Call us Lady Whistledown, we’ve got the scoop on a royal’s origin story. “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” will premiere on Netflix May 4.
The six-part limited series, from creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes, focuses on the Queen’s “rise to prominence and power,” Netflix says. The series “tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.”
Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte in Netflix’s period romance that premiered in 2020, reprises the role in the prequel. India Amarteifio plays the younger Queen Charlotte. “Bridgerton” has been greenlit for Seasons 3 and 4. In July, Netflix shared on its YouTube channel that production was under way on the third season, although no release date has been announced.
Review:‘Bridgerton’ burns bright in Season 2, even with less sex and no duke
Netflix released a teaser Tuesday that showed the first meeting of Charlotte and King George (Corey Mylchreest). He stops her from curtseying and introduces himself with no title, simply saying, “I am George.”
But the pressure on the couple’s shoulders can be felt. For George, it’s a decision that affects the country. Charlotte is reminded, by young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas), “You are the first of your kind. You must secure your position.”
In a clip from the premiere shared Tuesday, Charlotte expresses her acrimony to her brother over having to marry George in a carriage ride on the way to meet the king.
She’s so unhappy she says she’s thought about impaling herself on her sharp corset made of whale bone. “It is a viable option I have considered: moving, choosing to be killed by my undergarments,” she says.
While Charlotte’s brother tries to convince her that marrying the King of England is an honor, Charlotte is suspicious about why she was chosen, and pleads with her brother to turn the carriage around.
“They are the British empire, and we are a tiny province in Germany,” he yells. “We had no choice! I had no choice.”
“In fact, the reason might be terrible,” he admits. “I know that no one who looks like you or me has ever married one of these people, ever. But I cannot question, because I cannot make an enemy of the most powerful nation on earth.”
George and Charlotte meet while she is trying to scale the garden wall to escape, but Mylchreest says their relationship ends up being “really beautiful.”
“Both King George and Queen Charlotte are two characters that are experiencing some kind of oppression,” Mylchreest says. “Queen Charlotte’s is much more systemic, and King George’s is much more familial and (on a) personal basis from the crown, which for him is his family. But the stakes involve the entire country. We discover that these two people actually are constantly trying to escape their duty.”
Netflix offers first look at ‘Bridgerton’ prequel focusing on ‘Queen Charlotte’
‘It’s right to surprise an audience’:‘Bridgerton’ star Jonathan Bailey defends lack of sex in Season 2
Story Credit: usatoday.com