Throughout the three seasons of Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) plotted and plotted to expose Lady Whistledown’s true identity in response to the gossipmonger’s unkind words. Finally, in the season 3 finale, Queen Charlotte’s journey came to a scandalous end when Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) revealed her identity to the queen in a letter.
At a butterfly ball hosted by Penelope’s sisters Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Philippa (Harriet Cains), Queen Charlotte announced that she knew Lady Whistledown’s true identity and invited Penelope to speak to the high society. She eventually allowed her to continue writing her gossip column.
With much of Queen Charlotte’s storyline centered around the revelation of Whistledown, what does this mean for her role in future seasons? Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell told Variety in a June 13 interview that while Penelope has received the queen’s approval, “I don’t think we’re done with Lady Whistledown.”
“Penelope is now a gossip columnist who people will know when she writes about them,” Brownell explained. “And certainly . . . she’s going to have to deal with the queen and the queen’s demands, the queen’s wishes, the queen’s scrutiny. So how Penelope balances that is what fuels season 4.” Brownell also confirmed that she and the writers are trying to “dodge the timing” when it comes to the Queen Charlotte character.
“Queen Charlotte is actually going to die at some point not too far away,” Brownell said. “But we’ve deliberately not specified the year we’re in — although it’s probably pretty easy to figure out.”
Based on the dance cards that appear throughout Bridgerton Season 3, the show takes place around 1815, about three years before Queen Charlotte actually died in November 1818. She was Britain’s longest-reigning queen. But Brownell said Bridgerton takes place “in a parallel universe… because of The Great Experiment. We’re just in a different dimension, and maybe Queen Charlotte lives longer in that dimension.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to fascinating human stories. Some fans have previously speculated that Queen Charlotte’s death could be coming in future seasons of Bridgerton, following the release of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story in May 2023.
A fan on TikTok pointed out that at the end of Queen Charlotte, the queen receives the happy news that one of her children is expecting a child after urging her children to conceive following the death of the first heir. Historically, the baby was born in May 1819, a few months after Queen Charlotte died. If the show follows the historical timeline, it’s possible that the queen learned of the baby’s death a few months before her death.
Another fan on TikTok also spotted a possible moment at the beginning of Bridgerton season 3, part 1, that could have boldly foreshadowed the queen’s death. At the debutantes’ introduction, Brimsley asked if he could bring Queen Charlotte some refreshments, to which she replied “probably a coffin” and expressed that “the lack of care here today is going to send me to an early grave any day now.”
In an interview with Elle published on May 16, the actress who plays Queen Charlotte Rosheuvel said her character is “very passionate about moving forward and the future.” “How do you form a strong community in high society? There are layers of fun to [naming a Diamond] because of course she loves the extravagance and the ceremony, but the human side of it is something she’s deeply looking for,” the actress said. Rosheuvel also revealed that she was filming the Queen Charlotte spinoff and Bridgerton season 3 at the same time.
“I’ll walk out of a room in Bridgerton into a scene with my kids or George, and it’s a real life,” Rosheuvel said. “It’s a whole life lit up with information. It’s a roller coaster, but it’s very satisfying and everything makes sense. You’re really, by osmosis, bringing things in and taking things away from the two shows.”
Fans will likely have to wait until 2026 to see Queen Charlotte and the rest of the Bridgerton clan together in season 4. Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter on June 12 that they’re writing the script for season 4 and are currently working at a “two-year pace.”
Brownell explained that “we are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language.”
