# A Royal Secret (2021)

> A Swedish restaurateur's secret relationship with King Gustav V becomes a public scandal and a serious miscarriage of justice.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/99238

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Created by: Bengt Braskered
- Network: SVT1
- Cast: Sverrir Gudnason, Staffan Göthe, Sanna Krepper, Reine Brynolfsson, Bengt Braskered, Ann-Sofie Rase, Elsa Forsberg, Dan Andersson
- TMDB rating: 6.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13130964/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: melancholic, restrained, tense, somber

## What critics say

Critics generally regard it as a restrained, well-acted period drama that handles its true-story scandal with care.

## Synopsis

A Royal Secret is a Swedish historical drama miniseries set in Stockholm in the 1930s, following Kurt Haijby, a respected restaurateur whose quiet private life hides a relationship with King Gustav V. The story is told with restraint and melancholy, building a steady dread as a hidden love collides with the power of the crown and the moral panic of a conservative society. Its focus falls on the human cost of secrecy: a marriage strained, a reputation weighed against the truth, and ordinary people caught in the machinery of public judgment. Period detail, muted interiors and measured pacing give the series a somber, reflective feel rather than a sensational one. Based on real events and one of the grimmer chapters of Swedish legal history, it reads as a compact, serious limited drama about private lives crushed under institutional power. Viewers drawn to restrained true-story dramas, royal intrigue and character-driven period pieces will find it absorbing, though its mood is heavy and its ending leaves a lingering sadness rather than catharsis.

## Shows like A Royal Secret

- [A Very English Scandal (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/68297)
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- [Scenes from a Marriage (1973)](https://ember.film/tv/57597)
- [The Best Intentions (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/62620)
- [The Restaurant (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64926)
- [Rød snø (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/19074)
- [Enemy's Enemy (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/46504)
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- [Blue Eyes (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/56575)

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