Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story isn’t your typical period drama. The six-episode series focuses on the lives of three headstrong women – Queen Charlotte, Lady Agatha Danbury and Lady Violet Bridgerton – and how they navigate race, power politics and matters of the heart. The historical drama is a spin-off of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, and serves as a prequel (it is set before the events of Bridgerton take place) and also as a sequel (of the last two seasons of Bridgerton featuring an older Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel).
Queen Charlotte stars India Ria Amarteifio as the young Queen Charlotte and Corey Mylchreest as the young King George III. Their royal marriage, while pristine from the outside, is falling apart due to a huge secret which is revealed to Charlotte only weeks after the wedding.
Sketched after the life of King George III, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1760 to 1820, George in Queen Charlotte suffers from a mental illness, which makes it difficult for the two to have a perfect married life. Here are the highlights from Season 1 of the Shonda Rhimes creation directed by Tom Verica.
The chemistry between Queen Charlotte and King George III
Like every Bridgerton couple, the sexual tension between Queen Charlotte and King George III is palpable from the get go. The fact that they were pushed into an arranged marriage and met only hours before their wedding creates the perfect setting for a blossoming romance, and the couple sustain the chemistry through the show. The showrunners make good use of the enemies-to-lovers trope, letting the love-hate relationship between Charlotte and George intensify the steamy scenes.
The hardships make their love grow from strength to strength. Once Queen Charlotte understands King George’s mental illness, she does everything within her power to make him better. Her sheer force of will and determination makes George’s good days better and even sees the king attend social events for the first time. The last episode takes an emotional turn, showing how their love has endured over the years and through George’s worsening condition. For George, Charlotte is the woman he fell in love with the first time he saw, as she was trying to run away from the castle before her wedding. And for Charlotte, he is the reason she stopped herself from going over the wall.
The trio of Charlotte, Agatha and Violet
Despite the differences in their societal standing and personal lives, the trio of Charlotte, Agatha and Violet have one thing in common – they are all strong-minded and powerful. The Netflix series goes back and forth between the older and the younger selves of the three women.
Arsema Thomas’s young Lady Agatha captures the early years when she became Charlotte’s most trusted and how she dealt with the loss of her husband. The older Agatha, played by Adjoa Andoh, as seen in the last two seasons of Bridgerton, is thriving in old age and leaves room for every experience the world has to offer.
The older Lady Violet Bridgerton, played by Ruth Gemmell, is shown discovering a renewed sexual need, years after losing her husband, something that is rarely talked about when it comes to older women. In the case of Queen Charlotte, young age doesn’t deter her from standing up for herself as well as for her husband. Her devotion towards her crown as well as her lineage is seen in the older version of Charlotte, who invests all her time and attention in making sure her children get married and have kids.
Racial undertones
The marriage of King George III, who is British and white, and Queen Charlotte, who is African-German, ushers a hope for a new kind of society where all races mingle and find a place. George and Charlotte’s marriage is called ‘The Experiment’, which allows the lords and ladies of different racial backgrounds to bring in a new era of mixed marriages. The racial undertones are a huge part of the series from Shonda Rhimes. There are instances where Charlotte’s skin colour is brought up – the dowager queen (Michelle Fairley) asks the royal painter to lighten Charlotte’s skin tone in the paintings.
On the other hand, Lady Danbury’s four-year-old son is on the verge of becoming Lord Danbury but isn’t given the title easily because of their African descent. There is tension in the air as to whether or not the experiment will work. But Queen Charlotte and King George’s love for one another sees it through.
Brimsley and Reynolds
Sam Clemmett’s Young Brimsley is brought in to become the Queen’s Man who becomes her shadow that always hovers five steps behind. The two become quick companions, knowing their place in each other’s lives and yet being the much needed support for one another. Even though the series focuses on the young love of Charlotte and George, a secondary love story blooms in the whispers and silences in the palace. Brimsley and King’s Man Reynolds (Freddie Dennis) have a blooming relationship, which doesn’t see the light of the day because of it being same-sex love.
