#abdication young royals

[raincitygirl76]

Am I a bad person if reading the above made me cackle with schadenfreude? The fact that Wilhelm handed over this poisoned chalice without malice is just astoundingly delightful.

What’s even better about Augusts fate is that Wille didn’t give him the title out of spite, as a final fuck you of some sorts. No. He’s forgiven August as much as he can. He thinks he’s doing him a favor.

[omrarchive]

[kisstheloststars]

special spinoff episode where we see the quartet on a road trip together, painting each other's nails, getting matching tattoos, and being free

[willestears]

ABDICATION TRUTHERS HOW ARE WE FEELING?!!

[malinthebodyguard]

I know that it may not seem super realistic that the queen just accepts Wilhelm's decision at the end of ep 6. But honestly, I think Kristina had always known that Wilhelm was going to do this.

He said almost exactly the same thing in E1S2 to both her and the court:

Of course, in this scene he's angry and upset. But the fact that he's being an angry teen about it doesn't necessarily make his words untrue. Even before he's CP, Wilhelm begins the story at odds with his roles and the expectations it put on him.

She recognises, of course, that he's being an overdramatic teen. She was probably a bit more dismissive of these comments before Erik died. But after everything that happened, I don't think Kristina has that luxury. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knows that Wilhelm is hanging on by a thread. I think this is why she tries to change the dynamic with him in season 2 and tries to negotiate with him. We can probably also see that reflected through Farima in S3, who's taken over as the person who tries to both appease and direct Wilhelm.

But in the car scene, Wilhelm no longer seems like an emotional teenager, being carried away by his emotions. This is Wilhelm growing up.

Kristina sees this too, sees that this isn' t the tantrum of an angry teen, but the realization of a young man who knows who he is and what he wants.

We're seeing her accept something that she's known, instinctively, was going to happen from the second Wilhelm became the Crown Prince. What can she do but let him go? As neglectful and unfair of a parent as she may be, I do genuinely believe she loves him. Closing that door would have meant losing him forever.

[aledlastbestie]

August getting the crown was a way to punish him for everything he's done

Since season 1 they have been repeating the same phrase "the crown is a privilege, not a punishment", Wille always felt the crown was a punishment while for August it was a privilege, when he still could not fully understand what it really meant to have it.

August had idealized the crown and Wille's life. Wille had his parents, he had Erik as a brother and he had the crown; In August's eyes, Wille had it all, but the reality was that Wille's life was much more complicated and stressful than August believed.

In his last conversation with Vincent and Nils, when August tells them that he is Wille's spare, his friends tell him something like "that's actually a bad thing, being just his cousin you enjoyed the privileges of being related to the royal family without the responsibilities, pressures, obligations, etc. This is going to be better for us because we are your friends and we can enjoy the privileges of being 'the friend of' but you are now going to have the entire burden of the title on your shoulders."

This is when the series shows us that that phrase that they had been telling us since season 1 was not true since the crown is a punishment.

Everything August believed the crown was was fantasy and idealization but the reality of what it means to be the crown prince is much more complex and harsh.

Wille managed to be free by leaving the crown and in a way imprisoning August. He could not report him to the police and have him go to jail for the crime he committed, but he could arrest him with that title and condemn him to an unhappy life.

Now Wille is free but August is not

[k-pepp]

With the final season of YR coming up, I’ve been thinking about Wille’s journey again. Because he’s 16, we won’t know if he actually chooses to renounce his title or remain in his role as future king, but I have a feeling this season will give us an indication which way it will go. So, before we get any type of confirmation, I want to get my current thoughts out. I’m aware that a lot of YR Tumblr skews toward King Wilhelm so my pro-renounce post might not resonate with anyone and that’s ok. I just want to put all my thoughts together before S3 comes along with something that totally blows all my opinions and assumptions out of the water 🙂 I understand the idea of wanting Wille to be King because he could be such a great leader. He is kind and compassionate and can be good at taking charge. BUT just because a person could be good at something, doesn’t mean they should be forced to do it. My number one reason for being in favor of Renouncing his Title is the sheer fact that Wille doesn’t want to be King. He doesn’t want the title. He doesn’t want that life. Wille has been shown a multitude of times talking about how he struggles with the duties that come with being a prince. Whether it’s with Erik:

Or August:

Or Boris:

(honestly, this boy will spill his guts to anyone who is willing to even half listen to him. My god. I’m so glad they gave this poor kid a therapist) He's also talked about how he feels trapped in this position. For him, to renounce the throne would be freedom. Freedom to live a life he actually wants.

Even the mere idea of staying in his current position makes him physically ill.

Some people take the end of episode 2x06 to mean he’s moved beyond all that and accepted his role as the future king. I didn’t personally see it that way. I saw it as a combination of a few things. 1) When come face-to-face with it, he just couldn’t let August give the speech (But the fact that he was initially willing to let someone who distributed revenge porn against him become king really speaks to how much he definitely doesn’t want that position) 2) He didn’t want Simon to have to compromise his happiness and give in to a situation he didn’t actually want 3) He didn’t want to hide anymore. He wanted to be himself. Wille is a person who craves authenticity. Which brings me to a bigger point… Life as the Crown Prince / King is inherently inauthentic. One of the main pro-King arguments is that he would blaze his own trail and do things his way. But how? Being a member of the royal family is a job. The basic responsibilities of that job are to do things like diplomatic visits, hosting events, being part of photo ops, schmoozing with people… pretty much all things having to do with putting on a public persona. It’s great that he could be himself in the sense that he would be the first queer Crown Prince / King, but the baseline duties he would have to fulfill are still inherently inauthentic. And I don’t know how he would “do it his way” aside from just not doing it. He hates putting on fake smiles

the photo ops

the schmoozing with people

Erik even told Wille, the way to get through that stuff is to just pretend to be someone else.

We know he’s capable of doing it. We saw how charming he could be at Parents Day weekend. But that was because he wanted to sit with Simon and impress Simon’s mom. Other than that lunch, he mostly hid in his room. And it goes back to my original point. Just because someone may be good at something doesn’t mean they should be forced to do it. (And yes, even if he walked away from the line of succession, he could still have familial obligations, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the level of what is expected now) At this point, Wille is only continuing as Crown Prince because of a commitment to his family. Mainly Erik.

He doesn’t want to let him down or feel like he’s betraying his legacy. To Wille, Erik was perfect. We only saw two full conversations between them and in both conversations, Erik was telling Wille to get his act together because “it’s not that hard”.

That quote is probably something he told Wille a lot. So much that Wille later regurgitates it to Boris. Three different times.  

Going on to say that Erik could handle everything easily.  

Based on the fact that Erik was going to Boris, he probably wasn’t managing everything with ease. But in Wille’s perception, he was. Wille is basically chasing a ghost. Self-imposed pressure of unattainable perfection. He bears a guilt that pushes him to want to be someone he thinks Erik would be proud of.   The problem with that is, Erik was a monarchist. Maybe he struggled a bit (which is why he went to Boris), but based on the things he would say to Wille, he backed the monarchy / family completely.

Ultimately, I just want Wille to be happy. Maybe S3 will completely change my outlook and I’ll root for him to become king because that’s what he wants. But right now, I think he only wants it out of a sense of obligation to Erik. And honestly…maybe my most controversial opinion…if he did stay in his position because of Erik, he probably wouldn’t change that much within the institution. I mean, he couldn’t change much even if he wanted to. He wouldn’t be allowed to do big things without the consent of the Swedish parliament and maybe a public referendum. And I doubt he’d even have the capability to make small changes. As already pointed out by @piebingo in this great post, Kristina didn’t actually want August to be next in line. But she was overruled. The Royal Court has a lot of power and making any sort of reforms or independent decisions is not that simple. Especially within an establishment that relies on keeping everything exactly the same. But even if that weren’t true. Even if Wille could snap his fingers and make all these huge changes… part of me doesn’t think he would. I know a lot of the folks who are pro-King Wilhelm want him to become the king just so he can completely destroy it from within. But to me, in Wille’s eyes there would be no bigger betrayal to Erik’s legacy than Wille burning the institution to the ground. And if he wants to live up to Erik’s legacy. Not betray him. Not let him down. He will act as he thinks Erik would act. If Wille becomes king because of Erik, he’ll maintain the establishment because of Erik. And he would be miserable doing it. Miserable and without Simon. Yes, my other controversial opinion. If Wille stayed as king, Wilmon wouldn’t make it. Simon is described to us as a socialist. One of his introductory scenes is him calling the monarchy the country’s biggest welfare scammers. I can’t imagine Simon giving up his musical dreams to join an institution that he hates. I also can’t imagine Wille letting him do that. That was such a big part of Wille’s growth in Season 2. Wille wouldn’t let Simon sacrifice his happiness for the sake of his own happiness (being with Simon). Even if Simon didn’t end up pursuing something in music, he made it clear in his talk with Rosh and Ayub that he wants to work hard to make something of himself.

I mean, look at him. Look at this sweet baby angel’s face when he’s told he has an opportunity that will open doors to his future. I can’t imagine him giving up his ambitions or autonomy to become prince consort. Having to live every day under royal rules and protocols. Maybe he would. I personally can’t see it. And finally, I know a main reason people like the idea of King Wille is because we like the idea of a queer king. But as much as we all want queer representation; I don’t think it should be anybody’s responsibility to be the political representation that people want to see. Wille shouldn’t be in a position he hates because he’s queer. A queer person living their life and getting out of a toxic situation is also good representation. A person can’t fix the problem by becoming part of it. Having him be the face of an institution that’s been about exploitation and oppression isn’t going to solve it. It's always been said by Lisa and Edvin that Wille’s problem is not that he’s queer. It’s that he’s a prince. Everything about what’s making him unhappy is about him being prince / the future king. Him walking away from his title would be about him escaping a future that would make him miserable. Personally, that’s what I’m hoping for.

[itsrosiesstuff]

His journey is so personal to me

[raincitygirl76]

You know what I want from S3? A shovel talk. For Simon to reintroduce Wilhelm to Rosh and Ayub, so his boyfriend can get to know his best friends better. And for Rosh and Ayub to pull Wille aside and give him the shovel talk. Because Wille HAS hurt Simon multiple times in the past. Uunintentionally, but that doesn’t change the impact. I want Rosh and Ayub to remind Wille that Simon is giving Wilhelm another chance anyway. And that if Wille turns out to be unworthy of that second chance and breaks Simon’s heart again, he’ll have to answer to Rosh and Ayub.

Yeah, Rosh and Ayub were working with limited information in S2, because their source of information was solely Simon. And of COURSE they backed up their best friend and thought badly of the ex-boyfriend who hurt him so profoundly. And encouraged him to go for a rebound. Get under someone to get over someone, and so forth.

And yes, they probably nearly swallowed their own tongues when Wille brought up the issue of abdication in 2.05. Because him using the A word suggests he’s much more gone on Simon than they thought.

In 2.06 the night before the jubilee when Simon can’t sleep, Ayub is MUCH less judgmental than before. Look at when Simon brings up the idea of being with Wilhelm in secret until he turns 18 and the Queen will let him come out. Ayub clearly isn’t convinced it’s a good idea. But he doesn’t tell Simon again that Wille is a snake, or remind Simon of the laundry list of times Wille has hurt him. Ayub just observes that two years “is a mighty long time, bro.”

What makes this declaration scene even more prettier (for me) is it's because Ayub got to say this lines:

On the earlier episode he stated Wilhelm was toxic so it was a feel good kind of thing for him (and Rosh) to witness what kind of person Simon is to Wilhelm. And how serious their relationship is to the point abdication is part of the vocabulary between them.

Though I cannot blame Ayub for thinking this way, he is a friend who could only get to hear one side, what would he know? Of course he'd defend his friend and curse whoever hurts them. So in the final season, I do hope we get an interaction again where they could have proper conversation.

[frogprinsen]

Wilhelm: I’m sorry, it’s just not working out between us

Wilhelm: It’s been a long time coming

Wilhelm: It had to happen eventually. It’s time to move on

Jan Olof: Crown Prince, you do realize that you can’t… break up… with a country, right?

Wilhelm, in his public speech: I can try.

Kristina: No.

[raincitygirl76]

I know “did he say he would give up the crown for you?” Is an iconic line. That said, I want to inject some realism. Wilhelm CAN’T abdicate until he’s 18. Right now he’s 16 going on 17, and legally still a child. And honestly, for a huge, life-altering decision like that, I wouldn’t expect him to make it at 18. Yeah, 18 is old enough to vote, join the military, and make your own legal decisions, but most people are still pretty emotionally immature at 18. God only knows i was! Abdicating is a massive decision for a teenager.

Plus, even if he abdicates, his face would still be instantly recognizable. His life would probably be closer to normal as the ex-Crown Prince than as the current Crown Prince, but he would never be able to lead an entirely “normal life”. He would probably still need bodyguards for his own safety, but since he would no longer be part of the royal family, he’d have to pay for them himself. At 18, where would he get the money? If he abdicated, Kristina would be furious. I can’t see her setting him up with a trust fund for his post-royal life.

I’m not saying it’s impossible that Wilhelm might abdicate one day. If that’s what makes him happy, he should go for it. But if he does, realistically, I hope he waits until he’s at least finished university. He needs more life experience under his belt before he makes a decision that would affect the entire rest of his life. And would probably result in him becoming permanently estranged from both his parents. I mean, I know Kristina and Ludvig aren’t winning any parents of the year awards, but since Erik’s death, they’re the only immediate family he has left.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Wilhelm exploring the POSSIBILITY of abdication is a very important part of his S2 arc. Therapy with Boris helps him realize he’s allowed not to be grateful for his privilege, because it’s also a burden. He didn’t earn it, he didn’t choose it. Thinking about potential alternate futures is a healthy thing to do when the status quo has you miserable. But exploring a possibility with your therapist isn’t the same thing as pulling the trigger on a life-altering and irrevocable decision that you can’t make yet legally anyway.

Also, S2 Wilhelm is privileged but has zero autonomy. His mother and the royal court shoved him back into the closet in December. When he flipped out in January, his mother ordered his bodyguards to remove him from Hillerska by force. The only reason it didn’t work was all the students outside his room with camera phones. Wilhelm has to eat 3 meals a day, every day, in the same room as the sex offender who put his naked body all over the internet, knowing his mother protected said sex offender over her only surviving child.

In 2.06, Wilhelm coming out isn’t only about his relationship with Simon (although that’s the biggest reason, obviously). It’s also about Wilhelm seizing a chance to make his own decisions for once. Once he’s outed himself to the world on live TV, his parents and the Royal Court no longer control the narrative. They wanted him to keep lying to protect the monarchy’s image, and they would never have wanted him to stop. I know Kristina said he could come out when he turned 18, but i’m pretty sure she was stalling.

Now they have an openly queer Crown Prince, they have much less leverage over him. And I don’t think it’s necessarily being Crown Prince that is what Wilhelm hates most, it’s having no control over his life. If he manages to grab more autonomy for himself, he will feel less helpless. And he may end up coping better with his position as Crown Prince.

He might still abdicate eventually, but the job isn’t necessarily the biggest problem. It’s being treated like a disobedient child by his parents and the Royal Court that stresses him out the most. In S1 he’s forced to make two different media statements that are both lies. The one in 1.01 where he claims he and his parents mutually decided he would enrol at Hillerska, and the one in 1.06 where he claims he wasn’t in the video. He didn’t want to make either statement, but he succumbed to the pressure and did what he was told.

After the jubilee speech in 2.06, it becomes a lot more difficult to force Wilhelm to lie to the press and the public. In fact, putting him in front of the press and the public at ALL becomes problematic in the wake of the jubilee. If he’s gone way off script on live television once, he could do it again. The queen and the royal court will view him as a loose cannon. But they’ll also be forced to negotiate with him, and he’ll be negotiating from a position of strength.

Yeah, in 2.05 Wilhelm says he could give up the throne to be with Simon. And I’m sure he means it. Also, it’s possible he hasn’t connected the dots yet and realized a minor can’t abdicate. But that isn’t a decision he could take tomorrow. The biggest takeaway from that line, I think, is that he’s contemplating a step that big at all. It’s narrative shorthand for “I love you. You matter to me. The chance to be with you is more important than all the status and money.”

Also, that line, as much as I want it on a t-shirt, isn’t the most important part of that scene. Wilhelm gives the decision to Simon. He acknowledges he shouldn’t have kept the truth about August from Simon, and he’s trying to make amends by giving Simon control. Simon can choose to press charges against August, in which case Wilhelm will feel obliged to stay Crown Prince, or let August off the hook, in which case Wilhelm could eventually let August take over.

But Wille makes it clear that’s Simon’s decision to make, it’s not just symbolic, and it’s not a decision Simon has to wait to make until he’s 18. Wilhelm promises he will abide by whatever Simon decides. And then he does! Simon chooses going to the cops over letting August get away with it and potentially getting back together with a Wilhelm who plans to abdicate. Wilhelm, although clearly terrified, doesn’t try to talk him out of it.

If Wilhelm has zero autonomy in S2, Simon’s autonomy is a negative integer. He didn’t get to pretend he wasn’t in the video, because everyone could see his face. He’s been fucked over repeatedly by multiple different people. Including his sister, August, Jan-Olof, the queen, his ex-boyfriend, his new boyfriend, and his parents. Micke is, well, Micke. And Linda is so happy he’s dating that nice steady Marcus she ignores the inconvenient fact that her son is acutely uncomfortable when she talks about the guy. Read the room, Linda!

Yeah, Wilhelm meant what he said to Simon about abdication in 2.05, but at their age, it’s a symbolic gesture. The more important thing was that he let Simon decide how to handle whether to press charges against August. Even when Simon made the decision that was rejecting Wilhelm’s offer to abdicate. Wilhelm doesn’t just want to seize autonomy for himself, he wants Simon to have autonomy too.

Poor boy needed a few minutes to process all that (or maybe days)

[goldenwilmon]

I’ve always felt like “Matilda” is a very Wilhelm-coded song, but after watching ep5 in season 3, I feel that even more

Because

“You can let it go,

You can throw party full of everyone you know,

And not invite your family,

‘Cause they never showed you love,

You don’t have to be sorry for leaving and growing up.”

🥲🥲🥲🥲

[hehehereliesmysanity]

Running with a crown on your head

A resolution

Written on your hands

[willestears]

we hear wille saying this in the trailer after kristina says “you have to be able to take over after me”, but we know now that’s not what wille said in that scene, they really fooled me into believing this was him hinting to abdication.

I still hope he is referring to his role here though-

[raincitygirl76]

I’m not against Wilhelm abdicating, I just wanted better writing along the way in S3. As someone else (I forget who, unfortunately) said, my criticisms of S3 are with the execution, not the intent. It might have been @resipsaloquitace who said that first, but I really can’t remember.

In an interview of LA Times Lisa says “For me, the ultimate conclusion is Wilhelm understanding his position, saying no to it, choosing freedom, and then having this moment with Simon."

Sorry, what? I must have missed the part where Wille understood his position. In the show Wille knows ridiculously little about the monarchy or about being the Crown Prince. Let me do a recap:

~In season one Kristina says that she and Erik had time to be prepared for their role and Wilhelm did not.

~After Erik dies Kristins suggests that Wille should sit in the morning meeting to learn how they work.

~Wille didn't have any idea how to date as a prince and had to ask Nils for advice.

~In season three the court planned a Prince school for him because he hadn't had a chance to grasp what being the Crown Prince entails.

~When Simon asks Wille what he likes about monarchy, Wille gives a very lame school book answer, like he has no personal connection to the monarchy.

It's hard to believe that Wilhelm grew up in this system but was touched by it so very little. Being royal is his family and culture.

At least there is consistency in how out of it Wilhelm is and how little he cares about his duties. And that's fair, Young Royals is a story about a prince who doesn't want to be a prince. But don't try to tell me Wille understood his position.

What's the choise between love and duty if Wille never wanted the duty and didn't even understand what it was?

I can't help but to feel that it made the supposed central conflict of the show quite boring.

[aledlastbestie]

I just noticed 3 things about this posters

They are progressively moving further and further away from school in each poster.

It is only in the season 3 poster that we can see the flag

(Credits to my friend @simonloveswille on twitter for this one) Wille is turning his back on the flag to see Simón

ABDICATION THUNDERS LET'S GO