Queen Charlotte, at whose court the action of the third season takes place The Bridgerton Chroniclesreleased May 16 on Netflix, he really existed, and his character, here fictional, is heavily inspired by reality.
While the third season of the hit Netflix series was released on May 16 The Bridgerton Chroniclesreturn to the real character who still dominates this new intrigue: Queen Charlotte, born Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in Germany in 1744.
The queen who stayed with the “mad” king
There Queen Charlotte was married to a brand new king George III in 1761 when she was only 17 and he was 23, and stayed there queen consort of England and Ireland for nearly six decades. She is most famous in British history for sharing the life of the “Mad King”. Indeed, George experiences his first “crisis” between 1788 and 1789, as he recalls series historical advisor, Polly Putnam. A mental illness that we can never really diagnose. “Insomnia”, “often violent” including his own children, suffering from “physical pain”, “convulsions”, “hallucinations”, “mania”, or even “depressive” episodes… The king was in any case removed from power for his inability to rule this country. So for a while she took responsibility, but it was her eldest son the prince of waleswho ascended the throne as regent in 1811, becoming George IV.
She had… 15 children
In any case, the couple is 22 years apart (between 1762 and 1783). 15 children. The Queen was very involved in their education. All but two of his children lived to adulthood. If the eldest, George, became king, it would finally be the daughter of his fourth son, Edward-Auguste, who would become famous Queen Victoria. This granddaughter, who would become famous for having a profound influence on the era during her long reign of 63 years, settled on the large estate George had purchased in Charlotte in 1762. Buckingham Palace.
Music and village life
The first 25 years of the king and queen’s marriage were happy, according to archives of the period and records of their confidants, before the king’s illness took up too much space. “They attended plays and concerts together and performed duets on harpsichord and flute. When not at court, their lives were rural and informal at their homes in Windsor and Kew.”write official site royal palaces of England. Although the king and queen held weekly musical concerts, they were also known for their love of botany and nature (the king was also called “Farmer George”).
A whole room for… tobacco
A little eccentricity which historian Catherine Curzon reports for the BBCQueen Charlotte was a fan of snuff, tobacco that is not smoked, but finely ground and inhaled through the nostrils. “The queen loved him so much that he earned a nickname”Snuffy Charlotte’. She hadthe whole room at Windsor Castle dedicated to his snuff collection”, says the specialist. In the 18th century, snuff was considered a luxury product and a sign of refinement.
Was it black?
As the series suggests (as well as the one dedicated to it, published in 2023), Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Chapter) Queen Charlotte could be the first Queen of the United Kingdom of African descent. If none of her official portraits represented her otherwise than with light skin, the historian, Mario De Valdes y Cocom, nevertheless confirms that Charlotte would have come from Margarita de Castro y Sousa15th century Portuguese noblewoman, who it would be black. But his theory is not unanimous, considering that nine generations separate him from this a potential ancestor, others believe that it is unlikely that it had any effect on his appearance. However, artistic representations kings and queens tried to portray them in accordance with the beauty standards of the time, and Queen Charlotte undoubtedly did not escape this rule. If she was of mixed race or had tanned skin, she wouldn’t necessarily be represented like this. Therefore, we will probably never have an answer to this question.
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