Started July 1, 2021 · Ended · Based on 3 seasons, 18 episodes through March 18, 2024 · TV-MA · 45 min · Swedish
Prince Wilhelm is the younger son of Sweden’s royal family. After a public fight, his parents send him to Hillerska, an expensive boarding school where he must live beside rich students and his cousin August. Wilhelm falls in love with Simon, a singer from a family with less money who attends the school but does not live there. The show mixes tender romance with grief, school drama, sex, family pressure, and tense royal secrets.
Wilhelm’s struggle to live openly with Simon drives all three seasons. The story treats their relationship as real love and shows secrecy, shame, online abuse, and the fear that Wilhelm’s royal job may crush it. Simon faces class barriers, while Sara tries to fit into the wealthy school world and Felice faces pressure about being a black girl at a rich school. The final season makes the conflict more public as Hillerska faces reports of abuse and Wilhelm must choose royal duty or a freer life with Simon.
Community feedback
Was our 88% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Young Royals.
Woke representation / casting
The show makes a gay prince and a working-class boy the main couple. The show gives Simon and Sara an immigrant family background and gives Felice a smaller but clear story about being a black girl at a rich school. Netflix also presents the series as LGBTQ+ television. The score comes from the repeated identity focus and public framing, not from diversity alone.
62%
Woke political dialogue
Simon questions royal privilege and the school’s old rules in class and through his songs. Wilhelm and Simon repeatedly discuss whether the monarchy can accept a gay heir. Season 3 adds direct talk about racism, online abuse, religious shame, and who gets heard at school. These lines recur across the seasons, but they usually serve the romance and school drama instead of stopping the plot for speeches.
48%
Identity-driven story themes
Wilhelm’s love for Simon drives the whole show. The story follows Wilhelm coming out, living with shame and public pressure, and choosing freedom over a royal role. Simon refuses to stay a secret, so the romance also becomes a fight over dignity and power. Season 3 adds Felice’s race, class, and school belonging as a smaller but clear identity story.
94%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show repeatedly presents the monarchy and Hillerska as systems built on rank, secrecy, and old rules. The students protect hazing, special treatment, and silence while poorer students face the cost. Season 3 pairs the school’s abuse crisis with stories about racism, online attacks, and wealthy students refusing to listen. Wilhelm’s final choice to reject the throne makes the challenge to these institutions central to the ending.
72%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Young Royals is an original story about a fictional Swedish royal family and Hillerska. It does not change an older character, real figure, or known source story.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Fan discussion posts quote hostile comments on Netflix’s Instagram that called the show a “gay agenda” and threatened to cancel Netflix. Those comments treated the central same-sex romance as harmful messaging. The reaction appears small and isolated, and major coverage focused on the show’s popularity and ending instead.
15%
Creator track record context
Lisa Ambjörn has the strongest supplied context, with a 70/100 score for identity-focused writing and public comments about representation. Rojda Sekersöz and Kristina Humle also have supplied records tied to migration, gender, and women-centered stories. Other writers and directors range from moderate identity themes to ordinary television work. Lars Beckung and the producers have little public activist record, so the full team supports a moderate-to-high creator track record score.
56%
Production
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