‘Queen Charlotte’: Here’s What We Know About the Queen’s Background

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will premiere on Netflix on May 4. The limited series, which will act as a prequel to Bridgerton, centers on young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio), who arrives in England in preparation for her arranged marriage to King George (Corey Mylchreest).

So much of Queen Charlotte’s background has remained a mystery, but new book details and visuals from the teaser trailer reveal so much.

Inside the ‘Queen Charlotte’ trailer

Though the official trailer for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story has not been released, the teaser trailer is still very telling. It showcases the young queen arriving in England as an outsider, reluctant to embark on her arranged marriage, so much so that she even tries to flee.

The official description reads,

Centered on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton-verse prequel tells how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.Ancestry of Queen Charlotte of England
So much of the queen’s background is shrouded in mystery. Fans have learned more about her origin story from the official description of Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes’ new book, Queen Charlotte. “In 1761, on a sunny day in September, a King and Queen met for the first time,” it reads. “They were married within hours. Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent, not precisely the attributes the British Court had sought in a spouse for the young King George III.”

This information coincides with the real-life Queen Charlotte. Belizean historian Mario De Valdes y Cocom says that the queen’s ancestry traces back to Alfonso III, a member of the Portuguese royal family who had children with his Black mistress. The Washington Post shared several portraits of the queen, who does appear to have African ancestry.

‘Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte doesn’t get a happy ending

Bridgerton fans have come to know and love Queen Charlotte for her eccentric taste, love of gossip, and marvelous ways of living. Though King George is still alive in Bridgerton, he is dealing with dementia or other memory loss illness. As a result, the love story between George and Charlotte didn’t close with a happy ending.

Rhimes said it was vital for her to show complex love stories.

“Marriages can be complex, and the endings can be complex, and you can understand that in authentic ways,” she explained to Tudum. “I loved delving into the romance between Charlotte and King George, I thought that was really fascinating and I really wanted to be able to show people what that kind of love is like, even though they already know how it ends up. I thought that was a challenge and thought that’d be exciting.”