‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ explores a young Charlotte and King George III’s love story not detailed in the books or series. India Amarteifio and Corey Mylchreest got to work mixing history with fiction.
Bridgerton‘s prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will give fans an inside look into life before an integrated ton. A young Charlotte is pushed into an arranged and marriage must deal with an aristocratic political world. Golda Rosheuvel will reprise her role as Queen Charlotte, but actor India Amarteifio will star as the younger version. When bringing to life the character’s past in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Amarteifio had to follow one crucial rule.
The prequel series has a young Charlotte learn to rule a divided monarch and find love
The gossip-loving character in Bridgerton has a detailed past tied to real-life history. Scholars believed Queen Charlotte to African American descent. Her marriage to King George III created a societal shift. While snippets of Queen Charlotte’s life are teased in the Netflix series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will explore a history that does not exist in the books.
Fans will see how a young Charlotte was whisked away from her home into an arranged marriage with a man she has never met. The Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story teaser reveals how Charlotte was a troublemaker willing to flee to avoid the King.
But Charlotte’s arrival also marks a racial shift. Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh explained that race would be integral to the narrative and characters’ stories. The integrated ton fans see in Bridgerton was not that way when Charlotte arrived. Amid the political significance of the marriage, Charlotte is also caught in a pickle. The man she married is not a toad as she believed and is kind.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will explore the unsuspecting blooming of true love between the characters who try to escape their duty. In an interview with Variety, Andoh explained, “There’s less structuring of who’s with who and what’s happening, it’s more about how you respond to those circumstances. There are more intimate scenes, and there’s a cross-fertilization and an enriching of who you are in Bridgerton because of some of the stuff in Queen Charlotte.”
India Amarteifio’s main rule was not to follow Golda Rosheuvel’s footsteps for ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’
While Rosheuvel stars in the prequel as her original character, she is not the main star; Amarteifo is. “I wanted India to be authentic in her own skin — to be able to give that to the next generation is such a privilege,” said Rosheuvel. As Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story explores uncharted territories and origins, Shonda Rhimes gave Amarteifio one clear rule to follow.
“[Shonda was] clear that they didn’t want me to emulate Golda,” Amarteifio said of how she prepared for the role. “They were clear that this Charlotte is her own. I am in control of how she becomes. The writing is so strong that you do get glimmers of Queen Charlotte anyway.” The Netflix series was created using the original book series and has since followed the stories of the Bridgerton siblings and their quest for love.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story still follows the themes of love, intimacy, sexual appeal, and the constraints of a historical time. But unlike Bridgerton, the prequel is based on fabricated fictional details and historical ones. Corey Mylchreest will star in the prequel as King George III. When preparing for his role, he read the biography by Andrew Roberts and multiple written archives.
Like Amarteifo, Mylchreest also had to make his character his own. Despite being a historical figure, the Bridgerton series does not dive heavily into the character. Ultimately, Mylchreest said, “it’s not a historical documentary, it’s fiction.”
Shonda Rhimes teases fans already know the ending
Bridgerton has given small details about King George III and his relationship with Queen Charlotte. Fans notice that the king is never present during major events. He was only seen briefly and appeared just as much in love with his wife as ever. But when mentioning their daughter, Queen Charlotte has no choice but to tell him the truth. It has him spiral into denial and taken away.
According to historical documents, King George III had an illness or “madness” unknown in the era. His reactions are indicators of possible dementia, but scholars have had difficulties pinpointing an exact illness. It is unclear how far Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will explore his and Charlotte’s story.
According to Collider, Rhimes has teased that fans know how the prequel will end. “I loved delving into the romance between charlotte and king George, I thought that was really fascinating and I really wanted to be able to show people what kind of love is like.
