Red, White and Royal Blue: Matthew López on the importance of sex scenes

The hotly anticipated Prime Video adaptation of Red, White and Royal Blue is finally here, and fans have been praising the sex scenes which unfold between the son of the U.S. President and an English prince.

After a series of frantic fumbles, Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) make love for the first time, and fans have been praising the moment for its accuracy and careful handling.

Now, director Matthew López has explained to Digital Spy why it was important to him to portray the scenes in such a way. "In the book, their sex life is such a powerful part of their connection," he explained.

"And I really wanted to show something that I hadn't seen much of in mainstream movie making, which is sex between two men that is loving and connected, and that is emotionally resonant. So we took great care with that scene... From the beginning, I told the studio that we were not going to shy away from the scene. There would be no tricks. It was going to be true and accurate to the way that two men have sex together."

He also touched on how he, alongside leading actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, worked with an intimacy coordinator to ensure everyone felt safe and protected on set, while also making the intimate scenes essential to the story - rather than an unnecessary addition.

"It was very important to us that people see the film and understand exactly what is happening between these two characters because what is happening is vitally important to the story and their progression as characters," says López. "So we never thought of the sex in the film as being additional to the story. We never thought of it as being an add-on or something that you have to put in."

WATCH NOW Red, White and Royal Blue is now streaming on Prime Video.