Review | The Princess Match by Clare Lydon

The Princess Match follows England football captain Ashleigh and Princess Victoria, heir to the throne, who quickly fall for each other despite the complications of royal protocol. Victoria is kept closeted by tradition and currently “dating” her gay best friend Dexter as a cover. The story explores how much pressure their relationship can handle before it starts to crack.

Communication between Ash and Victoria is pretty dire throughout, which at times felt frustrating, and I was actually quite concerned / impressed by how much the two were willing to sacrifice to be together given how little time they initially spend physically in each other’s company.

There’s a nice touch of realism in that Ashleigh is asked to “tone it down” as the women’s captain, highlighting the tricky balance some people may feel exists between growing the women’s game and keeping it “palatable” for a mainstream audience. It’s a subtle but interesting commentary on gender and sports culture.

I enjoyed Victoria’s brother Michael a lot: his hard-drinking, party-hard attitude and general rebellion against royal expectations, and his hijinks would make a fun spin-off. The Queen Mother also stood out as a nuanced character despite only a few appearances, quietly supportive and aware of Victoria’s truth long before she was ready to come out publicly.

One of my favourite parts was the disastrous meeting between Victoria and Ash’s parents, which flips the usual romance trope where parents instantly love the new partner. It felt refreshingly real and added some humour.

As a reader familiar with Clare Lydon’s Hotshot, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the story is inspired by real people: Ashleigh’s character reminded me of a certain blonde lioness captain, fresh off a European championship subsequently awarded an MBE, from St Albans. The little shout-out to Sloan (and Nat!) from Hotshot was a fun Easter egg.

 I found myself starting to struggle a bit towards the end of the book because the resolution felt predictable, but that’s probably more a gripe with the genre than the book itself. The epilogue doesn't dwell on the public reception to Victoria's coming out, which left me wondering how it would actually play out in today’s climate - but maybe that was Lydon's intention?

Lydon’s writing style is accessible and light, making The Princess Match a sweet, somewhat saccharine read that fits well as a holiday or beach book. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for a gentle, character-driven story set against the backdrop of women’s football and royal life.

Interested in other WLW YA and adult fiction? Check out my ultimate list of women's football books featuring wlw relationships.