Here's What 'The Royals' Season 2 Will Look Like

Even before Season 1 aired, Season 2 of The Royals has been in the works, so it goes without saying that the writers have some surprises in store for us and our favorite fictional royal family. Over the past nine episodes, we've had royal affairs, masquerade balls, a death in the family, potentially illegitimate children, blackmail, a stabbing, a maybe-American-maybe-not-but-still-gloriously-handsome bodyguard, drugs, alcohol, politics, and literally everything in between. So, with all of that over and done with, what could possibly happen in Season 2? [UPDATE: E! announced via press release that The Royals Season 2 will premiere on Nov. 15.]

Unfortunately, the show's IMDB doesn't give us any concrete information, not even a release date. E!'s official page for the show isn't all that helpful either, so it looks like our best guesses and predictions for next season are all we've really got. And you know what? I kinda like it that way. It gives me the freedom to be hopeful and harp on all of my old theories, only some of which are based on fact.

It's relatively safe to say that Elizabeth Hurley, Tom Austen, Alexandra Park, William Moseley, Merritt Patterson, and Jake Maskall will reprise their roles as Queen Helena, Jasper, Eleanor, Liam, Ophelia, and Cyrus respectively, but what they'll be up to is seemingly up in the air. Rather than wait patiently for previews, though, let's use what we know (or, perhaps, what we think we know) to make some predictions. Here are X things that could happen on The Royals Season 2.

1. King Simon Will Wake Up, Return To The Throne, & Sign The Referendum To Abolish The Monarchy

I could easily see the writers building at five or six episode arc surrounding the referendum's progress and how the royal family, Parliament, and the people react to it. I'd also like to see this happen on the heels of Simon's return to power, which would likely come with a swift kick to Cyrus's ego/title/face.

2. Jasper Will Be Revealed To Be A Member Of The CIA

OK, how badass would this be? I feel like it would be a little too complicated and a little bit too triple-agent-á-la-Snape-in-Harry Potter for Jasper to be a British man pretending to be American pretending to be British. I think he's actually American, and given his interesting skill set (remember how he knocked out that Olympic swimmer that Eleanor was trying to seduce?), I think he's definitely a government man. Maybe he's a member of the CIA and he's been placed in the palace on assignment, and he'll spend Season 2 struggling to complete his assignment while dealing with his very real feelings for Eleanor.

3. Liam & Eleanor Will Find Out Who Their Real Father Is

Assuming that this whole "illegitimate children" thing isn't just some game that the queen and Cyrus are playing and King Simon isn't actually their father.

4. Cyrus Will Answer For Where He Was When The King Was Stabbed

We still don't know where he was (though the queen apparently does), and he essentially forced his lover to help him fake an alibi. While I don't think he was the one that stabbed the king because that would be a bit too easy from a writer's standpoint, I do think he was doing something nefarious. Because a guy with eyebrows like that is always up to something nefarious, IMHO.

5. Ophelia Will Find Out What Really Happened To Her Mother

Guys, we still have no idea what happened to Ophelia's mom. We know her father feels guilty about not protecting her, and they've been bringing up her death more and more over the past few episodes, which makes me thing it's more significant than the writers originally let on. I think Ophelia will find out what happened and it will severely impact her relationship with Liam and the royal family, and it might even be the thing that convinces her to join that dance company in New York City.

6. Gemma Will Win Liam Back — At Least, For A Little While

Like I said, with Ophelia out of the picture, Liam will be heartbroken, which gives Gemma the perfect opportunity to swoop in and win him back. While she's kind of the worst and seems to be more of a social climber than anything else, I think she does have feelings for him. That said, I suspect her motivation to win him back is more for her benefit than anything else.

7. We'll Learn More About Marcus's Backstory

Has anyone else been paying attention to Marcus? Boy is FINE, and we really don't know anything about him other than the fact that he started working as Liam's bodyguard about six years ago. I'd love to get some more information about how he grew up and how he found himself working at the palace.

8. Eleanor Will Start Seeing Beck Again

They spent too much time developing Eleanor and Beck's relationship during the one episode they spent together for him not to return. I think we'll find out more about Prince Robert's death in the season finale, but Beck will return in Season 2 with more (and, perhaps, more accurate) information about his death, since they were friends and all. While this kind of hurts my heart because I'm such a Jeleanor 'shipper, I think it might do Eleanor some good to date a nice guy for once. One catch though: Beck is married. I guess we'll just overlook that?

9. Cyrus's Daughters Will Be Back To Bring The Ridiculousness

These two are hands-down the best characters on the show, and despite the relatively rude comparisons that people have drawn about their characters, they've been super underrated and underused. I'd love to see them take on bigger roles in Season 2, if only for comic relief.

Images: Frank W. Ockenfels 3/E! Entertainment; queenhelenas (4), fyeahtheroyals (2), jaspenor (2)/Tumblr