The first time the conniving Cyrus stepped on-screen in E!'s The Royals, I immediately felt comfortable drawing comparisons to good ole Claudius from Shakespeare's Hamlet. And after King Simon approached the palace steps covered in blood at the end of April 26's "Your Sovereignty of Reason" episode, there are definitely indicators that Cyrus stabbed the king on The Royals. Just like Claudius killed his brother in Hamlet to gain power, Cyrus could have attempted the same on King Simon (though I don't imagine Cyrus and Helena ever getting married to each other like Claudius and Gertrude did in Hamlet). Well, at least the show wants fans to think Cyrus was involved since Ophelia (will the Hamlet references ever stop?!) saw Cyrus leave the palace around the same time that King Simon was doing one of his night strolls. (I knew those walks about London couldn't be palace-sanctioned!)
Usually, a person needs a motive to attempt murder and Cyrus has got one in spades. Cyrus played nice when he tried to convince the king not to abolish the monarchy in the episode, saying, "The people need the magic, brother. You'll be robbing them of the kingdom's greatest — and most defining — virtue." But when Simon pretty much told Cyrus to know his place, Cyrus was not pleased. He ominously ended the argument with, "Perhaps [the people of the U.K. will] keep the monarchy, and abolish you."
Things turned really ugly when King Simon told off his wife and brother later in the episode. He grabbed Cyrus's face and told him "he was out" and would be stripped of all titles. Then he said, "To hell with both of you" to Helena and Cyrus. Motive? You got it! (And let's not forget when Cyrus pointed his gun at Simon when they were hunting together in the show's premiere episode.)
Cyrus and Helena have been doing their best to ensure that the monarchy is not abolished and that the referendum would not happen, so after King Simon's formal plea to the people of the U.K. to vote to end the monarchy, the two evil royals were scrambling. When Cyrus informed Queen Helena that James Holloway (the member of Parliament that Cyrus has been blackmailing with sex and cocaine) was no longer part of their plan, Helena said, "There is no way out of this." To which Cyrus responded, "There's always a way." Seconds later, we see Ophelia looking out her window to see Cyrus creeping around the palace. And then shortly after, King Simon stumbles onto the palace steps — stabbed.
The Royals definitely want viewers to think that Helena and Cyrus had something to do with this, especially when Helena said (somewhat lovingly), "It's almost over" during a mysterious phone call before Simon's stabbing. Could it have been her lover Captain Lacey? (Or a really radical theory: could it be a not-actually-dead Robert? Ehhh, probably not.) If she was calling Lacey, she could be referring to her marriage being almost over, not her husband's life being almost over. But if she's super evil, it could have been about Cyrus and her having Simon taken care of so he can't end the monarchy.
Although we know Cyrus isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, I don't think Cyrus would have stabbed his brother himself. But I definitely don't think it's outrageous to assume he coordinated the stabbing — in fact, that's what the show wants viewers (and Ophelia) to think. So far, Ophelia has proven to be a really good person with high morals, but would she be able to tell Liam that she suspects his Uncle Cyrus of his father's attempted murder? Also, I'm concerned that Liam will blame Ophelia in some way for this since he was with her when he should have been meeting his dad in the tunnels. It will be totally unfair of him to do that, but in his grief, he could pull away from her since he'll be feeling guilty. (Ugh, they've been too damn adorable, so I'm sure The Royals wants to throw more wrenches in their romance.)
The real twist of King Simon's stabbing would be if Cyrus (and Helena) actually had nothing to do with it. Yet, I don't think the pair will ever prove to be 100 percent innocent. Even if they didn't mean for Simon to get hurt, their manipulating ways and attempts to keep the monarchy intact probably led to the king's attack.
Images: E! (2); queenhelenas (2), lindsayshalstead/Tumblr
