Young Royals is a Swedish teen drama romance television series created by Lisa Ambjörn, Lars Beckung, and Camilla Holter for the streaming service Netflix which stars Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg. The series premiered with its first season on 1 July 2021 and concluded on March 18, 2024, after 18 episodes spanning three seasons.
Set at the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska, the plot primarily follows the fictional Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Ryding), his romance with fellow student Simon Eriksson (Rudberg), and the resulting drama.
Contents
Premise
Young Royals follows Prince Wilhelm of Sweden in the prestigious boarding school Hillerska as he develops a relationship with his classmate Simon. Under the constant view of the public eye, the series depicts how their relationship affects everyone around them. The series addresses homophobia, mental illness, eating disorders, infidelity, drug addiction, stalking, abuse, internalized racism, autism, the relationship between social classes, and constitutional monarchy.
The series is inspired by the controversies surrounding the Swedish boarding school Lundsbergs.
Cast and characters
Main
Edvin Ryding as Prince Wilhelm "Wille" of Sweden (later Crown Prince Wilhelm of Sweden), next in line to Sweden's throne after his elder brother, Erik
Omar Rudberg as Simon Eriksson, a rising star in Hillerska's choir, a scholarship and non-boarding student; Sara's brother and Wilhelm's love interest
Malte Gårdinger as August Horn of Årnäs, a member of a noble family and second cousin of Wilhelm and Erik, third-year student, prefect and captain of the rowing team
Frida Argento as Sara Eriksson, a scholarship non-boarding student and Simon's elder sister, who has social difficulty as a result of her Asperger's and ADHD
Nikita Uggla as Felice Ehrencrona, a boarding student and member of the "modern nobility"
Recurring
Pernilla August as Queen Kristina of Sweden, the Queen regnant of Sweden and Wilhelm and Erik's mother
Magnus Roosmann as Duke Ludvig, Queen Kristina's husband and consort, Wilhelm and Erik's father
Carmen Gloria Pérez as Linda, Simon and Sara's mother
Inti Zamora Sobrado as Ayub, Simon's friend from Bjärstad
Beri Gerwise as Rosh, Simon's friend from Bjärstad
Ivar Forsling as Prince Erik (season 1), the crown prince of Sweden and Wilhelm's elder brother
Anna Valkyria Petersson as Malin, Wilhelm's bodyguard
Leonard Terfelt as Micke (season 1 and season 3), Simon and Sara's father
Ingela Olsson as Miss Anette Lilja, Hillerska's headmistress
Felicia Truedsson as Stella, Felice's friend and a student at Hillerska
Mimmi Cyon as Fredrika, Felice's friend and a student at Hillerska
Nathalie Varli as Madison McCoy, Felice's friend and an international student at Hillerska
Samuel Astor as Nils Polstjerna, August's friend and a student at Hillerska.
Xiao-Long Rathje Zhao as Alexander, August's friend and a student at Hillerska
Fabian Penje as Henry, Wilhelm's friend and a student at Hillerska
Episodes
Production
Development and casting
In July 2020, an untitled coming-of-age series created by Lisa Ambjörn, Lars Beckung and Camilla Holter was announced, with Rojda Sekersöz set to direct.
In January 2021, long before the announcement of the series' release date, Edvin Ryding, Pernilla August, Malte Gårdinger, Frida Argento, Nikita Uggla and Omar Rudberg were announced to have been cast in the starring roles while Nathalie Varli, Felicia Truedsson, Mimmi Cyon, Ingela Olsson, Rennie Mirro, Livia Millhagen and David Lenneman were announced to have been cast in recurring roles. Ryding was cast as Prince Wilhelm and Pernilla August was cast to play his mother, Queen Kristina of Sweden. It was later announced that Rudberg would play Simon, Prince Wilhelm's love interest. Ryding and Rudberg also re-recorded their lines for the English dub version.
On 22 September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.
In December 2022, the series was renewed for a third and final season.
Filming
The series was mostly filmed at Kaggeholms gård, a manor-style building located in Stockholm County that is operated as a conference center. The scenes that took place at the royal palace were filmed at Stora Sundby Castle.
In February 2022, Netflix began filming a second season. A promotional video was released on Instagram. Filming for the second season concluded in May 2022.
Filming for the third and final season began in April 2023 and finished in June 2023.
Marketing
The series' official teaser was released on 19 May 2021 with the official trailer released on 17 June 2021. On 15 December 2022, Ryding and Rudberg made their US television debut as guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they promoted Young Royals and its third and final season.
Release
All six episodes of the first season premiered on Netflix on July 1, 2021. The second season was released on November 1, 2022. The third and final season was released in two parts: the first five episodes premiered on March 11, 2024, while the series finale was released on March 18, 2024.
Reception
Viewership
The first season made it to the top 10 in 12 countries and was streamed for more than 9.8 million hours worldwide. In the first week after its release, the first season was ranked the eighth most streamed non-English language series on Netflix worldwide.
The second season made it to the top 10 in 26 countries and was streamed more than 18 million hours in the first week. During this week, the second season was ranked the third most streamed non-English language series on Netflix worldwide.
The third season's first five episodes made it to the top 10 in 47 countries and was streamed more than 11.5 million hours by its first week. During this week, the third season was the fifth most streamed non-English language series on Netflix worldwide. The finale kept the show afloat in top 10 in ninth place, garnering 7.5 million hours watched by its second week.
Critical response
Young Royals received critical acclaim and positive responses from audiences. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100%, based on five reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. It has been praised for its fidelity to real life in casting teenagers for teenage roles and showing skin textures with blemishes. Some critics and audiences compared the series favourably to similar shows such as Elite, Gossip Girl, The Crown and Skam.
David Opie of Digital Spy praised Young Royals for "cast[ing] actors who actually look the age they are supposed to be playing" and "portray[ing] teenage life with some much-needed authenticity". He described the series as "an updated version of the classic Cinderella story" and concluded that the series "excels most [...] when it comes to the central romance between Wilhelm and Simon". TV critic Flora Carr of Radio Times in a review of the first two episodes described the series as "predictable but heartfelt". She criticised the series' "checklist of teen-romance visuals" and "the plot's reliance on characters like August", but ultimately concluded that "the authentically teenage cast may also prove a breath of fresh air" for younger viewers.
For the second season, Dieter Osswald of Swiss lifestyle magazine Display wrote: "Like stand-up characters, the separated lovers defy their fate and fight for their love. The chemistry between Edvin Ryding as the insecure prince and Omar Rudberg as the sensitive singer works even better than in the first season. Fans of creep August aka Malte Gardinger can look forward to bigger appearances with a strongly expanded role - including a naked phone call with the royal family."
For the third season, Germany's popular site Queer.de wrote: "Convinces with plenty of emotional drama, surprising twists, and more political stance. Are you still watching? Or are you already crying?"