In season 3 of Young Royals, Wilhelm and Simon’s relationship has to face the pressures of being in the public eye. The episodes are streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
After Wilhelm’s big revelation, his family along with Simon’s are called in for settlement talks with August and his lawyer.
No one wants the issue to go to trial and August agrees to keep silent about Simon and Wilhelm’s various indiscretions as well.
Sara refuses to return to Hillerska and stays at home all the time. At one point, she visits her father and asks if she can stay with him.
Now that Wilhelm and Simon are publicly a couple, Simon is asked to lay low to not draw too much attention, and that includes on social media.
Ever since Wilhelm decided to speak out during his speech, former students began speaking out against the horrific initiations they used to have in past years.
The stories bring bad press to the school and its new acting principal, Vanessa Hamilton, comes in to tell them that strict restrictions are being laid down.
Felice is struggling with the betrayal she felt from Sara, and her other friends attempt to cheer her up.
Wilhelm tells August to stay away from him and Simon during school, and August wants to find a way to overcome the guilt and shame he’s feeling.
The students aren’t happy with the restrictions, especially the third years who are missing out on the fun of graduation year.
Simon is receiving a lot of homophobic hate online and isn’t taking it too well. It causes some tension between him and Wilhelm because the prince comes from a place of privilege.
Wilhelm is worried because his mother’s health isn’t great but he also feels overwhelmed by the pressures of his title.
He is not able to share the burden with Simon, the same way Simon cannot talk about his problems with Wilhelm.
They come from distinctly different backgrounds which doesn’t give them the perspective they need to help each other.
Felice does feel like the culture at Hillerska is a little toxic, even though her friends don’t see it the same way.
She opens up when investigators come in from the school inspectorate to find out more about the bullying culture in the school.
Sara decides to return to school after August pleads with her. She believes things are getting better with her father, but he abandons her one day to go for a drink with friends.
Simon is forced to delete his social media accounts for the sake of his relationship with Wilhelm. Rosh and Ayub worry that he will have to forget who is too.
The students organize a sit-in protest to get the restrictions eased, and Principal Hamilton eventually relents and makes a deal with them.
August tells Wilhelm that Erik was among the third years who used to bully him and carried out the horrific initiations when August was in his first year.
Wilhelm’s whole image of Erik is shattered and he doesn’t know how to feel about this information that he’s been given.
Ending explained:
The weight of the crown
On Wilhelm’s birthday, the Royal Court arranged for him to start a charitable foundation and get him started on his royal duties.
They give him a few basic options and he and Simon look over. Simon asks him why he cannot start a foundation about something he cares about like mental health or LGBTQ+.
Wilhelm says that he cannot be seen making a political statement or taking a side, and doesn’t care what the foundation is focused on.
On that day, he and Wilhelm attend the public event, along with August. Wilhelm’s parents are unable to attend so August is asked to help out.
The event goes on without issue, but Wilhelm tells his people that he doesn’t want August back at his house for the celebration.
Taking a big step
The graduation dinner is taking place at Hillerska where the third years are being served by the first and second years.
August wasn’t planning on attending but after Wilhelm’s order, he had no choice but to attend.
He appears to have a good time, but on the inside, he isn’t doing too well. The students get back the letters that they wrote to their future selves in the first year.
August decides to read his letter in front of Sara, and in the letter, he talks about the difficult time he went through back then.
Sara feels empathetic toward him and hugs him. Another student sees this and tells Felice, who just starting to warm up to Sara again.
Emotional outburst
Wilhelm and Simon head back home for a more private celebration with the Duke and the Queen.
It starts well but Wilhelm gets frustrated when he notices that his mother isn’t entirely present for their conversations and keeps bringing up Erik.
Simon feels awkward and suggests that he head back since he feels out of place but Wilhelm gets mad at him for not staying by his side during a difficult time.
Later on, Wilhelm decides he’s had enough and pops off at his parents. He tells them that they didn’t give him a chance to mourn his brother’s passing.
They put the country’s feelings on top and weren’t even there for him as parents. He brings up all of his mother’s mistakes since his brother’s passing and she storms off in tears.
Simon later tells Wilhelm that even though they share so much love for each other, he cannot continue being with Wilhelm because of his other side.
The pressures of being crown prince weigh heavily on Wilhelm, and Simon feels affected by it too.
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