Royalteen takeaway: True love is acceptance

Royalteen premiered on Netflix on August 17, 2022, and brought with it an exciting premise on a tried and tested formula.

The Norwegian film follows Prince Karl Johan (Mathias Storhøi) and Lena's (played by Ines Høysæter Asserson) love story through the tumultuous teenage phase of two people from extremely different backgrounds. This love story is complicated by some huge secrets Lena hides from her lover.

The inconsistent but entertaining film has a lot of material to keep things interesting for the audience. Adapted from a famous novel by Randi Fuglehaug and Anne Gunn Halvorsen titled Arvingen, the film tackles some bold topics like teenage pregnancy. It also leaves behind some valuable lessons about love and acceptance.

Read on to find the takeaway from Royalteen.

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How does Royalteen establish the value of true love?

Royalteen deals with a love story between Prince Kalle and Lena. Lena is a newbie in the school, who instantly attracts the attention of the crown prince at the school. From the very beginning, Lena's past is shown in flashes, creating an ample amount of mystery and intrigue.

When her secret comes out through Kalle's sister, it is a great shock. The film carefully hides the real secret of Lena's past for the majority of its duration, misdirecting the audience into thinking that her tabloid career is the reason for her running away. However, the film later reveals that Lena had become pregnant at 16, and the kid she introduces as her brother is actually her son.

Upon finding this out, Margrethe (Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne) asks her to stay away from her brother, which she complies with. However, after a few jarring events, Lena publicly admits that Theodor is her son. Thankfully, her classmates and friends meet this revelation with a massively positive response.

On the day of her prom, one of her friends comes to pick her up. Lena reluctantly goes to the prom and receives a surprise. Kalle gets up on the stage and sings the song that Lena is named after. This is his gesture of acceptance. By doing this, Kalle clarifies that he would want to be with Lena even after learning about her son.

This proves that Kalle's love is true and does not depend on Lena's past mistakes. The ending of Royalteen turns out to be all about acceptance. It shows how love should not rely on a person's past mistakes, nor should it be conditional. Kalle's love also paves the way for Lena to accept herself. The support of everyone around her also works wonders in creating a safe environment for the girl who finally feels at home.

She also promises Kalle that there will be no more secrets between them. A few sequences before, Royalteen shows how Kalle is completely mistaken and is an entirely different person than how people perceive him. By breaking this stereotype, the film offers that despite Kalle and Lena's wrong assumptions about each other's past, they accept each other.

Royalteen is now streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned for more updates.