In Season One Episode One of Young Royals, August and Wilhelm had a fight over Wilhelm’s suitcase
His suitcase. The burden he came onto the scene carrying. The burden he was, for the purposes of this scene, “born with”
Get what I’m saying ? The suitcase is the Crown. The title of Crown Prince
For now, at least
But then, he and August start fighting over it. Who gets to hold it. Who gets to carry the weight
Now, remember, Wilhelm very likely doesn’t want to carry it. Or even have it in his vicinity. Because he doesn’t want to come to Hillerska (read : be forced to conform to the rigid roles of his title) at all
But it’s still his. August can’t have it. Because it’s his
Now, look at this
August is standing with Erik, right in front of the poison-green doors of Hillerska (of tradition and rigidity, metaphorically). Wilhelm, notably, is not
He is outside the boundary created by the edges of the doorway. He is not compatible with the rigidity of tradition and the class system
Now remember, Erik is the monarchy. He’s the perfect Prince. The perfect heir. The perfect monarch
He is, for all intents and purposes, the metaphorical stand-in for the monarchy
And he’s hugging August - read : in the struggle over the “suitcase”, the Crown will support August over Wilhelm
Accurate to the third season ? Not exactly, but as Wilhelm himself pointed out, the court may have wanted to make HIM the Prince, but August is by far a more “proper” choice of monarch
More traditional. More arrogant. More obedient
Erik hugging August does not symbolise the Court supporting August, but the fact that August is simply more compatible with the conformist, classist concept of a monarchy than Wilhelm
And we get that next scene too, because notably, that fight ? August wins it. He gets the Crown. He becomes Crown Prince
But no matter what, the suitcases still end up in Wilhelm’s room. He won their little squabble over the “suitcase”, but in the long term, Wilhelm is the winner
Not the Crown ( note Erik has no suitcase in the scene). Not August. Wilhelm
Because he may have lost the Crown to August, but not only does he do so of his own volition, he wins a far greater prize in the long term
Happiness
Remember. August didn’t wrench the suitcase out of Wilhelm’s hands. Wilhelm let go of the handle himself. He LET August take the suitcase. LET him stand there, framed against the rigid walls of tradition, the arm of the monarchy around him, trapping and loving in equal measure
