Meg Cabot Explains How Julie Andrews Led to a Major Change in 'The Princess Diaries' Movies

Meg Cabot is shedding light on one of the most significant departures between her beloved book series and its Disney film adaptations.

The 59-year-old New York Times bestselling author, who created the original book series that spawned two movies featuring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, recently appeared on CBS Mornings to discuss her new graphic novel version of the story. During the interview, she revealed the reasoning behind several creative changes made for the screen.

While Cabot didn't object to the decision to relocate production from New York City to San Francisco—a move made to accommodate director Gary Marshall's proximity to his granddaughters—she was more forthcoming about a plot point that has confused readers in recent years.

Mia's father remains alive in the original books but was killed off in the movies. According to Cabot, this wasn't a random creative choice. Disney executives approached her with an unusual request.

"They called me and said, 'We have some bad news. We have to kill the dad in your book,'" Cabot recounted. When she asked why, the studio explained they had cast a legendary actress they wanted to feature more prominently. Rather than introducing entirely new material for the grandmother character, they opted to give her the storylines originally assigned to Mia's father.

That actress was Julie Andrews, and Cabot's response was immediate. "I said, 'Kill the dad!'" she laughed, explaining that having Andrews in an expanded role made the sacrifice worthwhile.

The decision has apparently caused some confusion among younger readers encountering the graphic novel adaptation, who have reached out to Cabot to point out what they believed was an error. Cabot has had to clarify multiple times that in the original source material, Mia's father is indeed still living.