At the end of Bridgerton’s third season, Queen Charlotte—played by Golda Rosheuvel—finally got what she wanted, when her longtime rival, a gossip columnist who goes by the pen name Lady Whistledown, was publicly unmasked. But as any fan of the show can tell you, as soon as one mystery is solved, another tends to take its place. In other words, don’t expect complete peace on our next visit to Ton.
Rosheuvel has played the Queen in all three seasons of the series (as well as in the spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), and has become a fan favorite thanks to her majestic demeanor, architectural hairstyle, and engaging delivery. Her queen is sharp, cunning, and downright boring—a perfect figure for a community obsessed with rules of propriety and all too easy to ignore.
Golda Roushevel, center, plays Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton. This season, the queen finally sees her nemesis, the opinion writer Lady Whistledown, unmasked. Here, the actress—a musical theater veteran who also appeared in Luther and Dune—tells T&C about finding her way to Queen Charlotte and what the future might hold for her arrogant queen now that her greatest enemy has stepped out of the shadows.
Going into this season, what did you expect from your character?
Because we had Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the spin-off, it was great to go into the new season of Bridgerton with all the backstories of Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and Violet Bridgerton, because all those questions were answered. As actors, we know the backstories of our characters, but having 13 people sitting in front of me playing my children was great. Then I brought those faces into Bridgerton, so they came with me on the journey; even though they were just in my imagination and not seen, having all that in the bank was great.
Also, having these two characters, Penelope and Colin, front and center was a beautiful moment. The energy was different because instead of new people coming in, it was characters that we’ve seen grow into the people that they are. This year was about the wallflowers stepping into their light, and that was exciting.
Roushevel, seen here with Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury, uses art and music to help her get into character. On the Queen Charlotte playlist? India.Arie.
You’ve said that you create books for each character you play. What’s in the Queen Charlotte book?
It’s like a little Bible with all my scenes in it. My process is that first I read the whole script, understand it all, then I cut out all my scenes and put them in a book. And then there are pictures, ideas, little quotes, drawings—I put it all in.
So I did that before, and then once I started shooting, that book was left behind. Sometimes I go back to it if I need some kind of inspiration, a little bit of fun information. I also created playlists for my characters. I would find some music that matched the emotions I was feeling when I was learning the scene, and after I learned everything, I found the music to be more relaxing, more like a celebration of finding the character. I also went to galleries and learned lines. I used art as inspiration and it all came out in the book.
What pieces were helpful for Charlotte this season?
Charlotte was India.Arie, always, always, always. Worthy was an album that I would listen to when I was learning lines. I don’t know why; it just seemed like there was a rhythm to India’s work that was really fun for the Queen.
What was the most fun part of filming this season for you?
The balloon scene. Even though I wasn’t involved in much of it, it was just a fun day. And we were very playful that day: We all switched seats in one scene, when we were deep in the background, so we played a lot. I also love shooting in the historical locations we do, and I always look forward to shooting the ball because we’re together. That’s when we can catch up, although it’s a real nightmare for directors because it’s like herding cats
Among Roushevel’s favorite scenes, she says, is the ball of the series—the rare scene where most of the stars get to appear on camera together. (And cause mischief, of course.)
This season, Lady Whistledown has been unmasked. And while the Queen sees her as a nuisance, there’s also a kind of grudging respect.
This is the first time things have been. Do the Queen and Whistledown become allies? Does the Queen morph into Whistledown? That’s up to the writers. But I’m excited to see what happens.
Is there anything you’re hoping happens for the Queen in the next season?
Nicola and I have always wanted an afternoon tea scene together where she’s summoned to the palace, and we have a showdown—a bit of Dynasty coming in.
How could Whistledown’s identity being revealed impact the other characters?
I would hope that the Ton would be empowered by the reveal. There’s a lot that has happened, and the stakes are always high, but we manage to come together, and things are resolved or not. I really don’t know, though. We’re always surprised by the twist and turns of the writer’s room.
Does being part of Bridgerton make you want to try different types of projects when you can?
It’s opened doors that otherwise I would not be able to walk through, and that’s a real joy. I look for things that are a million miles away from Queen Charlotte. As an actor you want to do all sorts of things and be pushed in all sorts of directions, so I feel very blessed that Bridgerton is opening those doors for me.
