Seemingly mundane yet important: The forest’s role in Netflix’s Young Royals

Unravelling the Swedish forest as a spatial frame in Young Royals

The series follows Prince Wilhelm’s (Edvin Ryding) journey from impulsive teenager to reluctant Crown Prince. After his involvement in a fight at a nightclub, he is forced to attend Hillerska boarding school in the Swedish countryside. There, he meets middle-class student Simon (Omar Rudberg), and their relationship quickly develops from friendship into romance. When Wilhelm’s older brother suddenly dies, he is expected to take on the role of Crown Prince. His budding romance with Simon soon collides with royal duty when Wilhelm’s cousin August (Malte Gårdinger), second in line to the throne, leaks an intimate video of the couple. Wilhelm publicly denies any involvement to shield the monarchy, prompting Simon to end the relationship. In season two, Wilhelm tries to regain Simon’s trust while Simon dates Marcus (Tommy Wättring). The pair reconcile, but Simon later learns that Wilhelm has long known August was responsible for the leak and protected him, partly because exposing August would have forced a choice between crown and love. Despite this betrayal, they decide to be together, and Wilhelm publicly declares his love for Simon in defiance of royal protocol. Season three begins with the couple being officially together, yet class differences, online harassment and growing royal obligations strain them once more. In the finale, Wilhelm chooses love over duty, abdicates, and frees both himself and Simon from the monarchy’s constraints.

The main narrative of Young Royals unfolds within spatial frames that are integral to the characters’ everyday lives, such as the boarding school, including classrooms, corridors, the yard, the library, and the dining hall. Other recurring locations include Simon’s home in the suburb of Bjärstad, his father’s apartment, the stables, an abandoned factory called Palatset (The Palace), the royal castle where Wilhelm’s parents reside, and, of course, the forest. Across the show’s thirteen-and-a-half-hour runtime, the main characters spend only about 20 minutes actively in the forest. Most of that screen time occurs in the third season, accounting for approximately 15 minutes, with the remaining time distributed more evenly across the first two seasons. However, the forest is never foregrounded, as there are no sweeping landscape shots that emphasize its scale or atmosphere, no moments where the characters express emotional attachment to it, and no narrative cues that suggest that it holds symbolic meaning or exerts influence on events.

As a result, the forest appears to have a mundane and almost imperceptible presence in the life of the characters. Grounded in this mundanity and its relation to the everyday life of the characters, we approach it as part of their ‘lifeworlds’, described by David Seamon as the ‘day-to-day world of taken-for-grantedness’ (Seamon, 2023: 232). This highlights the forest’s subtle yet meaningful role in moments of personal and relational significance. As Seamon (2023) argues, place is central to our understanding of lifeworlds, as humans are always situated and cannot exist apart from it. In line with this, spatial frames are not neutral containers but are socially produced and shaped through human actions, relationships, and interpretations. Like people in their everyday life, the fictional characters inscribe meaning to their surroundings through everyday practices and rituals, thereby contributing to the continual (re)production of space (see de Certeau, 1984; Lefebvre, 2011). Places that are part of the characters’ lifeworlds might therefore seem trivial in relation to the series’ larger themes or societal critiques. However, even taken-for-granted places participate in shaping subconscious understandings of the world (Aitken and Zonn, 1994b). Across her wider work—most notably the 2017 edition of Narratology—Mieke Bal treats space not as a static backdrop but as an integral narrative component that can frame action, embody ideological tension, and even act on characters. She demonstrates that narrative space can serve as a more or less detailed ‘place of action’, receding into the background as part of the characters’ lifeworlds. But it can also acquire agency of its own. Then, the spatial setting becomes an ‘acting place’ that shapes what can happen and may even subordinate the fabula to the presentation of space (Bal, 2017: 127).

Situating these arguments within the broader field of spatial studies in television and film helps clarify how and why mundane settings matter. Scholars have examined how spatial representations influence public perceptions, enhance the touristic appeal of filming locations (Hedling et al., 2010), and shape how space is materially and imaginatively produced through cinematic art (Strüver, 2015; Ural and Yüksel, 2023; Yacavone, 2015). Within this body of work, space is often approached as ‘a focus of attention, a bearer of symbolic meaning, an object of emotional investment’ (Ryan et al., 2016: 1), or as a ‘spectacle’ (Aitken and Zonn, 1994b: 17). While the forest in Young Royals may not initially appear to function in these ways, but rather as a ‘place of action’ (Bal, 2017: 127), we reveal that its understated presence carries affective and narrative weight, contributing to the production of meaning within the series. As such, it exemplifies how even quiet, unspectacular spaces participate in the cultural and emotional evolution of screen storytelling.

To investigate this, we have conducted a close reading of all forest scenes across the three seasons of Young Royals, and scenes where the characters refer to the forest in conversations, identifying recurring themes of spatial functions and patterns. In the following four sections, we unravel how it serves as a spatial framework by presenting four interrelated thematic dimensions of its role in the series. Although the four themes are presented individually for analytical clarity, they are closely interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Consequently, the scenes are not presented in chronological order, and some scenes appear more than once, each time examined from a different angle to illuminate the dynamic facets of the forest’s role as a spatial frame.

Theme 1: A subtle and isolating border

Throughout Young Royals, the forest functions as a spatial backdrop, subtly framing and contextualizing the students’ everyday activities. In this capacity, it is a framing device for the key location, Hillerska boarding school. The forest is thus presented as a liminal zone or borderland, a transitional space through which characters move as they navigate between distinct ‘worlds’. This becomes evident early in the first episode, as Wilhelm gets a ride from his older brother, Crown Prince Erik (Ivar Forsling), to his first day at the boarding school. There are crosscut scenes between Wilhelm and his brother driving fast in a black convertible sports car, accelerating speed to the tempo of the soundtrack, and scenes at the boarding school where the students record TikTok dances, row, and hang out in the classroom (Young Royals, S1 E1).

Here, the forest serves as a backdrop for the two traveling princes. Towering pine trees initially envelop the road, but as they approach the boarding school, the landscape gradually transforms into a lush deciduous forest. They drive through an avenue lined with leafy trees and surrounding fields. Rather than using the typical bird’s-eye view of the expansive forest, a common visual choice in modern cinema (Lefebvre, 2011), the scene focuses on close-ups of a quiet, discontented Wilhelm, gazing out the side of the car with his hair tousled by the wind. This transition in scenery not only marks a significant journey from the scattered woods into the controlled grounds of the boarding school but also reinforces the sense of distance travelled.

Such transitional scenes are often filmed from within vehicles, with the forest visible through the windows. While the focus remains on the characters by positioning them centrally in the frame, the continuous presence of the forest in the background emphasizes the act of crossing between social and spatial worlds. The forest thus functions not only as a physical boundary but also as a symbolic divide between freedom and constraint, belonging and isolation. These tensions between urban and rural spaces are well-established in Nordic Noir, where cities are often portrayed as sites of alienation and decay, and rural areas as seemingly idyllic yet concealing hidden threats (Hansen and Waade, 2017). Young Royals draws on and reconfigures this trope by using the forest to highlight the characters individual lifeworlds and emotions rather than overt danger. In a scene where Wilhelm argues with his mother, the queen, Wilhelm demands for his bodyguards to be removed. ‘What’s the threat? We are in the middle of the forest’ he exclaims (Young Royals, S2 E2), implying that Hillerska’s secluded location in the forest makes it a safe space. However, the queen responds that he is a threat to himself, referring to the fact that it is not only the outside world that poses problems, but also Wilhelm’s ‘irrational’ behaviour as he fails to conform to the morals and traditions of the Royal family.

At Hillerska, the forest appears in the background as a muted and barely perceptible outline. This subtle depiction, where the forest is mainly seen as a dense green line through the windows when characters walk past or sit nearby, reinforces a sense of isolation and confinement. The forest is always there, but in a quiet, almost imperceptible way. A similar use of the forest as a visual boundary is evident in horror films such as Midsommar (2019) and The Village (2004), where the forest serves as a threshold between different worlds. In these films, the forest does not merely serve as a backdrop but actively contributes to the construction of spatial boundaries, reinforcing the sense of separation between those who are inside and those who are outside. In Young Royals, the subtle visual framing of the woods still positions Hillerska as an isolated world in itself which is secluded from the outside world, but in a much less obvious way.

Thus, the series constructs a spatial binary between the ‘inner’ space of the boarding school and the ‘outer’ space of the surrounding society (see Bal, 2017). This division is reinforced through recurring scenes in which characters travel through the forest to and from Hillerska, visually marking the forest as a threshold between two distinct social worlds. For instance, Simon and his sister frequently move between their urban home and the rural boarding school, highlighting the contrast between the multicultural, working-class town and the elite, countryside environment. Wilhelm, by contrast, is physically confined to the school due to its remote location and his limited access to transportation. As Crown Prince, he depends on a chauffeur assigned by the court, and his movements are restricted to official duties, visits to Simon’s house, or travel to the royal residence.

In one instance, he sneaks out after curfew to meet Simon and is forced to take the bus. Struggling to buy a ticket and met with quiet laughter from the other passengers, Wilhelm is portrayed as unfamiliar with taken-for-granted everyday routines. This scene not only underscores his spatial confinement but also his social distance from those outside the aristocratic world. Simon, on the other hand, moves freely. He lives firmly in the ‘outer’ space—framed by Bal (2017, 126) as a site of liberation and security—and maintains close, emotionally intimate relationships with his family and peers. Scenes of him having dinner with his mother or playing video games with friends reinforce a sense of belonging and relational stability that Wilhelm lacks.

For Wilhelm, Hillerska functions as both a physically and mentally secluded environment. Within this ‘inner space’, he experiences a sense of confinement (see Bal, 2017: 126), shaped not only by familial expectations and peer pressure, but also by broader societal norms concerning royalty, heteronormativity, and elite conduct. Despite holding the title of prince, and later Crown Prince, Wilhelm frequently expresses a desire for a ‘normal life’, signalling his discomfort with the social codes that surround him. Hillerska’s spatial framing, separated from the outside world by the forest, reinforces its status as a self-contained environment governed by internal hierarchies and unspoken codes. These include class-based traditions, hierarchical relationships between seniors and junior students, systematic hazing, and exclusionary attitudes towards non-residential students. The pressure Wilhelm experiences is thus not only interpersonal but embedded within larger socio-cultural structures that shape his identity as both a prince and a student at Hillerska.

Theme 2: A secluded and safe space

While the forest functions as a border that separates Wilhelm and Simon through the ‘outer world’ where Simon resides and the ‘inner world’ of Hillerska, it becomes a safe space when they occupy it together. In these scenes, the seclusion and sense of freedom render it a spatial setting where the characters can express their ‘true selves’, unbound by normative expectations or institutional structures (see Foucault, 1988). At the outset of Simon and Wilhelm’s romantic relationship in season one, the forest serves as a spatial refuge where the two young men momentarily escape societal pressure and the gaze of their peers. While Simon and Wilhelm openly display their friendship at school, Wilhelm insists on keeping their romantic relationship, and by extension, his sexuality, hidden. This becomes particularly evident the first time Simon spends the night in Wilhelm’s dorm room, and Wilhelm forces Simon to sneak out before anyone notices that they have been together.

Therefore, to develop their relationship in private, they head out to the forest. It becomes a place that affords them a semblance of privacy impossible in other public spaces due to the constraints of Wilhelm’s public and surveilled life. When they seek solitude in the forest in season one, under the watchful presence of Wilhelm’s bodyguards, they can express subtle forms of physical attraction, such as standing close together or gently brushing the hair behind the other’s ear (Young Royals, S1 E5). As the young men walk down to the lake, the bodyguards take the lead, allowing Wilhelm and Simon to steal a kiss under the cover of fir branches, an act that, as actor Edvin Ryding later revealed in a TikTok livestream, was entirely improvised (MultiFandomGirl, 2021). This spontaneous gesture foregrounds the forest as an environment that invites the idea of concealment and emotional expression.

The improvised kiss illustrates how the actors’ embodied experience of the setting shaped their performance, reinforcing the idea that specific environments afford particular actions and emotional registers (Bal, 2017; Seamon, 2023). In this way, the forest serves as a mediating space between fiction and production, becoming a setting that simultaneously guides character behaviour and influences actor interpretation (Yacavone, 2015). As Stefania Marghitu (2021: 7) argues, television series do not ‘exist in an artistic vacuum’ but are embedded in discourses that can be made visible in the analysis through the inclusion of paratextual material such as interviews with cast and crew. This insight underscores the need to consider not only the narrative structure of a series but also its production context, including the affective and spatial conditions under which scenes are created (Hansen and Waade, 2017). To shed light on how the cast and creators engage with the spatial setting of the forest, we therefore include behind-the-scenes videos and interviews with the actors throughout our analysis to further illuminate the interplay between narrative, performance, and place. The scene that Ryding comments upon exemplifies how the forest becomes a space that offers moments of emotional release and identity exploration that would be impossible within the restrictive social environments of Hillerska.

Like Wilhelm, the supporting character Stella (Felicia Maxime) also struggles with her sexual identity and uses the spatial setting of the forest as a chance to be her true self. Outside of the forest, Stella has adjusted her behaviours to align with societal norms around sexuality, but during a class hike in the forest, she indicates her sexuality publicly for the first time by dancing closely together with another young woman (Young Royals, S3 E2). Throughout the series, it becomes evident that the queer students at Hillerska keep their sexuality concealed, which contrasts with Simon, his date Marcus, and his friend Rosh (Beri Gerwise). These characters do not hide their sexual orientation in the ‘outer world.’ This openness aligns with head writer Lisa Ambjörn’s assertion that the character’s sexuality is secondary to the broader narrative of class differences and ‘honour culture’ prevalent among the upper classes (Netflix Nordic, 2021). Ryding emphasizes this in a later interview, ‘Wilhelm’s problem is not that he is in love with another guy. It is that he is crown prince’ (Netflix Nordic, 2023), indicating that Wilhelm’s heritage, including the responsibilities and obligations it entails, are the prime source of conflict between him and Simon.

One such conflict takes place during the middle of the final season, as the two young men once again take refuge by the forest lake to discuss their relationship to the monarchy. The scene begins with a shot of the bodyguards standing a few metres into the forest, then pan to Wilhelm and Simon down by the lake. In the foreground, green bushes and branches frame the picture. When Wilhelm asks if Simon is opposed to the monarchy, Simon responds that he can like Wilhelm while still opposing the system (Young Royals, S3 E4). As they talk, they throw stones into the water, with the camera focusing on their faces while they stand in front of a green forest backdrop that remains out of focus. When Wilhelm questions Simon’s statement, it suggests that he views himself as inseparable from the Crown.

This is the first time Wilhelm explicitly defends the monarchy, relying on seemingly rehearsed arguments that invoke ‘Swedish history’, the monarchy as ‘a symbol that unites the people’, and the royal family as a ‘neutral party’. When speaking about his role as Crown Prince, Wilhelm echoes the phrase, ‘It is a privilege, not a punishment’, originally expressed by the queen in an earlier episode (Young Royals, S3 E4). In doing so, Wilhelm references broader societal functions and power structures that are sustained through state institutions such as monarchies (see Foucault, 1991). In response, Simon criticizes the impersonal framing of these arguments, suggesting that Wilhelm sounds like a representative of the court. Instead, Simon shifts focus to the personal consequences of inheritance and tradition. His critique addresses disciplinary power, referring to internalized forms of control and regulations shaped by societal norms and discourses (see Foucault, 1991). Simon questions the legitimacy of a system in which Wilhelm is born into a role and highlights the emotional burden that comes with the responsibility. This exchange underscores Simon’s concern for Wilhelm as an individual and his scepticism towards the structural role of the monarchy.

Wilhelm’s defence of his position also contrasts with earlier depictions of his relationship to his royal identity. Throughout the series, Wilhelm’s discomfort with his role has been consistently portrayed—from public altercations, which lead to his transfer to Hillerska, to his strained interactions with fellow upper-class students. Ultimately, these institutional pressures and demands exerted on Wilhelm by the royal court are why Simon ends their relationship in the final season. Concurrently, an ongoing investigation into the hazing allegations at the school results in it ceasing operations. In response, the students organize a final celebration before their departure. This is not only a chance for the students to say goodbye to each other, but also a chance for Wilhelm and Simon to get closure after their breakup. They take each other’s hands in the middle of the party, and then the scene cuts to them walking on a forest-lined path in their white clothes, contrasting against the brown and green. They are at the centre of the shot, with the rising sun above them and trees framing the picture. They walk side by side, and as Simon takes the lead, Wilhelm stops and looks longingly at Simon, not acknowledging the beautiful surroundings. The forest lake has become a place where they frequently return for privacy and seclusion, despite the presence of the bodyguards. However, this time, Wilhelm has escaped them, so he and Simon can have a truly private time together.

The scene is crosscut between Simon and Wilhelm on the shore, and scenes of them swimming together in the lake. As they walk next to each other naked into the lake, the two young men are in focus, with the rising sun directly above them. On either side are tall pine trees and small firs, as if the viewer observes them from the woods. Their nudity alludes to the idea of showing one’s true self, free from any status symbols, ‘transcend[ing] the limits of time, and space’ (Squire, 2011: 112). Head writer Lisa Ambjörn describes the symbolic incitements of the naked young men walking side by side into the tranquil lake as a ‘rebirth’ (Gao, 2024). In this state, naked and vulnerable in the forest, they are just two young men, not a Crown Prince and a commoner. The scenery’s beauty, the orange and pink dawn visible through the trees, the lush greenery, the tranquil lake mirroring the sunrise make the shot aesthetically pleasing and the spatial setting prominent to the viewer. The lake and the rising sun are in focus, but the shot is framed by trees and branches, placing the forest in a central visual position, enhancing it as an ‘aesthetic space’ that contributes to the emotional tone of the scene (Yacavone, 2015). However, even in this scene—despite its strong aesthetic impact—there are very few landscape shots, an otherwise common way to portray the beauty of the forest in popular culture. Instead, the visual emphasis remains on the characters, either by positioning them centrally within the frame or through the use of close-ups.

Even though the forest and the events unfolding there gradually become an integral part of the characters’ lifeworlds throughout the series, the lakeside, which is technically part of the forest, takes on a different spatial quality in this particular scene. Their quiet moment by the lake transcends the familiarity of everyday space and becomes something more, a setting that stands apart from their routine experiences and emotional landscape. As Seamon (2023) argues, lifeworlds tend to remain unnoticed until something extraordinary disrupts them. In the lake scene, both the exceptional nature of the moment, saying a final emotional goodbye to a loved one, and the unique atmosphere of the setting—a forest lake at dawn—make the space suddenly visible and affectively heightened to the viewer. The lake, which has recurred throughout the series as a site where Wilhelm and Simon negotiated and deepened their relationship, thus becomes a symbolically charged place to bring that relationship to an end.

When discussing the filming of this scene, Ambjörn relates to a popular cultural trope in Northern Europe, where environments such as the forest enable sacral experiences for secular people (Thurfjell and Remmel, 2024) when she explains that ‘it was like being in a church’, referring to the high trees, the quietness, the humming bees, and the white clothes. She continues, ‘If I believe in something, this is my religion’ (Gao, 2024) which alludes to the idea that the role of the forest in this scene goes beyond the ‘mundane’ spatial settings of the characters’ lifeworlds. Ryding also acknowledges the beauty of the location in the documentary Young Royals Forever (2024) about the making of the show. He explains how it feels like ‘a bad movie that we have to finish here’, referring to the scenery being almost too beautiful. Despite its beauty, the characters never acknowledge or comment on their surroundings. As Wilhelm and Simon lie facing each other on the lakeshore, reminiscing about their relationship, they only have eyes for each other.

Another scene where the aesthetics of the forest diverge from other portrayals occurs in season one, when Wilhelm and other members of the elite club Sällskapet (The Society) walk to Palatset for a secret meeting. The visual composition in this scene effectively conveys the impression that it is a secluded and private place, surrounded by a protective, almost ominous, forest boundary. The scene opens with a downwards pan from the top of tall, bare pine trees swaying in the wind, gradually revealing the group as they walk side by side off the main trail, partially obscured by the trees. In the following shot, they are filmed from the front, moving in silence through the forest. The combination of the dense evergreen setting, the eerie score, and the scattered formation of the group evoke the visual tone of a search party, reminiscent of the stylistic conventions of Nordic Noir crime drama. At the end of the shot, the voice of the antagonist August is layered over the image of the young men walking through the forest, as August outlines his plan to expose Simon’s drug dealing (Young Royals, S1 E5). This auditory intrusion, paired with the visual tone, positions the forest not only as a site of secrecy, but also as a prelude to moral conflict and power struggle. The forest’s oppressive aesthetic in this scene sets the emotional tone for the moral and psychological tension that unfolds in the subsequent encounter, when Wilhelm threatens to expose August’s financial difficulties in order to prevent Simon from getting suspended (Young Royals, S1 E5).

This representation contrasts sharply with other depictions of students arriving at Palatset, which are often framed as short, casual walks through open areas with scattered deciduous trees. In one scene, for instance, Simon’s date Marcus parks his car on a nearby gravel road, close to the entrance—an indication that access to Palatset need not involve passing through the deep forest. Thus, the decision to stage Wilhelm’s walk with Sällskapet in this manner underscores the secrecy and gravity of the meeting that follows. The ominous setting visually mirrors Wilhelm’s internal conflict, his shifting loyalties, and the quiet, high-stakes power dynamics at play.

In season two, Simon has recently discovered that Wilhelm knows who leaked the intimate video and seeks refuge with his friends Rosh and Ayub (Inti Zamora Sobrado) in the forest near his home. Throughout the scene, tree branches are prominently featured in the foreground, while a water tower and low-rise terrace houses are visible in the background, visually situating the friends at the edge of the forest (Young Royals, S2 E5). Here, the forest functions as a space for concealment and emotional refuge, allowing the characters to discuss private matters away from Simon’s home, where his mother or sister might overhear. Unlike other forest scenes where the characters venture into the forest, this moment illustrates that the forest can offer seclusion even at its margins. The surrounding trees create a sense of safety and intimacy, despite the visibility of the suburban setting in the background. Here, the forest functions not only as a space of concealment and emotional refuge, but also as a familiar environment woven into the characters’ everyday lives. Even at its margins, it provides a protective buffer from the demands of public scrutiny, suggesting that the forest is a meaningful part of Simon’s lived experience.

Theme 3: A no man’s land where meetings enable problematizations

Its liminal qualities also make the forest a kind of symbolic ‘no man’s land’, which allows for unexpected encounters and revealment of underlying tensions that would be unlikely or impossible in more structured environments. Early in season two, for example, Wilhelm and Simon are cheating during a physics test in the forest when they unexpectedly run into Marcus whom Simon has begun dating after breaking up with Wilhelm. Simon is unaware that Wilhelm knows about his relationship with Marcus and lies when he claims that he only knows Marcus because ‘everyone knows everyone in Bjärstad’ (Young Royals, S2 E2). For Wilhelm, Simon, and Marcus, the forest becomes a place of unplanned encounters, disrupting the boundaries between their separate spheres of life. These moments of friction foreground the forest not only as a place of refuge, but also as a site of tension, where secrecy and conflict are brought to the surface. Without the shortcut through the forest, their meeting would have been unlikely. This scene thus reinforces the forest’s role as a threshold where characters’ lifeworlds unexpectedly intersect. The encounter’s unintended nature also underscores the forest as a space of both connection and division, setting the stage for the narrative conflicts that follow, further emphasizing the distance between Simon and Wilhelm. Their shortcut earns them a place on the team, but the secrecy surrounding their actions and Simon’s semi-denial of knowing Marcus set the stage for conflicts crucial to the plot in the following episode. This illustrates how everyday practices (like taking a shortcut through the forest) can inscribe meaning to a setting, turning it into a space of emotional and narrative significance and part of the characters’ lifeworlds (de Certeau, 1984; Seamon, 2023).

Another unexpected encounter that emphasizes the differences between Simon and Wilhelm occurs during a class hike in the forest, when students from the municipal high school set up camp near the Hillerska students (Young Royals, S3 E2). In this scene, the forest operates as a neutral meeting ground, a spatial setting within the narrative that enables plausible interactions between individuals from distinct social and financial backgrounds. The Hillerska students remain in their designated area, but the proximity of the municipal school group allows Simon’s friends to approach them, creating a moment of intentional but informal contact. This scene underscores the forest’s role as a meeting ground for interactions that would not occur elsewhere but are critical to the plot. The social and geographical boundaries that define their respective worlds momentarily clash in this space.

This interaction between Wilhelm’s and Simon’s social lives emphasizes the socio-economic and cultural differences between them. Due to the Swedish legal framework of allemansrätten (the right of public access), the forest is open to everyone, regardless of class or social status. The right grants everyone the freedom to roam freely across the land, including privately owned forests, emphasizing equality and access to them as part of a shared cultural value (Sandell and Svenning, 2011; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2024). The right of public access thus transforms the forest into a significant spatial setting within the series, imagined as a ‘neutral place’ where individuals from different social classes can convene. The upper-class students from Hillerska would never venture into the suburb, while the youth from Bjärstad are neither welcomed nor comfortable entering the elite environment of Hillerska. This makes the forest a compelling space for the series’ key moments of connection and conflict.

The interactions that occur within this setting reveal the distinctions between these social groups, imbuing the forest with political significance. As the students gather around the campfire, a conversation ensues between the Hillerska students and the students from Bjärstad, during which they exchange summer plans. One Hillerska student talks about an upcoming trip to New York and asks Simon’s friends if they have ever visited the United States. Simon’s friend Rosh laughs and dismisses the question, highlighting the disparity in financial circumstances and lifestyles between the groups. As the Hillerska students’ conversation shifts to their passion for travel, the atmosphere becomes tense and uncomfortable (Young Royals, S3 E2). Their differences are further highlighted during a conversation about summer jobs, when Rosh explains that she will work as a soccer instructor at a children’s summer camp. When Wilhelm mentions that he will also work during the summer, attending a course through the royal court, Simon and his friend Ayub exchange sceptical glances.

This moment sets the stage for an argument between Wilhelm and Simon later that night, where Simon emphasizes that he and his friends must work out of financial necessity. When Wilhelm asks whether a friendship between the Hillerska students and Simon’s friends is impossible simply because ‘some kids get clothes from their parents and some do not’, Simon responds, ‘You do not know how privileged you are sometimes.’ Irritated by Simon’s critique, Wilhelm asks whether Rosh and Ayub know about the one million SEK Simon received in damages for the leaked intimate video (Young Royals, S3 E2). The scene highlights Simon’s liminal position—he belongs neither fully to the ‘outside’ world of Bjärstad youth nor to the ‘inside’ world of Hillerska. The Hillerska students fail to fully accept Simon due to his lower social class and differing moral values, while he simultaneously grows distant from his own background.

Theme 4: A venue for physical and mental well-being

The final theme explores how the forest serves as a space for physical and mental well-being, where the characters temporarily escape institutional constraints, social hierarchies, and emotional strain. This alludes to a more traditional understanding of the Swedish forest as a place to seek recovery or relaxation, which is not only a contemporary phenomenon but also rooted in long-standing cultural traditions (The Swedish Forest Agency, 2024). Since the nineteenth century, there has been a widespread belief in Sweden that spending time in nature promotes both physical and mental well-being (Andolf, 1990; Erlandsson-Hammargren, 2006). This idea is instilled from an early age, as children in Sweden have long been taught that being outdoors, particularly in the forest, is beneficial for their health and emotional well-being. This cultural norm continues today, as time spent outdoors remains an integral part of early education and leisure practices (Halldén, 2009). In line with long-standing cultural narratives about spending time outside as restorative and tied to Sweden’s national identity (Erlandsson-Hammargren, 2006; Fälton, 2024), the series draws on and subtly reworks these associations. On several occasions, the forest is portrayed as a setting for physical activity, particularly through scenes where Wilhelm and other characters are shown running along forest paths. The spatial qualities of the forest, with its uneven ground, fresh air, and multisensory environment, shape the characters’ experience and contribute to a representation of physical vitality and mental well-being. This becomes especially apparent when contrasted with other types of exercise performed in the series.

Wilhelm’s forest run in final season is portrayed as an attempt to manage internal stress and emotional overload. This is illustrated in a scene where he runs along a forest path to relieve stress (Young Royals, S3 E3). The camera tracks him from behind with an unsteady, handheld motion that mirrors his pace, drawing the viewer into the experience. Loud music plays over the scene, but Wilhelm wears no headphones, suggesting that the soundscape is not part of the world of the characters, but serves to externalize his inner state. He appears to be disconnected from the forest around him, consumed by his own emotional turmoil. When he eventually slows to a stop, he lowers his gaze, paces, and takes a deep, shaky breath, visibly trying to regain control. Although set in the forest, the scene does not show him interacting with it. Instead, it becomes a quiet container for his emotional release. Here, the forest is not merely a backdrop but a sanctuary: a calm, enveloping environment that allows Wilhelm to process emotions and regain composure. The tranquil presence of the forest contrasts sharply with the inner tension he experiences, positioning it as a space for recovery and emotional release.

While Wilhelm’s physical activity in the forest is depicted as restorative, the protagonist August engages in a markedly different kind of exercise. His routines are rigid, and performance driven. He trains indoors on a rowing machine or in the courtyard, follows an obsessively strict diet, comments on other characters’ food choices, and frequently scrutinizes his own body in the mirror. These behaviours reflect an overemphasis on control and appearance, with spatial settings functioning merely as tools for his personal ambitions. The juxtaposition between Wilhelm’s emotionally charged solitude in the forest and August’s rigid, performative routines highlight two distinct approaches to physicality and well-being. While August’s relationship to space is instrumental and obsessive, Wilhelm’s use of the forest, however introspective and isolating, offers a less pressurized alternative. The forest thus emerges as a quiet space for emotional processing, in contrast to environments dominated by perfectionism and social performance.

Another example of this can once again be found in the final season, when the students learn that the annual hike will proceed as planned, despite the school having a curfew due to it being under investigation for student harassment. The PE teacher explains that ‘the school management understood how important it is for us to follow the curriculum, and if there is one thing we all need right now, it is spending some more time out in the open’ (Young Royals, S3 E2). The physical education curriculum in Swedish high schools emphasizes the importance of fostering an interest in and the ability to use ‘outdoor environments and nature as a source of well-being’ (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2010). The school board at Hillerska upholds this view of the forest as a place for well-being through the PE teacher’s statement that the students need to spend time outside. His remark could also suggest that the forest is a place where the students can escape from their everyday struggles and the constraints imposed by the school board.

The scene where the students go hiking constitutes the longest continuous sequence set in the forest throughout the series. The sequence opens with a close-up of a hand with bright blue nail polish gently brushing the trunk of a birch tree, portraying the forest as an accessible and tactile environment. This is followed by a wide shot of the students and their teacher walking together through the woods, gazing up toward the treetops. The class appears small compared to the towering trees, and since it is early spring, the only green elements are a couple of evergreen fir trees and some moss on the brown, leaf-covered ground. The students are all dressed in unworn, expensive performance clothing, except Simon, who wears jeans and the same puffer jacket he has worn throughout the series. When the students walk to the campsite, they engage in playful activity, pointing into the forest and straying off the trail, while Simon and Wilhelm walk closely together, affectionately bumping into each other (Young Royals, S3 E2). This is in stark contrast to what unfolds later in the scene, as Simon’s friends arrive, sparking a conflict between Wilhelm and Simon.

Before the trip, a group of friends sits in their dormitory, complaining about being forced out into the ‘cold forest’ and suggesting that they should bring lights and speakers to ‘turn it into a rave’ (Young Royals, S3 E2), which they later do. Through playful behaviours, such as fighting with sticks, tossing a disco ball, decorating the trees with string lights, inflatable sofas, tents, hammocks, and playing loud music, they inscribe their presence onto the environment and temporarily transform the forest into a space of their own. Upon arrival, the Bjärstad students surprisingly ask, ‘Is this your version of camping?’ (Young Royals, SE3 E2), sounding surprised by the lavish decoration of the outdoor space. Through the pulsating dance music, the forest is thus transformed into a lively, human-dominated space, in stark contrast to what Maury (2022) mentions as the forest’s ‘rhythm’, fashioned by the sounds of humans and animals inhabiting the forest. The Hillerska students disrupt this rhythm by hosting a rave to release pent-up energy.

By engaging with the forest in this way, the students shift its meaning from an unfamiliar and static backdrop to a dynamic, lived-in space shaped by social interaction and leisure. This spatial redefinition also aligns with the concept of emplacement (Seamon, 2023), wherein individuals anchor themselves within specific environments as part of their lifeworlds. Through shared activities, the students cultivate a temporary sense of belonging and reshape the forest’s significance within their collective experience.

Conclusion

In this article, we have analysed the forest as portrayed in Young Royals as an ‘immediate surrounding’ rather than a ‘focus of attention’ (Ryan et al., 2016: 1). Using spatial (Aitken and Zonn, 1994a; Bal, 2017; Lefebvre, 2011) and lifeworld theory (Seamon, 2023), we show that even an ordinary and uncommented forest can work as a meaning-making spatial frame that drives key plot turns. In doing so, this article adds nuance to previous research on popular culture representations, which argue how the Swedish forest has a prominent impact on the characters, and in some cases even its own agency (Fälton and Strömstedt, 2020; Leffler, 2014; Souch, 2020). In contrast, we have demonstrated how a seemingly mundane forest can still function as a meaning-making spatial frame that facilitates key developments in the story.

Through our close reading of the series forest scenes and paratextual material, four interrelated themes emerge. First, the forest operates as a subtle but isolating border, a liminal threshold that visually and symbolically separates Hillerska from the outside world and reinforces class and social boundaries. Second, it acts as a secluded and safe space, allowing characters to express vulnerability, form intimate bonds, and explore their identities away from institutional and societal surveillance. Third, its status as a ‘no man’s land’ facilitates encounters that problematize class and identity, staging critical confrontations that advance the narrative and deepen character development. Finally, the forest is portrayed as a venue for mental and physical well-being, echoing cultural discourses about nature in Sweden as a source of health, freedom, and collective relief.

Through these four themes, the forest’s narrative impact is evident in aspects such as how characters interact within the forest, the topics of their conversations, the actions taking place there, and the encounters it facilitates. Its integration into the characters’ routines and everyday lives underscore its role within their lifeworlds, while its occasional transformation into an aesthetic or emotionally charged setting allows it to transcend everyday meaning and support moments of narrative and emotional culmination. Importantly, the forest helps negotiate tensions between personal desires and structural expectations, upper- and working-class realities, and institutional order versus personal freedom. By foregrounding the forest’s narrative and affective functions, this article recognizes the significance of analysing spatial frames in youth television. It also highlights the potential of integrating spatial analysis into media studies more broadly, particularly in examining the mundane spaces of screen narratives, since they can, like the forest in Young Royals, quietly shape the conditions of story and character development.