Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story finally landed on screens last week and left viewers questioning whether the script contained references to Meghan Markle.
Bridgerton’s highly anticipated prequel transported fans to the early days of Queen Charlotte’s (played by India Amarteifio) ruling.
Although the monarch (Golda Rosheuvel) was introduced in the original Netflix drama, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story also detailed her romance with King George III (Corey Mylchreest).
As the drama has taken social media by storm, many viewers have questioned the storyline after seemingly noting similarities with the Duchess of Sussex.
During several episodes, Queen Charlotte’s Ethiopia as a mixed-race woman was a major topic of discussion as people often compared her to the other members of the Royal Family.
As viewers speculated whether this was a nod to Meghan Markle, the creator Shonda Rhimes has opened up about the script.
In a recent interview, the showrunner confirmed the similarities between Meghan and the fictionalized story of Queen Charlotte were unintentional.
Shonda told Vulture: “Meghan Markle did not enter into it.
“My brain mostly thinks in terms of American politics, unfortunately, so I was really thinking about what would happen if this girl, Charlotte, came to America and was married off and how that was handled.”
The concerns about Charlotte’s race were first raised in episode one when King George’s mother, Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley) voiced her surprise.
She stated: “She is very brown… You did not say that she would be that brown.”
Viewers compared this scene to the claims Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made when they suggested an unidentified family member shared “concern” about Prince Archie’s skin color.
Twitter user @CaribbeanSpyce shared stills of the episode on Twitter and wrote: “#QueenCharlotte the Meghan Markle / Archie ‘what color will the baby be,’ reference in this scene has me deceased. Shonda said, ‘The Crown won’t cover it, but I will.’”
@AceTolulope tweeted: “The Meghan Markle / Archie ‘what color will the baby be,’ reference has me dead.”
@beck_hamn noted: “I thought it was only me who realized this resemblance.”
As @Bbfan44_ agreed: “Yes! There were several Sussex references and I’m here for all of them!”
Elsewhere in the series, race was brought up again as Princess Augusta examines George and Charlotte’s first-born child.
After careful inspection, she later declared Prince George “perfect”.
