on Mia.  Do they get together in the end?

Josh Bryant
Josh is the most popular boy in school, and Mia's crush.  She is completely in love with him, and is always daydreaming about being his girlfriend.  Too bad he already has a girlfriend.  Josh isn't very nice to Mia...he basically ignores her or makes fun of her, but that all changes once he finds out she's a princess....

Lana Thompson
Lana is Mia's nemesis.  She's a beautiful and popular cheerleader who likes to make fun of others.  She is usually followed by Anna and Fontana, two fellow cheerleaders who are just as mean.  She tries to be Mia's friend once it is revealed that Mia is a princess, but all that changes once Mia is spotted with Josh Bryant, her boyfriend.

Jeremiah Hart
A smart 'computer nerd' with fuchsia hair.  He is considered to be a dork by everyone at Grove High School because he's always toting his Apple iBook (on which he looks at his stock portfolio every day) and doing 'magic tricks' with coins and playing cards.  Lilly eventually warms up to him and they start to become an item.

Patrick O'Connell
He teaches Mia's worst subject -- Forensics, or Debate Class.  He is also her history teacher.  Mia does not like public speaking, and whenever she has to give a speech in his class, she either faints, runs away, or gets sick.  This becomes a problem and he arranges a parent-teacher conference with her mother, and they end up going out on a date!  This is very embarrassing for Mia.

Joseph
Joseph, or Joe, is Mia's bodyguard and chauffeur.  He lends her great support when she starts her 'princess lessons' with her grandmother.  Some movie reviews have him as her surrogate father, and if you're older and have seen the movie, you'd have seen the relationship blossoming between Joe and Clarisse. ;-)

Charlotte Kutaway
Looking at the credits, I am sure this is right...anyway, she is the secretary/lady-in-waiting to the Queen, who arranges the royal calendar, so to speak.  She is always following Clarisse with a cell phone and a Filofax, ready to read out the next engagement.  She also redecorated the Genovian consulate and arranged the Genovian Independence Day Ball.

Paolo
Paolo is an Italian hairdresser/stylist Clarisse hires to give Mia a princessy makeover.  He is also responsible for 'outing' Mia as a princess, but he's not a total bad guy, as you will see in the end.