While August appears eager for Wilhem to assimilate with his blue-blooded classmates, the young prince seems more interested in getting to know Simon (Omar Rudberg), a “non-res” student who lives off-campus with his lower-middle-class family. Serving as Wilhem’s guide, his second cousin August (Malte Gårdinger) epitomizes all the class snobbery and self-importance one might expect from an aristocrat. The brothers’ William-and-Harry-esque dynamic offers non-Swedish viewers something recognizable, as we’re led into this otherwise arcane and peculiar world of old money.
After he’s caught on video brawling at a party, his parents ship Wilhelm off to Hillerska, the same boarding school that counts his older brother Erik (Ivar Forsling), the crown prince, among their illustrious alumni. Ripe for high drama, the main storyline follows a prince named Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding), the younger of the Swedish royal family’s two sons.
And like its predecessors, the series has been lauded for casting actual teenagers. Young Royals leans into many well-worn tropes of the genre-such as an exclusive boarding school, the navigation of social hierarchies, and forbidden love-while maintaining a contemporary and fresh perspective. It’s up there with the UK’s Skins (2007–2013) and compares to Norway’s Skam (2015), which has since been adapted in eight other countries. Netflix’s latest bingeable import may be one of the best teen soaps I’ve watched in decades.