We don’t yet know which Bridgerton love story will drive Season 4, but one thing’s for sure: it’s going to resonate.
Who could forget the way Simon, Duke of Hastings, swept Daphne off her feet with those smoldering stares in Season 1? Or how, in Season 2, Anthony’s feral desire for Kate prompted a desperate plea for mercy on his sanity? And while it took a minute for Colin to realize he was in love with Penelope, his effortlessly charming speech in the finale made us forget all about the delay.
Moments like that are what make the Netflix drama unmissable TV. Powerful declarations — such as Queen Charlotte’s “I will stand with you between the heavens and the earth” in the eponymous spinoff — steal the air from our lungs and keep us coming back for more.
With that in mind, we’re singling out the most swoon-worthy confessions and avowals from the Shondaland-produced series and its prequel. Scroll on for our list of Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte’s best love declarations, ranked. And don’t forget to hit the comments with your input!
Season 3, Episode 5: ‘Her, I saw straight away.’
The introverted John Sterling, Earl of Kilmartin, struggled to verbally express his feelings while courting Francesca in Bridgerton’s third season. He nearly fumbled their romance at one point when he walked away from their chat mid-sentence. Later, he made up for it by revealing he had the music she critiqued rearranged to her liking.
He won us over in Episode 5 with a seemingly innocuous story that packed one heck of punch. In conversation with Kate, Anthony, Francesca and Violet, Lord Kilmartin relayed the tale of the “suspicious streak of mud” that had made its way into his house.
“Even as servants tried to clean it, more spots appeared as if from phantom. As I reached the end of my rope, I finally looked down to discover the phantom was, in fact, me chasing the mud with my own boots,” he explained.
Season 1, Episode 5: ‘I burn for you.’
In Bridgerton’s freshman season, Daphne and Simon pretended to court for their mutual benefit. Their fake relationship, however, spurred real feelings which culminated with a moonlight kiss in the garden.
But they were caught by Anthony and hastily married to protect Daphne’s reputation — at least that’s what they told themselves. When Violet’s eldest daughter confronted Simon about avoiding her and seeming so hot and bothered, the Duke of Hastings finally came clean.
“That is what happens when one burns for someone who does not feel the same,” he revealed.
Bridgerton Season 3, Episode 8: ‘How lucky I am to stand by your side.’
We’re suckers for a slow-burn romance which is why Penelope and Colin’s Season 3 journey was such a treat. After years of friendship (and Penelope’s secret pining), their relationship hit new levels with a handsy carriage ride at the end of Episode 4. Best of all? They wrapped the season blissfully married with a newborn son. But the pair waded through drama as big as Cressida’s sleeves before they got their happy ending.
For starters, Colin found out about his wife’s Lady Whistledown secret after following her and overhearing a conversation with her publisher. Then, they were blackmailed by Cressida, who demanded an outrageous fortune for her silence. On top of that, Queen Charlotte put out a financial reward for intel on Whistledown’s identity.
Bridgerton Season 2, Episode 5: ‘You are the bane of my existence.’
After Bridgerton’s second season, we were convinced no one has ever loved a person as fiercely or as desperately as Anthony and Kate.
That was evident despite their constant bickering throughout the season. Always at each other’s throats, their palpable tension reached its boiling point in Episode 5 following a disastrous dinner party with Edwina’s grandparents, Lord and Lady Sheffield.
Queen Charlotte, Episode 6: ‘My heart calls your name.’
Was there any doubt about who would top this list? We loved them from the moment King George spotted Charlotte attempting to climb that palace wall to avoid marrying him. How could we not when their off-the-charts chemistry turned banal phrases like “It is an even day” and “I’m very good with buttons” into seductive one-liners?
But their union was as turbulent as it was passionate. George kept his wife at arm’s length and Charlotte suspected he was hiding something from her — though she didn’t know what exactly. Fed up with his constant need to push her away, the queen confronted her husband and demanded he tell her he didn’t love her so they could move on with their separate lives.
In one of the most gut-wrenching moments of the season, George admitted that he was mentally unwell and that the “heavens and the Earth collide” in his mind. Still, Charlotte kept firm.
“I will stand with you between the heavens and the Earth. I will tell you where you are. Do you love me?” she pressed.
