‘A Royal Secret’ is as tragic as it is addictive

The binge-worthy miniseries, “A Royal Secret,” now streaming on MHz Choice, chronicles the unfortunate case of Kurt Haijby (Sverrir Gudnason), a restaurateur whose secret relationship with the King of Sweden, Gustaf V (Staffan Göthe), destroyed his life.

The four-part series opens with scenes that foreshadow the court case that makes up the gripping last episode. Haijby has been accused of extortion and blackmail for receiving jewelry as well as large sums of cash from the King. Haijby insists these were gifts, and that he loved and honored the King. It is not a spoiler to say the truth does not prevail; Haijby was railroaded, repeatedly, by Governor Torsten Nothin (Reine Brynolfsson), who disapproved of his relationship with the King.

“A Royal Secret” show how Nothin has been against Haijby from the start. Denied a liquor license, Haijby’s restaurant suffers a loss of customers. Haijby’s wife, Anna (Sanna Krepper) wants to open a simple café, but Haijby is more ambitious, and he sends a complaint to the King, which gets him a meeting. King Gustaf V is quite taken by Haijby at their initial encounter, invites him back after dinner and they begin a romance.

The series is discrete in depicting the lovers, but it is charming when Haijby warms the King’s cold feet by placing them on his chest, prompting the King to feel Haijby’s heartbeat.

“It beats for you,” Haijby replies, suggesting a level of their intimacy.

But Nothin and his henchman Eric Lindner (Bengt Braskered) object to this relationship and want to impose a penalty on Haijby for his congress. Likewise, Anna gets suspicious that her husband, who sports a fancy new watch, or a gold cigarette case, is having an affair. (He is; just not with whom she imagined.)

As Haijby and King Gustaf spend more time together, such as on a gay cruise of sorts, where a policeman named Jonsson (Anders Jacob) is asked to infiltrate and get intel, their relationship threatens to blow wide open. Much of “A Royal Secret” is about containing the damage before the public finds out about the affair.

Episodes 2 and 3 focus on how Haijby is divorced, exiled, imprisoned and committed to an asylum, all in an effort by Nothin to “protect the King.” It is all reprehensible, prompting Haijby to seek redress for how he was treated, but his efforts are repeatedly stymied by those in power.

The horrors Haijby faces are tied to his sexuality. Sent to Germany, he is arrested for having sex with a man in the street and imprisoned. When war breaks out, he remains in jail. Returning home to Sweden, he is taken on the train and committed to an asylum where Dr. Rabe (Erik Ehn) is pressured by Nothin to perform electro-shock therapy and other unnecessary treatments, wearing Haijby down further.

While King Gustaf tries to help Haijby, his hands are largely tied. Nothin is relentlessly attacking Haijby, even putting the publishing house that bought his book about the affair out of business.

“A Royal Secret” is certainly infuriating as Haijby suffers one misfortune after another, and the real crime is not what Haijby did, but what was done to him. The series puts Haijby’s case in context. A pivotal scene in the courtroom has Haijby’s lawyer, Henning Sjöstöm (Adam Pålsson) asking his client to admit he is a homosexual, which Haijby is reluctant to do.

Haijby has several gay assignations and is arrested twice in flagrante delicto —

including once with a minor — but he seems to be conflicted about his sexuality. His relationship with Anne is on-again/off-again. While she makes concerted efforts to help him, Anne also does things that Nothin and others can use against her husband. These reversals of fortune are what make the series juicy. And while the series is based in fact, there are likely some liberties taken for the sake of the drama.

Nevertheless, “A Royal Secret” is addictive, in part because it is hard not to feel sympathy for Haijby as he rallies for justice but keeps encountering obstacles. The courtroom scenes are especially frustrating as characters lie while giving testimony and, heartbreakingly, Haijby is unable to present evidence of his communications with the King.

The show is handsomely filmed — even the insects in Haijby’s various jail cells look good — with marvelous period detail and costumes. However, there is not much insight into the Royal court, outside of the double-dealing, which is disappointing.

The performance by Sverrir Gundnason as Haijby, is very strong. He conveys Haijby’s every emotion through his body language which ranges from free and happy with the King to secretive with Anna to intensely distraught with Nothin. An outburst he has in the courtroom is particularly impactful because he is raging against all the injustice he has faced.

The scenes between the King and Haijby are sweet, and Staffan Göthe makes his deathbed effort to say goodbye to Haijby quite moving. But Reine Brynolfsson plays Nothin as a one-note villain. It is easy to hate him, but he could have had more shading. 

“A Royal Secret” provides an interesting chapter from history. It should prompt viewers to learn more about Haijby’s case.