Young Royals - Season 3 ⁞⁞ Series Spotlight
The Swedish Netflix drama Young Royals returned for its third and final season. With their relationship made public, and the scandal surrounding the sex video that was taken of them and shared online resolved early, leading men Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) and Simon (Omar Rudberg) returned to school, happily in love. Wilhelm looked to keep his vindictive cousin August (Malte Gärdinger) at bay, while August attempted to redeem himself as his graduation approached. While their open affection was met with no conflict at school, Wilhelm & Simon were not without conflict. Their school Hillerska came under fire after Wilhelm's open proclamation about the video scandal, as it led to other former students speaking out about their negative experiences at the boarding school. This included brutal hazing rituals, which put the school on the road to closure. Simon also found himself dealing with brutal online bullying, targeting him negatively because of his relationship with the Crown Prince. Meanwhile, Wilhelm secretly struggled with his emotions after his mother, Queen Kristina (Pernilla August), suffered a mental breakdown, causing him to feel responsible because of his past dramas affecting her. After getting shut out of her recovery, Wilhelm's own mental state suffered, causing him to grow more angry with his family. Simon's online torment grew worse due to his political beliefs, leading to his home being attacked, causing his mother to contemplate moving them away. The Royal Court intervened, promising Simon support, if he deleted all social media, including his music whose lyrics they felt were too controversial.
With their separate struggles mounting, the boys held tight to their relationship, until Wilhelm's 17th birthday celebration at the palace. With Simon by his side, Wilhelm exploded on his parents, shocking Simon, who broke off their relationship. The Hillerska students prepared for the school's closure, as August and his classmates graduated. Wilhelm's parents reached out to him at the event, making amends for their absence during his struggles. Still stinging from the end of his romance, Wilhelm made the decision to take control of his destiny. He decided to remove himself from the line of succession, handing it to August, and left his family behind to pursue a future with Simon, leading to their happy reunion as the series ended. Season 3 featured two other very minor queer subplots. August's classmate Nils (Samuel Astor), who had previously shared his sexuality with Wilhelm in secret, came out to his friends just before graduation. He was met with their unwavering support. Simon's lesbian friend Rosh (Beri Gerwise) took an interest in Stella (Felicia Maxime), a student at Hillerska. While the two hit it off, this caused some conflict for Stella's bestie Fredrika (Mimmi Cyon), who had been harboring a crush on her since the previous season. The final episode revealed Stella & Fredrika kissing to bring some closure to their story.
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