Having soaked in the first episode of Queen Charlotte we can all agree, in hindsight, that the young royal’s story now seems the most natural extension of the Bridgiverse.
The unpicking of Queen Charlotte and King George’s relationship right down to the bare bones of their early courting days couldn’t be more Bridgerton.
Yet, hard as it is to imagine, this rare jewel could have been overlooked had it not been for Jacquline Avant, whom the first episode is dedicated to.
But who is Jacqueline Avant and why was she commemorated at the end of ‘Queen to be Be’? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Jacqueline Avant and how is she connected to Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story?
Jacqueline Avant, a philanthropist and community activist, was tragically shot and killed on December 1, 2021, by an intruder who broke into her Beverly Hills adjacent home. She was the wife of music mogul Clarence Avant (a music executive and film producer) and the mother-in-law of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
It was her love for Queen Charlotte that inspired the Bridgerton spin-off, a love she shared with the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes.
‘I’ve always been obsessed with Queen Charlotte,’ Rhimes admitted in a press release. ‘She’s a fascinating character and I’ve always been obsessed with Lady Danbury, and Violet, and those people don’t always get to get their stories told to the fullest.
‘But what really pushed it was Ted Sarandos, who called me up and said: “My mother-in-law is obsessed with Queen Charlotte. Do you want to do a Queen Charlotte story?” And I immediately said yes. Not just because it was Ted, but because I loved the idea.’
Jacqueline was also an art collector and was so taken with the historical figure that is Queen Charlotte that she even owned one of her letters.
Speaking of the show’s conception, Rhimes said: ‘Ted called me, and my brain started humming, and the show was born. This is a show about Queen Charlotte, but it all started because of another great queen, Jacqueline Avant.’
From one ‘Queen to be’ to another that already was, the dedication couldn’t be more fitting.
