It takes Golda Rosheuvel roughly two and a half hours to get into full Queen Charlotte regalia. The process happens in stages, depending on how big the day’s wig is, how voluminous the dress, if it’s one of Bridgerton’s famous ballroom scenes or something more intimate. But once she’s fully made up, the feeling is worth every second, Rosheuvel says.
“The feeling is she has arrived — and I say that when I look in the mirror and kind of go, ‘Yep, she’s arrived,’” the actress says over Zoom. “I suppose, in that regal way, it’s a real ceremony of getting ready, and the jewelry is the last cherry on the cake of presenting this character to the cameras on the day of filming. So it really is a kind of ceremonial ritual in a way, and I think that really lends itself to that regal queen-like, throne-like, monarchy scenario that she’s in.”
Rosheuvel reprises her role as Queen Charlotte in the third season of “Bridgerton,” part one of which is out Thursday. In between seasons two and three of “Bridgerton” there was the spinoff, “Queen Charlotte,” which told the origin story of Rosheuvel’s character and how she came to be the monarch we see in the main series.
“Certainly as an actor, you do all your background when you start learning a character, so back four years ago when I was doing season one of ‘Bridgerton,’ I imagined my family and what they would look like, my children, and I had that in the dark depths of my imagination. And now shining light onto that and allowing the fans into that story through Shonda Rhimes’ exquisite writing is really satisfying,” Rosheuvel says. “It’s like you gather people around now to come on that journey. It’s like that pied piper, you play the whistle and people follow you, and I feel as though ‘Queen Charlotte’ was playing the whistle and now the crowds are following behind us.”
Rosheuvel says her portrayal of the queen is an ode to her mother, which is “a really beautiful place to be in.”
“As a biracial artist, there’s this really unique blend of both my parents actually. Obviously with the color of my skin, you get to see my father, obviously with the history of Queen Charlotte being a biracial woman, you get to see that history, but the kind of inner core of her is my mom,” she adds. “So I’m at this really beautiful point in my career where I can celebrate both of my parents in a really unique way.”
Season three finds Queen Charlotte feeling restless and in search of something new, which is coupled with the arrival of new showrunner Jess Brownell.
“I think that newness lends itself really wonderfully to Queen Charlotte and where she is at the beginning of season three,” Rosheuvel says. “She’s got an itch. There’s a little bit of like ‘I don’t want to do things that we’ve been doing up until now. What’s the difference? What difference can I make? Who can I piss off or be mischievous with or talk about?’ She’s seeking something at the beginning, and she’s a little bit restless.”
Rosheuvel points to Rhimes’ ability to write inclusive characters as a main reason behind the show’s landmark success.
“She’s very passionate, as we all are, of telling stories that people can relate to, stories that represent the world that we are living in. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a sci-fi, it’s our show, a period drama or a comedy. People need to relate to characters, and I think Shonda has the Midas touch for that kind of stuff,” Rosheuvel says. “She’s a genius in that way, of really allowing the audiences in and allowing the characters out. I think that’s the reason why this show works.”
