Leo, the reluctant prince who becomes involved with a group of street urchins and Sherlock Holmes, has become a breakout character from Netflix's The Irregulars, with many fans wondering what will become of him after the character's downbeat ending to the first season. Real-life history suggests an ending far away from Bea and the street-level world - but how it will play out in the world of The Irregulars remains to be seen.
Throughout the first season, Leo seeks to rebel against his smothering royal upbringing, leaving the palace to get a better sense of how "normal people" live. He ends up falling in love with Bea and seeking to abandon his aristocratic life. However, he ends up needing the Palace's help when Billy is imprisoned for attacking his old workhouse master. As part of the price for this help, Leo agrees to an arranged marriage with Princess Helena. At the end of the season, he leaves for Europe with a devastated Bea in his wake.
Leo is based on a real historical figure, Prince Leopold, the youngest son of Queen Victoria. The real Leopold did end up marrying Helena, although it was during his late twenties, older than he's suggested to be in The Irregulars. While the series suggests that this is a marriage of convenience, with both admitting to loving others, the real-life Leopold and Helena had a happy marriage, at least by the standards of arranged noble unions, and produced two children before Leopold's death at the age of 30.
This history suggests that Bea and Leo's romance is ultimately doomed. But The Irregulars plays more than a little loose with history, allowing for a good deal of anachronism and invention - including in elements of Leo's season 1 story. After all, this is the series that adds prominent supernatural elements to Sherlock Holmes' rational world. Leo's engagement to Helena will likely continue to be a complication in season 2, but the story could end differently from the historical record.
With actor Harrison Osterfield a regular cast member, it is likely that Leo will feature prominently in the forthcoming second season of The Irregulars. While Leo may have resolved himself to submit to his family's demands for Billy's sake, his desire for adventure and love of Bea remain, and he could find himself tied up in whatever supernatural adventure the crew has to deal with next. Being the Irregulars' link to high society, they could still draw on him as a resource, which may draw him back towards Bea and the world of the streets. The core conflict of Leo's character, between desire and duty, has yet to be fully resolved.
The first season also suggests that Billy has feelings for Bea, and in the already-ordered second season of The Irregulars it's possible that she could turn to him following her heartbreak, creating a love triangle with Leo. This, in turn, could heighten the conflict that Leo feels. In history, Prince Leopold ended his life a married noble, husband to Helena and father of two. But in The Irregulars, nothing is ever exactly as it seems.