“It was very much a conscious choice, not a blind choice.”
Bridgerton is the brand new eight-part series that was released on Netflix on Christmas Day. It comes from Shondaland, Shonda Rhimes’ production company, and is part of her multi-million pound contract with the streaming service.
Based on the books by Julia Quinn, the show is set in Regency-era London and takes a look at the lives of eight siblings from the wealthy Bridgerton family. It has a unique twist as an anonymous persona named Lady Whistledown shares all of the city’s biggest scandals in a pamphlet.
In a recent interview with The Times, Quinn said that she is supportive of Netflix’s ‘colour-conscious’ decision to cast Queen Charlotte as Black.
“Many historians believe she had some African background. It’s a highly debated point and we can’t DNA test her so I don’t think there’ll ever be a definitive answer,” she explained.
Quinn added that Bridgerton cast Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte and several other Black actors for a specific reason.
She said: “It was very much a conscious choice, not a blind choice.”
Queen Charlotte reigned for nearly 60 years and was married to King George III until she died in 1818. She was also the great-great-great-great grandmother of the current Queen Elizabeth.
Born in Germany, Queen Charlotte was the daughter of a Duke and descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, which was the Black branch of the Portuguese Royal House.
While Queen Charlotte’s racial identity has never been entirely confirmed, many art historians have found that some of her portraits depicted traditional features of someone with African heritage. Queen Charlotte’s assumed race wasn’t public knowledge until many years after her death.
