“It is like drunk dialling your ex” – The Young Royals cast divulges what to expect from the final season

For three years, Young Royals has held its audience in a chokehold. With heart-racing, intrigue, forbidden romance and swoon-worthy chemistry, it is a season with “high peaks and low lows,” according to Edvin Ryding, who plays Wilhelm in the show. A sentiment quickly backed by co-stars Omar Rudberg [Simon], Frida Argento [Sara] and Malte Gårdinger [August].

Leaving us on a cliffhanger at the end of the last season, Wilhelm’s speech has consequences not only for the court but also for the boarding school Hillerska, which faces the worst crisis in its history. Our favourite royal couple – Wilhelm and Omar Rudberg’s Simon, dubbed by fans as ‘Wilmon’ – is determined to be together but struggles when duty and traditional ideals get in the way.

Since the start, the series has explored sensitive queer themes – a focus carried into its final season, with Wilhelm facing the consequences – and potential public fall-out – from his royal LGPTQ+ romance. “A big theme throughout this last season is the public versus the private, what you’re willing to share as a person in the spotlight,” says Ryding. An experience to which the cast as a whole can relate. “We’ve kind of made that journey ourselves,” says Rudberg, referencing his own meteoric rise to fame. “It helped when we shot those scenes together to draw on our real experiences.”

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Head writer and co-creator Lisa Ambjörn stated in a previously stated: “I’ve always imagined Young Royals being told in three parts, and because of the fans’ dedication to our story, we get to tell the last one. The ending has been clear to me from the start, and I’m so thankful and honoured to get to finish this tale as intended.” “It is really amazing getting to do the full arch, all three seasons,” adds Rudberg. “I think the show needed it,” says Ryding.

Watching the last episode six months after wrapping was an emotional affair for the entire cast. “It felt like drunk dialling your ex,” says Argento of the experience, with Ryding, Rudberg and Gårdinger vehemently agreeing. “It was just so hard to watch. I thought I had moved on and left Sara behind me, but there she was.” Tears have been shed with a self-described “cocky” Argento breaking into “the ugliest cry you’ve ever seen” on her final day and Rudberg needing a tissue on more than one occasion. “I’ve cried multiple times,” he admits.

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While they may no longer play their beloved Netflix characters, they still remain with the cast, according to Ryding. “Of course they do,” he says. “I think Simon and this experience has taught me not to be too much of a control freak,” says Rudberg, who notes that his background in music allowed him more creative control than his foray into acting. “Sara taught me to be more confident,” adds Argento, while Gårdinger explains how he really enjoyed the familial feeling within the cast. “They’ve all really inspired me,” he says.

As for saying a proper goodbye to the beloved cast, fans will have to wait for the last episode to air on March 18th. “I was shocked,” says Rudberg of the finale. “I really didn’t know how it would end.” “It is open-ended in a way, very much based on the choices of our characters,” adds Ryding, adding that he found the ending unpredictable. “The last episode is really strong, but it wasn’t what I expected.”

The third and final season of Young Royals comprises six episodes: the first five of which are available on Netflix now, and the finale premiers on March 18th.