Being LGBTQ+ in “Young Royals” and “Red, White & Royal Blue”
The Royal Contrasts of a Narrative Genre
Monuments, attires and mythology have been built around the great houses of the nobility since the very existence of a politically organized civilization. The common man, for centuries, has thought of the members of these families, more than mundane individuals, as the representation of an ancestral ideology.
They present themselves as creatures who have transcended the earthly state; remembering that in the past they declared to be closer to gods than humans. Honour, service and fatherland are the pillars of their identity, with which they govern their decision-making. Or at least that's the corporate myth. Cause, with titles that are more like traditions and institutions whose only vigour is tourism, the modern appreciation of “royalty” lies in its inexorable narrative folklore.
They are the protagonists of the first stories we hear. With them brandishing swords, living in palaces or wearing jewels of immeasurable value. Boys want to be strong like them and girls long to fall in love with them. A social convention that, although attempts have been made to reverse it since the new millennium, has laid the foundations of its tradition so deep in the collective imagination, that even these dynamics continue to be portrayed in current series and films.
The new twist to the stories would be presented as LGBTQ+ characters. A premise whose arrival on the small screen is natural, given the latest discursive trends that the social climate has triggered in recent years. With social movements in defence of true respect for human rights, these communities permeated the collective understanding of human conscience in marches, protests, legislation and, of course, art. Obtaining as a result a film legacy that made Young Royals and Red White Royal & Blue possible.
Two sides of the same illustrious coin?
Henry, Prince of England, and Wilhelm, Prince of Sweden, are two fictional characters inspired by the royalty that prevails today. Both the second sons, oblivious to the game of thrones until the death of a close member of their family and reluctant to express to the world that they are men who love men. Contrary to what the monarchy expects of them, they cannot achieve communion with the conservative ideology that has been instilled in them from birth and that they are expected to defend throughout their lives. However, their personal journeys, triggered by meeting that person, will lead them to contradict everything they once believed their life would be.
The plot similarities between both princes have been noticed by more than one person on the internet. Starting from the premise of duty to society and individual desire to want. This is a universal feeling in the LGBTQ+ community that has touched them in similar but different ways. Mainly from the reflection that people from similar contexts can end up in opposite places of life given the external forces they oppose.
In 2021, Netflix brought Wilhelm's story. A teenager who, upon entering a boarding school in Sweden, falls in love with Simon. A boy of Latin descent who has had to use his academic merits to access a private education; unlike his more privileged companions like Wilhelm. The prince and the commoner share an almost instantaneous connection that they cannot resist exploring, ending in a relationship that they keep secret given the refusal that the Swedish monarchy predisposes them to.
In Young Royals, the main obstacle to the couple's happiness is the pressure of maintaining an impeccable public image, which Wilhelm has to deal with. After the death of his older brother, he is required to rise to the conservative expectations of the Swedish monarchy. Which directly contradicts his desire to maintain a normal relationship with Simon. So Wilhelm struggles for three seasons with the fact that his happiness means a possible destabilization of the public perception of royalty. His struggle is to decide if what he really wants is to continue participating in the monarchy or just to be free of it.
Two years later, Prime would introduce us to Henry. The second in the line of English succession, whom we will meet from the perspective of Alex, the Latino son of the first female president of the United States. With an initial rejection, which progressively dissolves after a series of sincere conversations, both political figures begin a clandestine romance. Which none of them dare to reveal because of the certain sociopolitical reprisals that would await them.
In Red, White & Royal Blue, the problem arises from both sides; with a special emphasis on Henry being the most punished by the institution to which he belongs if his sexuality is made known. Even though the two are accustomed to the public sphere, nothing prepares them for the intense media scrutiny that a statement of this magnitude implies. In his case, it is again the context of the prince that conditions the relationship. With the difference that Henry is completely certain that what he wants is to use his voice, not that of the monarchy, to make a difference for himself in the world.
Even though both address the politicization of sexual orientation, specifically due to its royal status, the narratives of Wilhelm and Henry are two independent proposals; with enough personality to differentiate them from their shared plot. The great differentiator: the genre with which they choose to articulate their stories.
Henry's Story vs. Wilhelm's Revolution.
Neither the series nor the movie sells a retelling for no reason to exist. Even when the commercial purpose gives the green light for the creation of products for streaming, it is palpable that they were conceived from a communicative need.
Emerging from a book, written by the American mind of Casey McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue hits the small screen as the romantic comedy of the weekend. Without many pretensions about what she aspires to be, she understands that she must return to the practices of the formula to tell an endearing story that manages to please the viewer with the story. With friendly personalities, great romantic gestures and the happy ending that we all want, it fulfils its purpose of offering youth good representation.
In the film, one of the emblematic moments arises with Alex's proposal to Henry to make history together. Alex has shared her secret affair with Henry with her mother, as she tells him in one of the many emails they exchange. In it, she reflects on the possibility that the world will one day know that they loved each other, warning of the historical value that it would imply, not only in the present but for their legacies in the collective memory. Henry, who is initially entertained by the idea, reaffirms the relevance of his association by responding with "History, huh?"
The meaning of his private occurrence would be transformed when his private correspondence is leaked to the press. With the phrase mobilizing and being adopted by those who support their love, it becomes an emblem of the LGBTQ+ community in the film's universe. Well, each of the people who support the couple is a faithful believer that a relationship between the first son of America and the prince of England has the power to change the perception of their fight.
On their side of the continent, the trifecta composed of Lisa Ambjörn, Lars Beckung and Camilla Holter revisits the passages of their adolescence to bring Young Royals. In three seasons, with the last one being released this March, the series delves into the youthful angst of the new generation with an ensemble of everyday characters; excluding their socioeconomic position. There are parties in which you must dance, classes in which you must avoid falling asleep, and the pressure to fulfil your social role in the school environment. With cinematic moments and dialogue that shows you and doesn't explain you, Young Royals delivers a charming teen drama.
In the series, Simon expresses to Wilhelm in the most sincere way he knows how, the vehemence of his love: in a song. At the beginning of the last season, Simon sings on social networks about being a revolution, an event that goes viral to the displeasure of the Swedish crown, who do not want to be associated as a disruptive institution and prefer that the couple keep a low profile; almost imperceptible to citizens. A barrier that conditions their relationship throughout the entire series.
The phrase would return in the imagination of Wilhelm and Simon when the latter composed his own song for his birthday. In it, he confides that they were “a revolution, even if they were just for each other.” This statement not only emphasizes the personal impact they had on each other's lives but also recognizes how together they have challenged social norms and the institutional pressures of having loved ones in the face of social discomfort. For, however briefly, Wilhelm represented the community as a leader with the guts to challenge traditional notions of service.
Wilhelm, who in the final episode would have chosen the duties of the crown, was willing to give up his courtship with Simon, only to change his mind at the last moment to gamble on his own happiness, not that of the institution. For Wilhelm, this decision represents a risk as radical as it is decisive for the direction of his life. In his understanding, it is his revolution to give up his royal position to pursue his freedom and authenticity. He chooses to be brave, rather than obedient, to ensure that his personal well-being is never endangered again.
Due to its narrative value, Young Royals will be remembered as one of the most notable coming-of-age of recent times. With cinematographic elements that enhance the emotional complexity, from the innocence of its characters, it is a work sensitive to the LGBTQ+ adolescent experience. For its part, with protagonists already in their twenties, Red White & Royal Blue resorts to the idyll of a rom-com, Where a pink filter beautifies the world, the harshness of the real world, to embrace adversity in a happily ever after.