Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Review

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a 2023 Netflix series that is an offshoot of the hit series Bridgerton. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story delves into the life of Queen Charlotte and her journey to becoming the bourgeois all-powerful queen she is in Bridgerton.

💡 This post is both a summary and a movie review of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. That is to say, it may contain spoilers.

Betrothal Contract

A young Queen Charlotte, played by India Amarteifio, realizes that she is being sold off to marry a young King George III, played by Corey Mylchreest. She is to embark on a journey to England where she will become the new Queen.

In the carriage, her brother decries her silence only for Charlotte to complain about how her dress is made of whalebone and that she may as well revolt and have the whale bones pierce her to her death. Her brother, Adolphus IV Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, will have none of it and tells her sternly that her betrothal contract has been signed and it is her duty to take on her new role in England.

Climbing Over the Walls of the Palace

The wedding ceremony of Charlotte and young King George is about to take place and Charlotte is uncertain and wants to escape. She tries to climb over the walls of the palace when a young handsome gentleman finds her. Turns out that the gentleman is King George himself and the two get acquainted for the first time. George tells Charlotte that he hopes to see her at the altar and that he is not a troll or beast as she had thought, since she'd never met him before.

A Royal Wedding

After being inspected by George's mother, Princess Augusta, Charlotte turns out to be very brown, prompting the other side (black English people) to be invited to the wedding. The white attendees sit on one side of the chapel and the black ones on the other. The royal wedding kicks off and a breathtakingly beautiful Charlotte is walked down the aisle by her brother. She and King George get married, much to the delight of both sides, as there are trade deals on the line. The union sets off as does the insurmountable pressure a young Charlotte faces as the new queen of England.

Q

On her wedding night, Charlotte is taken to Buckingham House which George tells her is her new home. Much to her surprise, George tells her that he is leaving and has quarters in Q. Queen Charlotte is dumbfounded and wonders what to make of the king's decision to spend their wedding night apart. She does her best to cope and becomes accustomed to being waited on by a host of maids, guards, and even helpers.

Brimsley

Queen Charlotte also has to get accustomed to Brimsley, her right-hand man. Brimsley, played by Sam Clemmett, follows her everywhere and she finds that very unnerving. She also notices that he stays behind all the time, even when she tries to go back and be closer.

Turns out, Brimsley has to stay five paces behind her always. As the two get to know each other, Queen Charlotte becomes more and more accustomed to having Brimsley around, even as she finds some of the quirks of being a royal to be strange. For example, whenever she tries to pick an orange from a tree in the foyer, Brimsley quickly instructs one of the King's Guard to pick the orange for her.

Lady Agatha Danbury

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story also gives us a look into the queen's lady-in-waiting, Agatha Danbury's life. A young Agatha Danbury, played by Arsema Thomas, is married to Herman Danbury, played by Cyril Nri, a much older and somewhat ugly man. Agatha spends her days tolerating her husband and always has to have a bath prepared after Herman and she partake in their conjugal rights. Even so, a young Agatha Danbury is breathtakingly beautiful and very suave in the articulation of her interests and her pursuit of fulfilling the same.

Lonely

Queen Charlotte has to spend the first few days of her honeymoon alone and bored, as King George partakes in his love for astronomy in his observatory. She is riled by his absence and finally goes to Q herself where she finds George very much indulged in his craft. She complains about his absence and he responds by sending her away back to Buckingham House. Her honeymoon is nothing like she thought it would be.

Meeting Agatha

Queen Charlotte and Agatha finally meet and immediately take a liking to one another. Charlotte's closeness to Agatha prompts the inclusion of brown and colored members of the society who are invited into the Ton with others being titled. Agatha's husband is one among the lucky few to be titled and becomes Lord Herman Danbury with her becoming Lady Agatha Danbury.

Thanks also to Agatha's thoughtful negotiations with Princess Augusta, who wants Agatha to be her eyes and ears in Buckingham House, she and her husband are awarded a beautiful mansion and its lands on top of being titled. A few lucky colored people also get land and titles.

Pressure to Do the Thing

Queen Charlotte and young King George are barely a week into their marriage when the pressure starts mounting for them to do the thing, i.e. consummate their marriage. Princess Augusta is under a lot of pressure from Lord Bute, a go-between for the British government and the royal family, for an heir to the throne. She translates this pressure into pressuring Charlotte and George, growing ever more eager to learn whether the marriage was consummated.

A Whirlwind Romance

After a visit by Queen Charlotte in Q, George and she have a moment and he decides to come back home to Buckingham House. The two have their first night together as a couple and eventually consummate the marriage. Their love blossoms into a whirlwind romance where the two complement each other in beauty, grace, and elegance. Queen Charlotte is yet to be aware of the troubles that plague King George's life.

The Mad King

King George III isn't at all in the best of health. He has these fits that culminate in madness and a loss of control of his psyche. He floats between being lucid and going all-out mad. Queen Charlotte is surprised to find him scribbling on the walls one night and when she tries to talk to him, he runs out and strips naked while talking to the skies.

Venus

George calls out to the planet Venus but Queen Charlotte manages to calm him down and together with the help of Reynolds, George's right-hand man, takes him back to the house. The incident, and one where Brimsley finds George being attended to by a physician in the cellar, prompt inquisition from Queen Charlotte who is yet to be aware of just how bad it gets for George.

Terrific Methods

When the royal doctors fail to get a solution to King George's fits, his mother Princess Augusta enlists Doctor John Monro who seems to somehow get hold of the situation. Monro, played by Guy Henry, is no ordinary doctor and when George's condition is continually a threat to how he conducts his kingly affairs and ultimately risks the monarchy, Doctor Monro is keen to employ "terrific methods". Monro tortures George, sometimes waterboarding him and even burning him with hot metal. It gets to a point where Queen Charlotte herself has to go and rescue George and end the torture he is going through.

Heir

After a while and as Queen Charlotte and George grow more in love, they get into a love-hate situation where they have 'even days' which are days they try for an heir. After a while, Queen Charlotte is pregnant with her first child and finally, the future of George's bloodline is secured.

At the same time, Lord Herman Danbury passes on and Agatha goes into mourning. Questions arise, however, about the black members of the Ton on how the succession of titles will take place. Agatha, as the wife of Lord Danbury, the first brown man to be titled is looked upon by the other brown families to find out how succession of titles will take place. She has to ensure that her son becomes the new Lord Danbury and that she does not lose the land and wealth accorded to her.

You and Me

Queen Charlotte grows to accept George's condition and promises him that it is \"you and me\" when he is unable to address parliament and does not even make an appearance, despite growing concerns among the British government. The monarchy is at stake but with Queen Charlotte by his side, George manages to make an appearance and look healthy at a ball. Charlotte also reveals to George that she is pregnant again and the two are glad that their family is growing.

You Didn't Go Over the Wall

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story mixes the historical story of Queen Charlotte's life while giving us a look into present-day affairs in Old Britain. In the present day, Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel, cannot get any of her many children to marry and produce an heir and resorts to finding wives for her sons. She does so and a short while after her son Andrew marries Victoria, the two are expecting.

Queen Charlotte is very much delighted and goes to see George, who's older but still scribbling the walls of his room with drawings of the solar system. Charlotte manages to pique his curiosity when she goes under the bed, where George joins her. She shares the news that Andrew will have a child and that the bloodline is secure. George is happy and tells her "You did not go over the wall".

Our Rating

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a fantastic offshoot of Bridgerton the series. It gives us well-seated insight into how Queen Charlotte became queen and the troubles she has had to face as the wife to an unwell sovereign. We enjoyed the series and give it a 9/10 for just how wonderful it tells Queen Charlotte's story. Be sure to watch it and enjoy!