In Love with a Prince

Sweet Valley High #91

by Francine Pascal (Creator), Kate William

When Elizabeth Wakefield announces that her long-time pen pal, Prince Arthur of Santa Dora, is coming to Sweet Valley for a visit, everyone's excited about meeting him-except for Dana Larson, lead singer of Sweet Valley's favorite band, the Droids. Dana thinks the only place for royalty is in the history books—until she actually gets to know Prince Arthur, and the sparks begin to fly!

Soon Dana and the Prince have fallen in love. Then Arthur suddenly asks Dana to marry him, and she faces the most serious decision of her life. Dana knows she's too young to get married to anyone, much less the Prince of Santa Dora. But if she says no, she might lose him forever.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Romance

151 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Francine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh. I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. But I will give the ghostwriters props for continuity! In the SVT book Princess Elizabeth, the twins are first introduced to Prince Arthur of Santa Dora in 6th grade. He and Liz have been pen pals ever since, and now he’s coming to Sweet Valley for a visit.

Jess is determined to get Arthur to notice her (despite the fact she has a boyfriend, Sam 🙄), along with all the other girls (especially Lila), but he only has eyes for Dana Larson, funky lead singer of the popular SVH band, The Droids. Natch, Dana loathes him and everything he thinks the royal family stands for (translation: she is a grade A biatch and treats him like complete dirt, even though he is actually very nice and down to earth. Who’s the real snob here, Dana?🙄). They debate in class about the pros and cons of the royal family and he totally schools her. She is mortified and runs away.

Jess throws a party for Arthur, and after futilely trying to get him interested in her the whole party, she grudgingly asks Dana to dance with Arthur (at Arthur’s request). The rest is history! They fall madly in love and spend every waking moment together.

Out of nowhere, Arthur proposes to Dana. He tells her they will have 5 years before actually getting married, but he loves her so much he proposes now. He conveniently forgets to mention that it’s tradition in his country for the Prince to be betrothed before his 17th birthday, or else his parents get to pick his bride. Lila does some digging and finds out this juicy tidbit, and naturally has to pass it along to a reporter. The reporter spills the beans to Dana, and instead of having a conversation about it with Arthur, jumps to every conclusion imaginable, thinking he doesn’t really love her, yada yada yada, throws the engagement ring at his head and storms away.

In true Sweet Valley fashion, just before broken-hearted Arthur can board a plane out of Sweet Valley forever, Dana comes to her senses and tells him she loves him. He tells her he is not going to be forced into marriage at a young age, parents be damned, and they agree to be just friends and maybe rekindle their relationship in a few years.

Sigh. I really loathed Dana in this book. She’s such a snob and a total bitch to boot, throwing multiple tantrums. Looking forward to reading about someone else in the next book!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is utterly ridiculous, but that somehow adds to the charm of it.

I love that Dana's parents see an engagement ring on their 16 year old daughter's finger from a guy she's known for a WEEK, and their reaction is pure joy. Only in Sweet Valley.

[Tiffany Spencer]

In Love With A Prince
At lunch, all the girls are fawning over Arthur Castillo. He’ll be there in a day and it seems he’s gotten hotter than when they meet him 5 years ago. Lila and Jessica are once again competing over which one of them can make Arthur fall in love with them. Dana is the only one that’s not impressed and thinks he’s a poser. Lila will be throwing a party in the prince’s honor and bets by the time of it they’ll be all over the press. Not to be outdone Jessica says she’s going to throw him a party two weeks before hers.

She says her party won’t be like the Unicorn’s party. It’ll be an all-American party, everyone will wear red white and blue, and she’ll serve American food and have a rock band. She asks Dana if her band will play and she says they don’t need that kind of publicity and she’d rather stay out of it. But she agrees to talk it over with the others. Lila tries to weasel her way to Liz’s lunch for Arthur but Jessica tells her she’s not invited. As Lila stomps off, Jessica thinks about how she’s going to have Arthur eating out of her hands and Sam will just have to deal with sharing her.

Sam wants to come to Liz’s lunch, but Jessica blows him off. Instead, she asks if she can ask Dana. She’s been looking for things to do these days since she broke up with Aaron. Then maybe if she sees Arthur she’ll agree to play at the party. Liz thinks everyone is out of control. Not just Jessica. Todd is still acting ridiculous of Arthur’s letters.

When Enid comes by they’re talking about the letters and Enid says it sounds like Arthur has a crush on her. Liz denies this but Enid reads back one of the letters. Liz has to admit when she reads it like that. She says she’ll just have to clear things up with Arthur and make her feelings clear about Todd to him (Arthur). Dana goes to the airport with the twins to get Arthur and when she sees him her heart speeds up, but she dismisses it and tells herself he looks like a dressed up doll. The mayor gives him the key to the city and flowers. Jessica is all over herself, but Dana does agree to play at the party “as a favor”.

Dana has to admit that after the twins introduce her that Arthur is one of the most gorgeous boys she’s ever met. Liz can’t help but notice his kiss with her last longer than the ones he gives Jessica. Enid tells her if anyone can tell him the right way it’s her. Todd and the guys come by before the lunch and Liz tells him she’ll set things straight and Todd apologizes. Arthur arrives. Introductions are made. Arthur is impressed by Dana’s introductions as one of the hottest rock stars in town. Liz offers to give him a tour of the garden. When she tells him about Todd he looks disappointed and confesses he was hoping she’d be single but he can’t wait to get to know Todd and he’s happy for her. But on the way back to the pool, he seems preoccupied.

(Arthus is there for his first stop of an around the world tour before his 17th birthday). As the prince gets to know the guys (and Dana listens to him talk sports with the guys), Dana has to admit he’s not stuck-up. He’s personable. He asks about her band and she says he’ll get to hear her play at Jessica’s party. Dana wonders how she sounded when Arthur goes on to talk to Hugh. She didn’t want to sound either to cold or too warm. Not that it matters. Dana knows every one is gonna love him!

Lila tries to invite tennis with her but he says he’s booked all weeks. It’s already Wednesday and neither she or Jessica have made any progress. Lila decides the best way to get to the prince is through one of his bodyguards. Dana’s upset to find out that their song writer (Lynn) wrote Arthur a song called “You Rule My Heart” (a song which she says she is NOT singing). The discussion in English is Hamlet. Dana makes her opinion known that the Royals just sponge off the working class. She asks him whose sponsoring this tour. Arthur says it might look like his life is glamorous but he says his family does work hard. So, Mr. Collins suggests they have a debate to air out their differences of opinion.

After practice, (after they tease Dana about playing “Rule My Heart”) Max suggests that maybe Dana loves Arthur since hating him and loving him are two sides of the same coin. Dana herself wonders why its so important to her to cream him in the debate. But Arthur wins the debate. Dana can’t argue with the judges but doesn’t know why she feels like she’s going to burst into tears. Arthur holds out his hand to her and is about to ask her something but the bell rings and she bolts. Jessica afterwards is babbling on and on about how their should be a contest to pick a Royal family and how great he did, but she notices his eyes are on Dana. Jessica waste no time in bad mouthing Dana (saying she’s not like most Amrican girls). She apologizes for her and says she’ll make up for her at her party. He says he’s looking forward to it, but Jessica doesn’t notice he’s just being polite. She thinks the only thing she’ll have to worry about is Sam in the tons of pictures the press is bound to take but she’ll just have to use her “magic” kisses to smooth it over that she’s chasing some other guy.

Arthur confesses to Liz and Todd at the Dairi Burger that he’s into Dana. He went over to her to tell her they could declare the debate a tie but she left. He’s impressed by her intelligence and beauty. He wanted to also ask if they could be friends. Liz is about to tell him no chance but she says maybe they can get her to go on a double date. Todd quickly reminds her of the last time they tried to match make. But when he hears she’s no longer dating Dana, Arthur says he’s going for it (despite what Todd says). He’ll make his move at the party the next night. Jessica hears some of Liz’s conversation with Enid on the phone. She hears Liz say he’s infatuated and he’ll make his move tomorrow. Of course, she thinks its her and is ecstatic

Sam gets fed up with Jessica’s attention on the prince and he leaves to hang out with some of his friends. After he leaves, she wonders is Arthur worth it. Jessica vents to Lila that she might have just lost her boyfriend. She says well at least he’s not paying Lila any attention either. He says she’s danced with her twice and split a hamburger before storming off. The Droids start to play a slow song and Arthur smiles at Jessica and comes toward her. He asks her to ask Dana if she’ll dance the next song with him. She wants to push him in the pool but thinks about it. When Dana turns him down, she can be there to console him. Dana agrees While they’re dancing, Lynn starts to sing “Rule My Heart” so they have to slow dance.

Dana apologizes for running of and explains she was still feeling competitive. He tells her he admires her. She’s a challenge. She says he’s a challenge too. She still doesn’t agree with his way of life tho. Countries are better off without a monarchy. He agrees that sometimes he does wish he could be a independent American teenager but he wouldn’t trade his tradions. Lila says they can “befriend” Arthur’s bodyguard so they find his hotel and get him alone. Paulo gets invited over to Lila’s for swimming and some tennis. Then Lila asks him to dance. Jessica thinks about how she blew it with Arthur and Sam and now she has a date with his body guard.

As Dana takes the mic again, she’s floating. She reminds herself he stands for everything she hates but she’s still falling for him big time! Arthur comes to get Dana early the next morning and asks her to spend the day with him. The next day, Liz brings Jessica breakfast in bed and breaks the news to her that she already knew Arthur wanted Dana and says maybe she should have told her. Jessica says she doesn’t get it. She bent over backwards trying to get to him. Liz says maybe that’s just it. He wanted someone who wasn’t easy and was honest with him. Jessica says that’s what she’d want. (Someone that cateers to her every wish). But then Liz says do you and she thinks twice about it. She realizes how stupid she acted and says Sam will never forgive her. Liz says he will (he was just hurt) and says she should go over his house and make up with him.

They make up. Sam says forgive him if he can’t give her tiaras and castle. Jessica (lies) and tells him she doesn’t need those things because he always treats her like a princess. (Until the next celebrity of the month comes along). Lila finds out from Paolo that Arthur will be spending the day with Dana. She also finds out that Arthur is there to fill an obligation before his 17th birthday. Lila says if she can find out what it is she’ll prove herself his perfect princess. Lila says they’ll just have to investigate and be more assertive.

Dana and Arthur spends the day with Arthur at a picnic, the movies, and bowling. At the end of the date, he doesn’t kiss her but tells her he wants to spent the next day and the day after and the after and on and on and on with her. Dana invites Arthur to her practice and it’s the best one they’ve had in a while. Afterwards, he tells her he’s been around the world and meet a lot of women but they’ve been all fluff (which is why he wants to spend every minute with her). He then offers to take her to the beach.

Lila and Jessica show up at Arthur’s hotel. Jessica reminds Lila that Arthur doesn’t like being chased. He’s not in his room, but they find him in the health club. Jessica stops her before she goes to buy a lycra suit to work out. In the parking lot, Lila says if she can just get into his room she can find documents. They then see Arthur leave and they follow it to Dana’s. They continue to follow the limo until it reaches the marina. Arthur and Dana leave on a yatch. By this time, Jessica’s had enough and tells Lila insane -after she says there’s no time to stow aboard-. Arthur comes by the Wakefields and confesses he’s been traveling around the world to find his wife. He can have a long engagement. He plans to wait 5 years but he has to make the announcement before his birthday. If he doesn’t find someone his parents will choose. At first, he thought he’d ask Elizabeth and then he realized he’d built up their friendship to be something it wasn’t. But then he meet Dana and he knows she’s the one. Still, he knows he she feels about the monarchy. He asks Liz what to do. Liz tells him to be honest with her and if she cares for him she’ll take him seriously.

Since Liz won’t tell Jessica what Arthur’s obligation is, she and Lila snoop in Liz’s diary but the only thing is says is Liz can’t believe his parents are making him make such a huge decession and she wonders what Dana’s reaction will be. Arthur proposes with a diamond solitaire. Dana says give her some days to think it over. He tells her to keep the ring as a token of his love and places it on her fourth finger. Dana tells her mother the next day whose WAY TO EXCITED for someone whose been going with her daughter FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS! She tells her mom she hasn’t made up her mind and she says she’s not gonna tell anyone else. She makes her mom not say anything. Her mom agrees to keep it quiet (although she doesn’t get why she’d want to).

It's not long before everyone knows (thanks to Dana’s mother). Liz finds out that Dana doesn’t know Arthur has a time line. After school, Dana is hounded by the press on whether being in love has changed her mind after being so adamantly against royals in the debate. Dana says she hasn’t changed anything and is then rescued by Paulo. Dana tells Arthur she needs a little more time but will be his date for the party. He promises her they’ll have a wonderful life full of adventures. Anything she wants. She won’t even have to give up music and she can help him with his duties as little or as much as she wants. Or not at all. She promises that by the party she’ll have an answer for him and that yes is a definite possibility. He says he can’t wait to tell their friends at Lila’s party.

Lila remembers about the reports they had to give in middle school about Santa Dora and starts to research it at the library-without Jessica who wants no part of it-. Finally, she finds out about the tradition in one of the articles that Arthur has to announce his engagement before his birthday. Luckily the press will be dining with her this night. Now Dana will look like a fool when she finds out the only reason she was chosen was because of this and Arthur in turn will be dumped.

On the day Dana said she’d give him an answer, she’s decided to say yes. Until a reporter calls and tells her that Arthur already had someone picked by his parents that he didn’t like. Dana thinks this is the only reason, goes to his hotel, throws the ring on the floor and leaves without letting him explain. She cancels going to the party with him and calls off the engagement. When he comes by she won’t even come out to talk to him and he leaves heartbroken. Liz is asked to talk to Dana by Arthur and she tells her to give him the benefit of the doubt. He really does love her. Liz makes the mistake of telling her Arthur spoke to her and might have asked her and Dana tells her to save it. It looks like he’d have taken anyone. Liz tries to tell her it’s not true, but Dana gives Liz the message to tell him goodbye.

When Jessica wants to know what’s going on and why Dana and Arthur broke up, Liz wants to know how she knew. Jessica says she “overheard”. Liz gets mad and accuses her of telling the press about Arthur’s secret but Jessica says she didn’t know and Liz sees she really is offended. She wonders who told but know she has to fix it. Jessica finds out Lila was the one behind it. Lila tries to distract Arthur but ends up looking like a fool. He leaves her alone in the middle of the dance floor. Then Jessica tells Liz Lila was the one who tried to break up Dana and Arthur. Arthur is about to leave the party. Liz catches up to him and tells him why Dana’s mad and to try one more time. Arthur waves it off and says she’s too good for him and Santa Dora. She says she’ll never take him back so he’s flying back to Santa Dora in the morning since he can’t be without him. Liz has a feeling she nor Dana will never see him again.

Dana realizes that she was wrong a day and a night later. Arthur really *did* love her. But she sees a picture of Lila and Arthur and thinks he’s with her now and gets pissed thinking they can have each other. Liz comes by and tells her Arthur’s leaving. Liz gets her to really look at the picture. Then she emphasizes “he’s leaving”. Dana again realizes Arthur does love her and rushes to the hotel. Dana explains why she felt like she felt. Arthur says he’s going to tell his parents he’s not going to announce his engagement before his birthday and from her he learned that traditions don’t always have to be set in stone. He tells her he loves her and he asks will she marry him one day. She says she loves him too but she can’t commit herself to him now. And then she’s not the princess type. He says don’t sell herself short. They promise not to forget one another and to stay close. They both agree to give their relationship another try in a few years. He tells her goodbye Princess Dana and then he’s gone.

Rating 5
I didn’t really have any for this. It wasn’t really for me because it was love drama from page 1 until the last page. Then I honestly don’t get why these girls were all over themselves. There was NOTHING about this guy -other than he was a prince- that stood out to me. I can see two things. He’s good at debating and he has good taste in jewely (if he even picked out that ring). Other than that.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some guy named Prince Arthur of some non-existent island nation of Santa Dora who is apparently friends with Elizabeth (this must be a crossover plot from the Sweet Valley Twins series, as they reference their friendship back in 6th grade over and over again) is visiting Sweet Valley and has all the local girls in a tizzy and all the boys irritated that they can't compete with royalty. Except for one girl- Dana Larson, who just is too damned cool to give a shit about classist, dated concepts like monarchies being special or necessary in the 20th century. So of course, once Elizabeth explains to Arthur that she's totally into Todd Wilkins and not about to jump the Prince's bones (though Jessica would be up for it), Arthur starts macking on Dana Larson-- he likes her because she's mean to him and probably because she's a good singer or is the next best blond to a Wakefield twin or something. Though originally a skeptic, Dana does eventually succumb to the charms of Prince Arthur, and then he asks her to marry him- because that's totally a thing 16 year olds are into- marriage proposals. So Dana has some big decisions to make, especially when she realizes that Arthur hasn't told her all the details about this proposal. A weird book for SVH, but I didn't hate it. 2 stars.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Sweet Valley made even better by the addition of a prince from a fictional European country. (I wonder if he knows Mia Thermopolis!) Obviously Jessica and every other girl in Sweet Valley will do anything to date this guy, even abandon their boyfriends!! I’m so confused by what Sam sees in Jess, last book I read she left him for the soap star and now she’s leaving him for this prince but he always takes her back and I just don’t understand why. Anyway, Prince Arthur falls in love with Dana who’s obviously the one girl not obsessed with him. The book ends with Arthur going back home and him and Dana deciding to remain friends for now. How wholesome. This book was predictable but I enjoyed it and consider it to be a solid addition to the SVH universe.

[K.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liz's old pen pal Prince Arthur comes back to Sweet Valley secretly in search of a bride. When he realises that Liz is committed to Todd (haha) he is overwhelmed by all the SVH beauties throwing themselves at him and finds himself intrigued by quirky anti-royalist Dana Larson, lead singer of rock band The Droids...

[Monique Brownrigg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing happened to advance the plot, even though Dana was supposed to choose

[Spatzile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to love Sweet Valley Twins & Friends, and when I got older, I found Sweet Valley High! I was sad to find we only ever had one book of it in our book shelf. :P

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the cover but just not the story.