Young Royals Stars Edvin Ryding, Omar Rudberg & More Say Goodbye to “Revolutionary” Series
“I actually got the courage to come out as gay myself, and during these years I have found myself, met the love of my life, moved in with her, and we’re actually engaged now,” says Bäckström, adding that the series has encouraged young people to “finally be brave enough to express themselves.”
Bäckström believes it’s become somewhat “more natural and less shameful to come out as queer” following the global reception of the series. “The fact that LGBT+ is [featured] in a Swedish series has meant a lot for Sweden,” she says. “Even though Sweden, apart from other countries, has come a long [way] on the road to full acceptance, it also shows that it is still not always easy. It shows a lot of setbacks and challenges but also how beautiful and innocent love is.”
“I wanna hug my little self and say, Astrid, please be true to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you for being who you are,” Bäckström says. “Young Royals will always remain in the hearts of many, including mine. World over. Not just in Sweden. I believe Young Royals is the start of our revolution.”
Karin Boye’s poem “You Are My Purest Comfort” is one of Ambjörn’s favorites by the Swedish novelist, as it reads like a benediction. “You are my purest comfort, my most steadfast shelter, you are the best I have, for nothing hurts as much as you,” Boye writes, translated into English. That feeling, the dichotomy of comfort and pain, is at the heart of the show.
“It’s Wilhelm and Simon, and it’s all love,” Ambjörn says. “It’s not saying it should be toxic. Love is also a pain, and inevitably you end up losing each other to death anyway. No matter how great you’ve had it, there is pain. And if we try to avoid that, then we’re not experiencing love.”
Robert Eldrim/Netflix
Wilmon’s intimate scene shot at Lake Mälaren sits fresh in Ambjörn’s memory. The evening was calm, bees hovered around. The wood opened to the water; Ryding and Rudberg walked into the lake, framed by towering trees like a chapel. Something spiritual, almost divine occurred. “It’s the rebirth,” Ambjörn says, “They are being reborn in this moment, this is like the queer trinity. Of love and acceptance, of pain, of hurt, of everything they’ve been through, of accepting, of seeing each other.”
The wide shot of Simon and Wilhelm, stepping into the lake naked, is queer art worth protecting. “It’s one of the most beautiful shots in the whole—” Ryding pauses, and before he can say “series,” Rudberg chimes in with “world.” They laugh.
“It was the end of shooting Young Royals, but the scene that we were shooting was also the end of Wille and Simon’s relationship,” Rudberg says of the scene, also captured in Young Royals Forever, the accompanying tribute documentary on Netflix. “When we were off-camera, it was hard to switch and just be normal again, because it was the last day.”
