The 'Bridgerton' Queen Charlotte Prequel: Everything We Know So Far

What is the plot of the Bridgerton prequel?

Per Shondaland, the limited series will “turn back the clock and find out just how Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (currently played by Golda Rosheuvel) became one of England’s most iconic, powerful and unforgettable monarchs”. The studio further revealed that in tracing the “great love story” that is born from “the rise of the young Queen through her betrothal to King Goerge III”, it will unveil also how their union “sparked a pivotal and transitional moment for England” and ultimately led to the Bridgerton characters and world that we currently know and love.

Although Queen Charlotte does not appear in the Bridgerton books, she is loosely based on the real Queen Charlotte Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who historians believed may have been of African descent. Married to King George III (also known as ‘Mad King George’), she presided over the throne for almost sixty years, and may provide further inspiration as to the queen’s origin story in the prequel.

In addition to exploring the queen’s early adulthood, the spinoff will also dive into the lives of a young Violet Bridgerton, whose story was lightly explored in Violet in Bloom, a bonus story that appears in Julia Quinn’s collection of “second epilogues” titled: The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After.

According to Shondaland, the show will portray how Lady Danbury (played by Adjoa Andoh) came to be the “wealthy, independent, and entirely self-sufficient woman she is” after having spent her younger years “under the thumb of a much older husband and itching to carve out her position in society”.

Moreover, the series will also reveal how the Queen, Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton came to be friends and confidants. “These relationships are long-lived between Lady Danbury, Lady Bridgerton and the Queen,” Andoh revealed In an interview with E! News. “That’s what the prequel is going to talk about.”

What is the release date for the Queen Charlotte spinoff?

At this stage, no release date has been confirmed. However, it does seem as though pre-production is underway, with spinoff director Tom Verica sharing tweeting a teaser of what appeared to be a script alongside Shonda Rimes on March 31, 2022 for the currently untitled Queen Charlotte series.

Similarly, Shondaland’s official Instagram page has also confirmed that table reads are presently taking place, so while there’s no concrete information about when we can expect the show to land on Netflix, it does suggest things are ramping up behind the scenes with more details likely to come in the near future.

With Bridgerton season 3 set to commence filming in the northern hemisphere’s summer and season 4 already confirmed, it’s likely that it could still be a year or so before the prequel makes its way to our screens.