Is This Why Robert Was Killed On 'The Royals'?

There have been plenty of mysteries and acts of deception on The Royals this season, but there's still one that's remained unanswered for as long as we've been watching: Prince Robert's death. We don't have a ton of information about the circumstances of his demise (read: we barely have any concrete information), but we've been learning more and more along the way. It was initially suggested that his death was a military accident, but in recent episodes, Queen Helena has said that he killed himself, the show's writers have made Cyrus look very guilty, and a mysterious hooded figure claims that he was responsible for Robert's death. While I still think that Robert's not actually dead, I'm willing to let that assumption go for the purposes of this conversation. Robert is dead. Now all there's left to find out is why Prince Robert was murdered.

Considering the number of twists and turns that have happened over a mere nine episodes, I don't know that I would necessarily be shocked to learn that the reason behind Robert's murder was something that we've not yet even discussed at any length on the show. I'm almost hoping that the motive behind Robert's murder gives us some answers about other characters on the show — wouldn't that be a great lead-in for Season 2? Anywho, since we don't know anything for sure, I'm going to do what I do best and posit baseless theories for your (and my) education and enjoyment. Strap in!

He Was Colluding With Enemies Of State

He was in the military, and it's always possible that someone in his troop (is that what they're called in the British army?) saw him working with one of their enemies and went all vigilante on him. This would be kind of anti-climactic for the show, but it's always possible.

He Supported The Anti-Monarchists

We still don't know who stabbed the king, or why he was stabbed, but I think it has something to do with the fact that he was planning on signing a referendum to abolish the monarchy. I think that whoever stabbed him didn't want this to happen. If Prince Robert wanted to abolish the monarchy as well, he could have been taken out by the same people hoping to protect the royal family's position.

He Was Involved With Whatever Prudence Is Up To

Not that we know what that is. For all that we know she was just a maid, but her ready access to poison and guns makes me think that she was up to something, and she tried to kill Cyrus not once, but twice. We know nothing about Robert except for what we've heard — he could be more like Cyrus than we know, and as a result, a target for whoever Prudence works for.

He Knew About Queen Helena's Affair

Captain Lacey is a military man, and now it seems that he may also be Liam and Eleanor's father. If Robert found out that his mother was having an affair, he could've gotten angry at her betrayal and confronted Lacey, leading to a fight that ended in Robert's death. In this case, it's possible that the death was an accident, but it would be an interesting way to give us answers about Captain Lacey that we (and by we, I mean me, because TBH I don't know what you guys want) have wanted since the day we found out about him.

Cyrus Killed Him To Get Closer To Claiming The Throne

This is probably the most popular theory, and it's VERY Hamlet -esque. Cyrus is a dirtbag and a liar and a very easy man to hate, so it's easy to imagine him committing a crime to further his own ambition. I think the writers are much more clever than this, but I'd be remiss to exclude this theory the discussion.

He Wasn't Really Murdered — It's All An Elaborate Scheme So He Can Hide Out

Remember that time I said I was going to let go of my belief that Robert isn't actually dead for the purposes of this conversation? Well, I lied. I think his murder was staged so that he could hide out. Why he would do this is somewhat unclear. It's possible that he saw something happen or is acting as an informant for some government organization, perhaps the CIA. This could connect him to Jasper in an interesting way, considering we still have no idea what he's up to.

Either way, even if we get a reason for Robert's death during the season finale, we might still learn more in Season 2. That's how awesome the show's writing is.

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