Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story |
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| Genre | Historical drama |
| Created by | Shonda Rhimes |
| Directed by | Tom Verica |
| Starring |
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| Composer(s) | Kris Bowers |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Anna O'Malley |
| Cinematography | Jeffrey Jur |
| Production company(s) | Shondaland |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Original release | May 4, 2023 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Bridgerton |
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a historical drama limited series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. The series is a prequel spin-off of the Netflix series Bridgerton. The story focuses on the rise of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to prominence and power in the late 18th century. The series premiered on May 4, 2023, and consists of 6 episodes that are roughly an hour in runtime.
In the first week after its premiere, it debuted at number one in 91 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, South Africa and Canada, and atop the Netflix Global Weekly Top 10 of the ten most-watched English-language TV series on the platform in seven days on May 7, 2023.
Contents
Premise
The spin-off miniseries revolving around Queen Charlotte consists of two plot lines: one in the present of Bridgerton, beginning in 1817 with the death of the royal heir Princess Charlotte, an event that causes the Queen to pressure her children to marry and produce another royal heir; the other begins in 1761 with Charlotte meeting and marrying King George. The latter explores the King and Queen's marriage and his mental illness.
Cast and characters
Main
- India Amarteifio as young Queen Charlotte (1761)
- Corey Mylchreest as young King George III (1761)
- Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte (1817)
- Arsema Thomas as young Agatha, Lady Danbury, Queen Charlotte's lady-in-waiting (1761)
- Adjoa Andoh as Agatha, Lady Danbury, a sharp-tongued, insightful doyenne of London society (1817)
- Ruth Gemmell as Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton, mother of the Bridgerton children (1817)
- Michelle Fairley as Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, King George's mother (1761)
- Freddie Dennis as Reynolds, the King's secretary (1761)
- Sam Clemmett as young Brimsley, the Queen's secretary (1761)
- Hugh Sachs as Brimsley, the Queen's secretary (1817)
- Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown, an author of gossip columns (1817)
Recurring
- Tunji Kasim as Adolphus IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Charlotte's older brother (1761)
- Cyril Nri as Lord Herman Danbury, Lady Danbury's husband (1761)
- Peyvand Sadeghian as Coral, Lady Danbury's maid (1761)
- Ryan Gage as George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte's eldest son (1817)
- Joshua Riley as Prince Adolphus, Queen Charlotte's seventh son (1817)
- Jack Michael Stacey as Prince Edward, Queen Charlotte's fourth son (1817)
- Seamus Dillane as Prince William, Queen Charlotte's third son (1817)
- Eliza Capel as Princess Sophia, Queen Charlotte's fifth daughter (1817)
- Neil Edmond as the Earl Harcourt (1761)
- Richard Cunningham as Lord Bute, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1761)
- Connie Jenkins-Greig as young Violet Ledger (1761)
- Guy Henry as Doctor John Monro, the King's physician (1761)
- Keir Charles as Lord Ledger, Violet's father (1761)
Guests
- Sabina Arthur as Princess Elizabeth, Queen Charlotte's third daughter (1817)
- Ben Cura as Prince Augustus, Queen Charlotte's sixth son (1817)
- Harvey Almond as Prince Ernest, Queen Charlotte's fifth son (1817)
- Felix Brunger as Prince Frederick, Queen Charlotte's second son (1817)
- Katie Brayben as Lady Vivian Ledger, Violet's mother (1761)
- Helen Coathup as Princess Augusta, Queen Charlotte's second daughter (1817)
- Sophie Harkness as Princess Adelaide, wife of Prince William (1817)
- Florence Dobson as Princess Victoria, wife of Prince Edward (1817)
- Isaiah Ajiboye as Dominic Danbury, Lady Danbury's son (1761)
- Lemar as Lord Smythe-Smith (1761)
- Nicola Alexis as Lady Smythe-Smith (1761)
- Harry Omosele as the Duke of Hastings (1761)
- James Fleet as King George III (1817)
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Queen to Be" | Tom Verica | Shonda Rhimes | May 4, 2023 |
| In 1761 Charlotte's brother, Adolphus, signs a contract marrying her to George III. Charlotte is unhappy with the idea of the marriage. Upon seeing her and realizing she's black, the King's mother, Princess Augusta, invites several prominent people of colour to the wedding and grants them titles on her son's behalf, effectively desegregating society. Before the wedding can go through Charlotte attempts to run away but is caught by a charming man who turns out to be her future husband. She decides to go through with the marriage but is surprised when, on the night of the wedding, he presents her with her own house but informs her of his intention to live a completely separate life in Kew. In 1817, Queen Charlotte learns her only legitimate granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Wales has died in childbirth kicking off a succession crisis. She urges her surviving 12 children to produce legitimate heirs. | ||||
| 2 | "Honeymoon Bliss" | Tom Verica | Shonda Rhimes | May 4, 2023 |
| In 1761 Charlotte spends most of her honeymoon alone. She learns that she has no activities planned as she is supposed to be with George. George reveals to Charlotte that he left her on their marriage night as he was charting the Transit of Venus. He asks Charlotte for a redo of their marriage night. However the following morning she overhears a conversation between George and his mother in which he reveals he is hiding his true self from her. | ||||
| 3 | "Even Days" | Tom Verica | Shonda Rhimes | May 4, 2023 |
| Still feuding, Charlotte and George nevertheless agree to see each other on even days. After seeing that George also has a passion for agriculture, Charlotte decides to accept her husband for who he is and reconciles with him deciding to be a team. Lady Danbury's husband decides he wants to host the first ball of the season. Despite not having Princess Augusta's full support, Lady Danbury issues invitations and is rejected by the white members of the ton. She asks for Queen Charlotte's support, pointing out that the newly made members of the ton are in a precarious position. Charlotte and George go to the Danbury's ball which is a success; afterward, Lord Danbury dies. | ||||
| 4 | "Holding the King" | Tom Verica | Nicholas Nardini | May 4, 2023 |
| Flashbacks reveal that Princess Augusta arranged George's marriage behind his back as he was frightened of the prospect of marriage due to his uncontrollable fits and mental breakdowns. Doctor Monro suggests there is nothing wrong with him and his breakdowns are due to a lack of discipline. Quickly falling in love with Charlotte, George removes himself from her presence to follow a grueling program set up by Monro to break him. Feeling better and missing Charlotte, George decides to move back in with her. He dismisses Monro only to discover that Charlotte has decided to keep him as her physician as she is pregnant. Her pregnancy triggers a mental crisis in George leading to his late night visions of Venus in the garden. | ||||
| 5 | "Gardens in Bloom" | Tom Verica | Story by : Shonda Rhimes Teleplay by : Shonda Rhimes and Nicholas Nardini |
May 4, 2023 |
| Princess Augusta learns that Charlotte is pregnant and announces plans to move into Buckingham House. Charlotte, frustrated at her lack of headway with George, writes to her brother Adolphus, and asks to be taken home when he visits. The other nonwhite members of the ton ask Agatha to figure out her matters of succession; though she brings her young son to Princess Augusta, she does not get a clear answer on whether or not he will inherit his father's peerage. Charlotte visits Agatha and is encouraged to assert herself, eventually confronting Monro and retrieving George herself. Agatha begins taking daily walks with Lord Ledger, and the two sleep together. In the 1810s, Charlotte betroths two of her sons to eligible princesses. | ||||
| 6 | "Crown Jewels" | Tom Verica | Shonda Rhimes | May 4, 2023 |
| A reunited Charlotte and George affirm their mutual love, and Charlotte gives birth to a baby boy. Despite his high spirits, George is unable to appear before Parliament, leading to rumours that he is unfit to rule. Meanwhile, Agatha is subtly rebuffed by Lord Ledger, and Princess Augusta is unyielding on the matter of succession. Charlotte and George successfully host a ball with the dual purpose of celebrating their son's birth and presenting George as a capable ruler. Adolphus proposes to Agatha, but unwilling to be trapped in another marriage, she rejects him. An accepting Charlotte tells Agatha that she will assist her with keeping the title. Charlotte visits George to tell him that Princess Victoria is pregnant. | ||||
Production
Development
The series was announced in May 2021, with Shonda Rhimes set as showrunner and writer. Rhimes also serves as executive producer with Betsy Beers and director Tom Verica. Anna O'Malley serves as producer. The series consists of 6 episodes. In April 2022, production designer Dave Arrowsmith was fired due to bullying allegations on set. In a interview for Netflix Tudum, the executive producer and screenwriter Verica talked about the creative process behind the series and why it was chosen to be based on the Charlotte Queen figure:
We’re very clear about this world and that this is not a history lesson. This is fiction inspired by fact. It’s very important to me that people understand that, because I’m telling the story of Queen Charlotte of Bridgerton, not of Queen Charlotte of England. [...] Many historians believe that Queen Charlotte was of mixed cultural heritage. We wanted to take that in a different direction than what the history books have said happened which was basically to bury that and not deal with it. We wanted to shine a light on that element. We asked, "What if society embraced those differences in diversity and elevated people of color to prominent positions and ranks?"; "The Great Experiment" [which didn’t happen in real-life England] allows us to reimagine what that world could have looked like if that part of Charlotte’s identity had been embraced
Casting
On March 30, 2022, Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, and Hugh Sachs were announced to be reprising their roles from Bridgerton. India Amarteifio, Michelle Fairley, Corey Mylchreest, Arsema Thomas, Sam Clemmett, Richard Cunningham, Tunji Kasim, Rob Maloney, and Cyril Nri were also cast. In June 2022, Katie Brayben and Keir Charles were cast in recurring roles. One month later, Connie Jenkins-Grieg joined the cast as a young Violet Bridgerton.
Filming
The series was previously set to begin filming in January 2022. Production began on February 6, 2022, under the working title Jewels, and was set to wrap in May 2022. Director Tom Verica confirmed filming had started by March 28, 2022. The series wrapped on August 30, 2022. The filming took place at Blenheim Palace, Belton House, Merton College, Hatfield House and Waddesdon Manor.
Music
Kris Bowers, who scored both the first and second seasons of Bridgerton, also worked on two original soundtrack projects for the series through Sony Music. The first one, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series), was supervised by Bowers, with co-production by Max Wrightson and co-writing of some tracks by Alec Sievern and Michael Dean Parsons. The second project, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series), provided for the reinterpretation in a classical music key of pop songs from Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, SZA, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston discography. Keys song "If I Ain't Got You" was recorded with Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra,a 70-piece orchestra of women of colour and Keys herself served has been used as a soundtrack song.
Release
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was released on Netflix on May 4, 2023, consisting of 6 episodes.
