Into the Bridgerverse we go.
Netflix has finally granted fans its first expansion of the Bridgerton universe – the Bridgiverse, for those in the know – in its moreish, technicolour spin-off Queen Charlotte.
The delicious six-parter brings all the elements of Bridgerton we have come to know and love – Julie Andrews’ syrupy Lady Whistledown voiceover, teasing classical covers of modern pop songs, fan-fluttering sex scenes and enough wisteria to drown in.
But this series focuses on the bosom-heaving Regency era’s monarch, who has long been a scene-stealing icon on the original show, as played by Golda Rosheuvel with a rotating buffet of fabulous wigs.
Captioned A Bridgerton Story, Queen Charlotte is intricately connected to its original show, chiefly because the script, written by show creator Shonda Rhimes, weaves together the two timelines of young Charlotte, played by India Amarteifio, and her Bridgerton counterpart Rosheuvel.
Rosheuvel has spoken about how Rhimes ensured the two time periods not only coexisted on the screen, but knit together, chiefly through familiar faces and references the fandom would spot.
“Shonda has been really clever in connecting the worlds, connecting the two series together,” she told Radio Times. “The universe sort of swirls round within itself, so it will be fascinating to see whether the fans notice little nuances and Easter eggs that we’ve put in both productions. It’s a fascinating way of telling the story.”
In the flashforward scenes, we’re treated to a familiar cast of characters, with Adjoa Andoh returning as Lady Danbury and Ruth Gemmell as Lady Bridgerton, meaning we can dive into where exactly this present-day drama slots into the overarching Bridgerton timeline, following the show’s second season.
Where is Queen Charlotte on the Bridgerton timeline?
The show kicks off with both soon-to-be-Queen Charlotte (Amarteifio) and the viewers thrown in at the deep end. In its opening moments, a young Charlotte is suddenly contracted in marriage to King George: a man she has never met, who presides over a country far from her own.
As she travels from Germany to England with her brother Adolphus (Tunji Kasim) in a less-than-jolly mood, we jump forward to the present-day Ton.
The mischievous but feisty Queen Charlotte (Rosheuvel) is woken in the middle of the night with news of a doctor at the palace doors. She chews him out amid grumbles over her beauty sleep, warning: “If I could still have people beheaded, you would be in the queue.”
But he comes with the tragic news that her daughter-in-law, the Princess Royal, has died in childbirth along with her grandchild, who was to be heir to the throne.
“Dearest gentle reader,” Lady Whistledown then begins, charging back into our lives like a long-lost best friend carrying a treasure trove of fresh gossip. “While our hearts grieve for the loss of the Princess Royal, our heads grieve more for the future of the monarchy itself.”
We’re told the crown is now in crisis, with no heir in sight – despite an impressive proliferation of illegitimate tots sired by the 13 children King George and Queen Charlotte had. Queen Charlotte, the original Millionaire Matchmaker if ever there was one, gets to work, telling her children they’re to wed and procreate pronto.
These present-day Ton scenes are at first a far cry from the eternal spring of Bridgerton we’re used to. Instead, we’re in the wintry months with dour grayscale scenes that are made no lighter by the fact that the queen and her court all don mourning black following the death of the Princess Royal.
So where does this storyline, which runs concurrently to the love affair of young Charlotte with her husband George, relate to where we last left the Bridgerton gang? There are a few clues eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted.
First of these is a brief scene where Lady Bridgerton is playing with not one but two babies, who appear to be her grandchildren. Her daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke (Regé-Jean Page) had their first child at the end of the first season and we got an adorable glimpse of the bouncing baby in season two.
Given that Daphne and the Duke have five children in the Julia Quinn novels the series is based on, this could be their second child. We were initially left wondering whether the second tot could be none other than Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony’s (Jonathan Bailey) first child – until a throwaway comment from Lady Bridgerton threw water on that theory.
As she takes in an art exhibition with Lady Danbury, she briefly mentions that Anthony is still on his honeymoon. Aha! This gives us the clearest indication of where in the series the drama of Queen Charlotte fits in.
The second season of Bridgerton concludes in epic frothy fashion, with Kanthony finally united in matrimony after a whirlwind enemies-to-lovers romance for the Netflix ages. Yet after Kate and Anthony finally declare their love for one another, the show jumps forward six months to when they are already married and have just returned from a six-month honeymoon sojourn abroad.
So, it seems that the death of Queen Charlotte’s daughter-in-law and her subsequent matchmaking efforts take place in this six-month period which is breezed past at the end of the second season, before the blissful concluding spring scene at the Bridgerton family’s country house.
While this six-part series is likely a standalone spin-off piece for Queen Charlotte, the show brings characters and storylines to the fore that could prove perfect frothy fodder for the main show as its third season approaches. It’s exciting to think the questions we’re left asking at the end of Queen Charlotte – What happened to Reynolds? Has Queen Charlotte really secured an heir to the throne? – could very well crop up elsewhere in the expanding Bridgiverse.
