She was real. She was royal. Bridgerton made her a star in the 21st century—but who was Queen Charlotte?
With its inclusive casting, sharp take on Regency-era social norms and addictive storylines, Shondaland’s Netflix show Bridgerton quickly amassed a strong global fan following. The series features an alluring interracial romance at its core and weaves in subplots that expose class double standards, the emotional toll of high society and yes, a Black Queen Charlotte (who even got her own spinoff in 2023). But exactly who was Queen Charlotte? And was she really Black?
For years, historians have wondered whether Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had an African ancestry, and ever since her memorable debut in the first season of Bridgerton back in 2020, fans have been curious too. With the show’s bold portrayal of her character and the popularity of the spinoff, Queen Charlotte, interest in her real-life story is growing all over again. So who was the British monarch really? Let’s take a closer look.
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Who was Queen Charlotte?
Queen Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—a small northern German duchy—was born to a duke and a princess in 1744. She went on to marry England’s King George III in 1761 and served as queen consort for nearly 60 years. With her arrival in London, she also brought along her love of music, art and botany to the British court. A patron of Mozart (since he was only 8!), she leaves a lasting cultural legacy.
According to the official website of the British Royal Family, Queen Charlotte’s legacy lives on in everything from royal portraits to regions named after her around the world—including Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charlottesville, Virginia, in the United States; Charlottetown in Canada; and Queen Charlotte Bay in the Falkland Islands.
Was Queen Charlotte Black?
Historians remain divided about Queen Charlotte’s racial background. Some argue she had African ancestry, pointing to royal portraits and genealogical links to a 15th-century Portuguese noblewoman. Others, however, find significant loopholes in the theory and question the strength of the evidence.
Evidence of African ancestry
Many historians believe that Queen Charlotte was, indeed, of African descent and was often portrayed as a woman of color in portraits. “With features reputed to be conspicuously African by her contemporaries, it is no wonder that the Black community, both in the U.S. and throughout the British Commonwealth, has rallied for generations around depictions of Queen Charlotte, portrayed as she usually is in the regal and sumptuous splendor of her coronation robes,” writes Mario de Valdes y Cocom, a historian of the African diaspora, in PBS Frontline.
He further adds that Queen Charlotte was a direct descendant of Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a 15th-century noblewoman from the Portuguese royal house. As proof of her African ancestry, Valdes explains that art historians believe the Black magi featured in 15th-century Flemish paintings were in fact members of the Portuguese de Sousa family, who would have served as models for the artist.
Casting for Bridgerton
The importance of Queen Charlotte’s casting in the Netflix show is not lost on her castmates. Adjoa Andoh, a Ghanaian-British actress who played Lady Danbury in Bridgerton, said of the queen’s ancestry in New African, “Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, was the descendant of an African woman and Alphonso III of Portugal. She was mixed-race. So it’s very exciting that we have a mixed-race actress, Golda Rosheuvel, playing the queen in Bridgerton.”
Andoh goes on to tell of Britain’s anti-slavery history in the 18th century, including Ottobah Cugoano, an author, abolitionist and activist from the Gold Coast (what is now known as Ghana), and Ignatius Sancho, who was a composer and abolitionist. “For me, the importance of the way the show has been cast is to put back into people’s understanding that there was an African presence at all levels of society in Britain at that time,” she said.
What was Queen Charlotte’s personality like?
It’s not just the appearance of Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte that is garnering attention; Even her exquisite gowns and fantastical wigs pale in comparison to her giant on-screen personality and captivating persona.
For starters, it’s hard to imagine that a 19th-century royal had all that wit and pizzazz, and it’s quite entertaining to watch in the series. However, recorded history indicates that the real Queen Charlotte was a bit more demure. She loved beautiful gardens, had a penchant for botany and was empathetic and compassionate.
In Bridgerton, aspects of the queen’s public poise contrast with her private struggles with King George III’s mental state in several scenes. “In public, it’s very lavish. It’s very fun. It’s very naughty. It’s very regal. There’s a position of power,” actress Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte, shared with Insider. “In private, I think you see her as a real human being who desperately, desperately, desperately loves her husband and is having to deal with the unknown. She’s a rounded character.”
Many historical accounts support the notion that Queen Charlotte truly loved King George III—they had 15 children together—and was committed to him until her death. Despite having so many offspring, George and Charlotte’s children went on to become embroiled in “the succession crisis of 1817,” one of the top royal family scandals in history.
What is author Julia Quinn’s perspective on Queen Charlotte being portrayed as Black?
You won’t learn who Queen Charlotte was from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, the very romance book series that inspired the hit Netflix show. With no mention of the royal at all in Quinn’s writing, many wonder what the author has to say about Queen Charlotte’s portrayal as Black in the TV series.
“I go back and forth between wishing I had actually written her in the books and then being glad I didn’t because I don’t know if I could have done as good a job,” Quinn told Oprah Daily. Quinn very much approves of Rosheuvel’s portrayal of the queen and wrote her a fan letter after seeing the show.
The casting choices made in Bridgerton, along with its portrayal of Black royalty, interracial love and intimate relationships with partners from differing stations in life, are clearly working. Over 100 million people from around the globe see something in this series, and Queen Charlotte is just as hot: In a single week shortly after its release, it rocketed into the top 10 slot on Netflix, had over 80 million views and became one of the streaming platform’s most popular English-language shows ever.
We like to think that says a lot about humanity. There’s something so naturally appealing and fulfilling about seeing people live and fight to love, no matter what color they are.
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