Young Royals Season 3 is a rollercoaster of emotions as it puts the romance of Wilhelm and Simon in jeopardy in the final ever chapters. There are also plenty of exciting subplots involving Sara and August. I’ve broken down the key moments of Season 3 into this compressed recap.
Episode 1
Christian Hillborg as Rickard in Young Royals Season 3 (Credit – Netflix)
In the opening episode of Season 3, The Crown’s legal team holds a meeting, discussing a settlement rather than a trial over the scandal from the leaked sex tape. Simon’s mother is furious and wants justice to be served against August. However, Simon feels different — he wants it to be over. In a moment of blackmail, August’s father accuses Wilhelm of selling drugs and wants August to be the next in line for Crown Prince as part of the settlement. Alternatively, if they disagree, he will bring the drug dealings to light. Of course, this tense affair makes Simon and August enemies.
Afterward, Simon is furious at his sister Sara for the entire ordeal and blames her for making it worse. At school, Simon and Wilhelm continue their relationship publically — they care less that eyes are on them despite social media getting uglier in the comment sections. Feeling guilt from her involvement, Sara leaves her and stays with her father after her fallout with Simon.
As the episode ends, an allegation is aimed at the school which involves hazing and bullying following the leak of the sex tape, and it is reported in the media. A new acting principal is hired, and she applies strict rules, including a curfew to all students. The acting principal warns that the school could be closed down.
Episode 2
Frida Argento as Sara in Young Royals Season 3 (Credit – Netflix)
With school restrictions in place, Simon and Wilhelm miss each other and they’ve had to resort to phone sex. Senior students start blaming Wilhelm for the restrictions, but a guilty-looking August wants graduates to support the school to avoid closure. He’s trying to make amends. The acting Principal speaks to Felice privately. She asks her if she’s happy at the school and is told inspectors are coming and she’ll be interviewed.
Eventually, students get accustomed to the curfews and restrictions, and Wilhelm finds opportunities to spend more time with Simon, by quitting rowing and joining the singing class. August and Wilhelm finally bump into each other at school and end up fighting in the library. The Crown orders that they both attend mediation once a week.
Simon releases a love song on social media. Wilhelm’s mother warns her son about this kind of behavior, insisting that throwing fuel on the fire will only make it worse for their institution. Wilhelm tries to tell Simon to take it down in the kindest way possible.
As for Sara, she is warned that if she doesn’t return to the school, she will lose her spot.
Near the end of the episode, there’s a school camping trip. While camping, Simon is annoyed at Wilhelm and expresses how privileged he is. As the episode ends, Wilhelm gets a call that his mother is on sick leave, hinting that she is depressed.
Episode 3
Malte Gårdinger as August in Young Royals Season 3 (Credit – Netflix).
After hearing that she is sick, Wilhelm calls his mother. She tells him not to worry but admits she’s struggling. His time for the throne is looming. As for Simon, he continues to be harassed online as he reads the nasty comments about him. He expresses how upset he is about it, but Wilhelm tells Simon his life is like this every day due to his position in the monarchy.
August asks Wilhelm to sign a petition before the inspection, which supports the school, but Wilhelm tells him he cannot sign a petition as Crown Prince. The inspectors interview Felice but she looks very unsure of herself. Afterward, August hands the petition to the inspectors highlighting how much the students love the school.
August finally sees Sara and introduces himself to her father. He apologizes to her and blames himself for everything — he admits he misses her and begs her to come back to the school. Meanwhile, the acting principal approves the celebration of Walpurgis and allows a ceremony for the graduates.
As the evening dawns, Wilhelm and Simon have sex. Despite the complications, they still can’t get enough of each other. They share their love for each other. Simon asks Wilhelm how he can trust anyone after everything that’s happened. Wilhelm assures him he can trust him.
Sara returns home to see her father sleeping. She suspects he’s been drinking again (he’s a recovering alcoholic). When he wakes up, she tells him she’s returning to school.
Episode 3 ends with Simon sharing a post on Instagram with a fan who approached him. Behind him in the photo, there’s a protest for workers’ rights and equal pay. The Crown tells Wilhelm that they need to stop Simon. Wilhelm rings Simon and tells him to stop, but Simon puts the phone down as he realizes there are police in his home. Someone has thrown an object through a window in his house.
Episode 4
(L to R) Samuel Astor as Nils, Nils Wetterholm as Vincent in Young Royals
Simon is shaken after the attack on his home. He tells Wilhelm that his mother is thinking about moving the family. Wilhelm asks Simon if he’s against the monarchy after attending a protest that goes against the country’s ideals. He reminds him that the monarchy is a symbol. Simon makes his feelings clear with his anti-monarchy thoughts.
Due to increased security risks, The Crown visits Simon and his family. They tell Simon to keep a low profile. Afterward, Simon tells Wilhelm he can use his influence to fight for causes he cares about, but Wilhelm states it’s not his place to take a position.
Vincent gathers students in the great hall for a demonstration. Vincent gives a speech — he explains how he wants to go on a sit-down strike against the school’s new strict policies. Wilhelm wants Simon to take part in the sit-down and show solidarity, but Simon is upset that no one has taken solidarity with him and walks away.
The Acting Principal warns all students to move from the floor or she will be contacting parents. However, Vincent and the students do not back down. In response, the Acting Principal locks the cafeteria and the doors so they cannot leave or have food. Tensions rise in the sit-down protest as hunger starts to consume them. Simon and Wilhelm agree to stop fighting with each other and admit they are different people.
The sit-down lasts all night. The Acting Principal opens the door and tells them that breakfast is served. However, Vincent asks her to ease restrictions or they’ll go to the media about how they starved them. The Principal gives them their phones back during school hours.
Before mediation, August tells Wilhelm that he does not know his brother Erik well. Wilhelm detests that, angry that August would say such a thing. August asks him if he knows about the abusive initiation reported in the papers — he tells him that Erik arranged it all and hurt a lot of people. You can see how pained August looks as he tells this story, and Wilhelm looks troubled.
Episode 5
(L to R) Edvin Ryding as Wilhelm, Omar Rudberg as Simon in Young Royals Season 3.
Wilhelm is struggling with the story that his brother Erik organized the abusive initiations at school. He tries to speak to his father about it, but he’s too busy. He tells Simon about what he’s learned. Simon tries to reassure him and theorizes that maybe Erik was peer pressured. Afterward, Simon expresses to his mother that he and Wilhelm keep fighting and he does not know how to stop it.
In a sad state of affairs, Sara’s father is drinking again, and she speaks to Simon about it. She’s incredibly upset. She apologizes to him, and Simon forgives her for her involvement in the scandal.
As Episode 5 moves forward, Simon finds a way into Wilhelm’s dorm for his birthday. And then, Wilhelm attends a birthday ceremony event set up by The Crown, and he’s joined by August and Simon. Wilhelm doesn’t want August at the birthday dinner and asks the team to escort him out of the building.
Wilhelm’s parents greet Simon. The father has a lot of questions, while the mother is reserved and silent, showing very little interest apart from talking about Erik. Wilhelm is irked by his mother’s lack of effort.
An angry August attends the graduate dinner. He gets very drunk and his peers encourage him. The dinner turns into a party and funny awards are handed out. August managed to speak to Sara privately and asks if she read the letter he gave her. Sara hands the letter back as she doesn’t want to read it. August reads the letter to her instead — it’s a letter to himself in the futurel. He shows Sara the man he thought he wanted to be, but who he doesn’t want to be anymore. He wants to be different for Sara. It’s a moment that shows August has changed, and Sara kisses him, signifying that they will be together.
Simon wants to leave the birthday dinner, but Wilhelm is furious with him, telling him he’s had to put up with this for years with his family. The birthday cake arrives and the mother wants to go to bed. Wilhelm is frustrated and asks his mother to stay. She expresses that nothing has been the same since Erik died. Wilhelm insists he needed his parents during this time and he’s animated and angry. He calls his parents useless, upsetting them both, and ending his birthday event terribly.
Afterward, Wilhelm apologizes to Simon for how hard it has been. Simon says “Love shouldn’t be this hard” and is doubting they can work and states he can no longer do the relationship.
Episode 6
Omar Rudberg as Simon (L) and Edvin Ryding as Wilhelm (R) in Young Royals Season 3 Episode 6 (Credit – Netflix)
Simon and Wilhelm are broken up in the finale of Season 3, but there are plenty of other subplots to attend to as their relationship concludes. Firstly, Hillersha is shut down once and for all, causing the students to feel panicked. Of course, they decide to have one last big party to drown their sorrows.
At the party, Wilhelm and August manage to reconcile. Wilhelm apologizes for what his brother Erik did to him at the initiation, and August tells Wilhelm that his brother loved him. Afterward, in a heartbreaking moment, Sara breaks up with August for good, leaving him absolutely devastated.
As the party roars on, Wilhelm and Simon agree to have one more night together without any pressure, however this comes with emotions, as they both cannot comprehend that they are breaking up.
At graduation the next day, Wilhelm’s parents surprisingly attend. The mother apologizes to Wilhelm for not being there for him, and Wilhelm accepts her plea for forgiveness. As the day comes to a close, Wilhelm tells his mother he does not want to be King. She reluctantly accepts his decision to remove himself from succession, and she shows no anger at his decision.
Knowing what’s best for him, Wilhelm runs after Simon and tells him he will no longer be part of the succession to the throne for the Royal Family. Following this, Simon and Wilhelm agree to be together again, and they give the fans one final kiss to say goodbye to a well-loved series and popular relationship.
I also wrote a full breakdown of Young Royals Season 3 Episode 6.
And there you have it. Our recap of Young Royals Season 3? What was your favorite episode? Was there a best moment? Comment below.
RELATED:
