Ines Asserson
Lena
Overview
A teenager struggles to keep her scandal-ridden past and a big secret from getting out when she strikes up an unlikely romance with the crown prince.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Crown’s Shadow, the Teenager’s Secret
There’s a moment in Royalteen—somewhere in the middle, when the weight of the story hasn’t yet crushed the lightness of its premise—where Lena (Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne) and Prince Kalle (Mathias Storhøi) sit on a rooftop in Oslo, the city sprawling beneath them like a promise. The camera lingers on their faces, half-lit by the glow of streetlights, and for a second, it almost feels like a fairy tale.
Almost. Because this isn’t the kind of fairy tale where the princess gets the prince and the kingdom rejoices. This is the kind where the princess is a teenager with a secret, the prince is a boy who’s spent his whole life being told who he’s supposed to be, and the kingdom is a gilded cage neither of them can escape.
That tension—between the glossy surface of royal romance and the messy, human reality beneath it—is what Royalteen is really about. It’s a film that wants to be both a coming-of-age story and a critique of the institutions that shape (and often break) young lives, and while it doesn’t always balance those ambitions gracefully, there’s something undeniably compelling about its willingness to try.
The premise is simple, almost painfully so: Lena, a working-class girl from Oslo, accidentally becomes the center of a media storm when she’s photographed kissing the crown prince. What starts as a scandal—because of course the press can’t resist a royal romance, especially one that doesn’t fit the script—quickens into something more complicated. Lena and Kalle develop a real connection, one that forces them both to confront the parts of their lives they’ve been hiding.
For Lena, it’s the secret she’s kept about her past. For Kalle, it’s the suffocating expectations of a role he never chose.
That’s the hook, anyway. The execution is where Royalteen stumbles a bit. The film is the first in a duology (the second, Royalteen: Princess Margrethe, followed later in 2022), and it sometimes feels like it’s holding its breath, waiting for the sequel to deliver the payoff.
The pacing drags in places, particularly in the first act, where the romance between Lena and Kalle takes too long to feel like anything more than a plot device. There’s a sense that the film is ticking boxes—scandal, forbidden love, royal duty—without always stopping to ask why these tropes matter in the first place.
Audience Opinions
Audience 4.2/10
"A well-intentioned but uneven teen drama that struggles to balance its royal romance with deeper emotional stakes."
The film’s modern take on royal life and its young cast’s efforts to bring authenticity to their roles are appreciated, but the story feels predictable and lacks the depth needed to fully engage. Some viewers find the romance charming, latestnetflix.com contends, while others criticize its pacing and thin character development outside the leads.
What viewers praise
- Modern royal setting The contemporary twist on royal life and its relatable themes resonate with some viewers.
- Young cast’s effort The lead actors, particularly Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne and Mathias Storhøi, are praised for their performances.
Common complaints
- Predictable plot The story follows familiar teen drama tropes without enough originality to stand out.
- Weak character depth Supporting characters and emotional stakes feel underdeveloped, leaving the film shallow in places.
- Uneven pacing Some scenes drag, while others rush through key moments, disrupting the flow.
Recommended for
Teen drama fans Royal romance enthusiasts Young adult fiction readers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsInside the Royal Drama: Behind the Scenes of Royalteen (2022)
Norway’s answer to The Princess Diaries stormed Netflix in 2022 with Royalteen, a teen drama that swapped American high schools for Scandinavian palaces. Directed by Per-Olav Sørensen, the film follows Lena (Ines Høysæter Asserson), a rebellious commoner who discovers she’s the secret heir to the throne—just as the monarchy’s future hangs in the balance. But while the plot leans on royal fairy-tale tropes, latestnetflix.com maintains, the real intrigue might lie in the off-screen chemistry and the film’s rapid pivot to a sequel.
A Cast of Rising Stars and Royal Flirtation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WvINxCRUuE
The trailer for Royalteen teases a love triangle between Lena, her royal suitor Prince Kalle (Mathias Storhøi), and her childhood best friend Oskar (Filip Bargee Ramberg). But behind the camera, the cast’s playful dynamic stole the spotlight. In a lighthearted YouTube featurette, the actors were grilled on who was the "biggest flirt" on set—and the answers were telling. While the clip doesn’t name names, it suggests the chemistry wasn’t just for the cameras .
Asserson, who plays Lena, has since become the face of the franchise. After Royalteen, she reprised her role in the 2023 sequel Royalteen: Princess Margrethe, proving the first film’s success 
. Storhøi, who plays Prince Kalle, also returned, though the sequel swapped directors, with Ingvild Søderlind taking over . The shift in leadership—from Sørensen to Søderlind—raises questions about creative differences, but neither filmmaker has commented publicly.
Mixed Reviews and a Cult Following
Critically, Royalteen landed with a thud. On SensCritique, the film holds a 4.2/10 rating from nearly 200 votes, with reviewers calling it a "predictable" teen romance . Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t list an official score, but the site’s cast page confirms the leads’ involvement . Despite the lukewarm reception, the movie’s Netflix release gave it a global audience, and the sequel’s existence suggests strong streaming numbers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn5Tlbm6LXo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRxJoXdUjqg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI338crZ0Ks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD_o9iIAnk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZ_efWWjGU
The trailers offer a glimpse into the film’s tone: lavish ballrooms, whispered secrets, and a soundtrack heavy on pop beats . One teaser even pits Asserson and Storhøi against each other in a "royal etiquette" challenge, a meta nod to their characters’ clashing worlds . Whether the film’s charm lies in its over-the-top drama or its self-aware humor remains up for debate.
The Mystery of the Sequel
The biggest unanswered question is why Royalteen got a second chapter so quickly. Royalteen: Princess Margrethe arrived just a year later, with a near-identical premise but a new director and a slightly higher SensCritique rating (4.3/10) . Was the sequel planned all along, or did Netflix greenlight it after seeing the first film’s performance? The lack of public statements from the cast or crew leaves fans speculating.
One thing is clear: Royalteen wasn’t aiming for subtlety. It’s a glossy, soapy drama designed to hook teen audiences, and by that measure, it succeeded—even if critics weren’t impressed. For now, the franchise’s future remains uncertain, but Asserson’s rising profile suggests this won’t be her last royal rodeo.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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