Dear reader, this Valentine’s Day fans of the Ton gathered from far and wide for a virtual event celebrating the upcoming Bridgerton spinoff Queen Charlotte, with first glimpses, insider info, and romance galore.
In season one of Bridgerton, the formidable Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) reminds her nephew why he should not take love for granted: “Look at our Queen. Look at our King. Look at their marriage. Look at everything it is doing for us, allowing us to become”. Now, two and a half years later, Rhimes is delivering the prequel which some might argue paved the way for the Bridgerton-verse in all its inclusive glory.
If you loved Bridgerton, check out Lucy’s review of season one here!
You can also find out why Simone thinks season two ‘outshines’ it here.
Centralising the love story between Queen Charlotte and King George, it is clear that a primary focus of Queen Charlotte is not only the royal romance, but also the societal shift it triggered. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes explained her approach to writing the script, stating “I really loved the fact that we could expand the universe and show people how the Bridgerton world that they know came to be.”
The release of the first official teaser trailer (which you can watch below) offers a glimpse of already-established cast members as well as some new faces. Golda Rosheuvel returns as Queen Charlotte, with her younger iteration, played by India Ria Amarteifio. Adjoa Andoh returns as Lady Danbury, with Arsema Thomas playing her younger counterpart. Newcomer Corey Mylchreest is introduced as young King George, whilst Ruth Gemmel returns as Lady Violet Bridgerton.
Rhimes confirmed yesterday that Queen Charlotte will span two different time periods: the one we already know during the time of Bridgerton, and the Ton of decades previously where we see some of our favourite characters’ starting points. Rhimes elaborated on her choice to include two timelines, explaining that “the stories from the past educate you on the stories from the future.” In reference to the inclusion of present day Violet, Agatha and Charlotte, Rhimes also commented that “romance stories don’t tend to include women of a certain age in this genre, and I really wanted to tell the stories of these women and who they are, and how they came to be.”
Alongside younger versions of Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury, we also see Violet Bridgerton as a twelve year old. Rhimes confirmed that she wanted to show why Lady Bridgerton is so committed to finding love matches for her children, and dropped hints that the introduction of her father to the Bridgerton-verse might explain this.
Finally, it was also revealed that Lady Agatha Danbury may get some romance of her own, alongside her developing friendship with the Young Queen. Adjoah Andoh commented that Queen Charlotte’s writing is “off the charts […] as a viewer, it will be so satisfying if you’ve invested in Bridgerton to rediscover these characters in earlier times.”
Consider us convinced. Queen Charlotte drops on Netflix on May 4 and we simply cannot wait for the next wave of Bridgerton fever.
Words by Kate Padley
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