The world of Bridgerton is expanding with the new spinoff series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Taking place in two different time periods, the new series documents Queen Charlotte’s time on the throne as well as her love story with King George III.
While several Bridgerton stars appear on the series, including Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte and Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury, the show also has a slew of new faces, with some playing younger versions of characters and others playing brand-new characters.
For many young stars, the series actually marks their breakout role. During the show’s Los Angeles premiere, Corey Mylchreest, who plays young King George III, spoke to PEOPLE about how he’s bracing for the newfound stardom, including getting labeled as a Bridgerton heartthrob.
“It’s a testament to the team at Netflix, and Shonda [Rhimes]’s writing, and Tom [Verica]’s direction, and everyone else’s acting,” he said. “They could put anyone in this role, and they would be a contender for whatever sort of sexy man thing there is. So, I don’t feel any need to prepare for that because I don’t think it’s coming necessarily.”
From their previous acting roles to their personal lives, here’s everything to know about the cast of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
India Ria Amarteifio as Young Queen Charlotte
While India Ria Amarteifio is sure to get a lot of attention for her role as young Queen Charlotte, this isn’t her first big acting job.
She got her start in the entertainment industry at a young age. In 2011, she made her West End debut as young Nala in The Lion King before appearing in a number of other theater productions, including Matilda the Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Drury Lane.
She then moved on to TV roles, including The Interceptor, The Evermoor Chronicles and Line of Duty, just to name a few. In 2019, she made her feature film debut in the comedy Military Wives before eventually getting cast on the Bridgerton spinoff.
“It has felt completely surreal,” Amarteifio said in a Netflix press release about stepping into the role. “As we know, the Bridgerton world and the fandom is huge, so I knew that stepping into it was going to mean I had big shoes to fill — not just as Young Charlotte, because Golda has created an iconic role, but just entered the sphere itself. There are a lot of eyes and a lot of pressure, but I’m really, really loving it.”
Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
Golda Rosheuvel reprises her Bridgerton role as Queen Charlotte on the new spinoff series, playing the character in the “present-day” timeline.
While she has become well-known for her role as the royal figure, Rosheuvel has a number of acting credits to her name, including roles in stage productions of Porgy and Bess, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Angels in America, and Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2019, she also played a lesbian version of Othello in Everyman Theater’s production of Othello.
“It’s amazing to be a Black gay actress playing a gay role,” Rosheuvel told Liverpool Queer Collective about the significance of her role in the Othello production. During the interview, she also opened up about her partner, writer Shireen Mula, when asked about whether she thinks there’s been an increase in the representation of gay characters and actors in theater.
“No I don’t,” she said, adding, “My partner (Shireen Mula) is a writer and she struggles to get work seen. She writes gay work because that’s what she knows. But do we see gay plays or gay characters? I think it’s a shame. I think it’s about funding, maybe people being afraid to lose money if they invest in stories that are about the Other. It is very, very, very, very rare that I will play my casting bracket, which includes being gay.”
Speaking to Netflix, Rosheuvel said she was super excited about bringing new actors into the Bridgerton universe. “I’m all for people stepping into characters that have been developed by other people. I’ve got a long career of that, playing Othello and Mercutio, and having both men and women playing those roles who are extraordinary, and who are people I look up to,” she explained. “So to be able to welcome India, Arsema, Corey, all the other cast, I think is really, really positive. I wanted to make sure the set was really loving and really kind and open and generous for them to step into these roles.”
Corey Mylchreest as Young King George III
Corey Mylchreest plays young King George III on the series, which marks his first starring TV role.
Before booking the Netflix series, Mylchreest was a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. There, he participated in a number of theater productions, including Hamlet and Macbeth, before receiving his BA in Acting Degree in 2020, per his bio on the RADA website.
He previously had a small role as Adonis on Netflix’s The Sandman as well as appearances in a handful of short films.
Bridgerton has a long time history of creating heartthrobs from their leading men, but Mylchreest tells PEOPLE he’s not trying to overthink that possibility. “I don’t think there’s any need to mentally prepare for that. Who knows what’s going to happen?” he told PEOPLE at the show’s premiere.
“It’s a testament to the team at Netflix, and Shonda [Rhimes]’s writing, and Tom [Verica]’s direction, and everyone else’s acting,” he added. “They could put anyone in this role, and they would be a contender for whatever sort of sexy man thing there is. So, I don’t feel any need to prepare for that because I don’t think it’s coming necessarily.”
That being said, he did reach out to Bridgerton’s first two male love interests, Regé-Jean Page and Jonathan Bailey, for advice. “I spoke to Regé at a party and Jonathan’s been very lovely on the phone,” Mylchreest told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they both said, ‘Don’t worry.’ It all seems very surreal… But I mean, Freddie [Dennis, playing fictional valet Reynolds] will be targeted much more than me.”
Although Mylchreest keeps his personal life fairly private, posting very little on social media, he recently confirmed he’s in a relationship. Speaking with Hits Radio, Mylchreest revealed he was with his girlfriend when he first learned he booked the role of King George, however, he didn’t reveal his partner’s identity.
Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury
Adjoa Andoh reprises her Bridgerton role as Lady Danbury in the new series.
Andoh has a lengthy acting resume that spans from theater to television. On stage, she has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. As for her television roles, she has appeared on Doctor Who, Casualty, EastEnders and most recently, The Witcher.
As for her personal life, Andoh is married to lecturer Howard Cunnell, with whom she tied the knot in 2001. Together, they have three children, daughters Jess and Daisy and son Liam. She also has a grandson, who was born in late 2021.
Speaking to Good Housekeeping in March 2022, she gushed about the joy her grandson brings to her life. “I have a new special thing that lifts my spirits, which is a video of my six-month-old grandson laughing,” she told the publication. “It goes on for about three minutes where he’s just giggling relentlessly and it’s such a joyful thing.”
Arsema Thomas as Young Agatha DanburyArsema Thomas joins the Bridgerton universe as a young Agatha Danbury.
Unlike some of her British costars, Thomas, who uses she/they pronouns, was actually born in Atlanta, Georgia, though she lived in multiple countries growing up as their parents worked for the United Nations Development Program, per Yale School of Public Health.
Thomas has an impressive college background, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Biophysics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 and then a Master of Public Health from Yale University in 2018.
After college, Thomas decided to pursue acting full-time, taking courses at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Cours Florent in Paris, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. They went on to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts in Professional Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2022, per her bio on the school’s website.
One of their first big roles was in 2022’s Redeeming Love alongside Abigail Cowen and Tom Lewis before she was eventually cast on Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Like many of her costars, this marks their first starring role, which she told Netflix bonded the cast in a special way. “We were all stepping into this as our first big thing meant that we all could share in our communal feelings of imposter syndrome, feeling anxious, and questioning whether or not we’re meant to be here,” they explained. “And feeling as though you are not alone in that kind of dispels the feeling in general, because everyone is such a great, formidable, tour de force of acting that you have confidence in them, and therefore confidence in yourself.”
