Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Review: A Royal Romance With All The Froth, Fun, And Flaws Of Bridgerton
By virtue of being a "Bridgerton" spinoff, "Queen Charlotte" is a frothy romance primed to sweep viewers off their feet with pining, angst, and at least one sexy montage set to an orchestral pop song. But for very good reason, there's only one name in the title. King George (a charming Corey Mylchreest) may be the reigning royal and one-half of the central couple, but the show is named for his wife. India Amarteifio as Charlotte is the unmistakable diamond of this TV season, which charts the young royal's path to becoming the regal queen who reigns over "Bridgerton."
Our introduction to the titular Queen Charlotte speaks volumes before she even utters a word of dialogue: the Queen-to-be peers in through a semi-closed door as men shake hands, sign documents and seal her fate. Without a word of her own input, Charlotte has been betrothed to the King of England. Although she can't alter the decision made by callous (yet powerful) men, she can unleash her rage on a priceless relic, smashing it to pieces before gathering her skirts and social graces to calmly board a carriage to her new home. This is Charlotte in a nutshell: quick to unleash her emotions, but well-practiced when it comes to keeping her composure in public. It's the reason she'll later terrify the masses with merely a single disapproving gaze.
But for much of the prequel series, she has yet to become the woman previously embodied by Golda Rosheuvel. Young Charlotte is still finding her footing as a new queen. The first step? A successful marriage. From prior seasons of "Bridgerton," we know that the courting process is arduous — even when a couple is meant to be, it takes them ages to gather the sense to walk down the aisle.
Except, in this case, Charlotte is promised to the king within minutes and married by the end of the premiere episode. So if getting married isn't the issue, is love the missing ingredient? Nope. Charlotte and George share a meet-cute so effective that you can basically see years of happiness stretched out before them. Falling in love is easy: the hard part is making the marriage work. And that alone is a welcome change of pace from the prior "Bridgerton" love stories.
Light on the royalty but heavy on the romance
Charlotte and George are a magnetic pairing. Despite their valid frustration over being married off for the sake of duty, they luck out in the love department: they click immediately. George radiates charm, unexpectedly humble and down to earth while Charltte's no-nonsense, headstrong attitude clashes in all the best ways. They're immediately enamored and married just as fast, but that's where the problems begin. The meddling Princess Augusta (an underutilized Michelle Fairley) and the loneliness of palace life are constant issues, but the bigger problem is George himself, who spends much of the season withholding a crucial secret about his health. His distance puts the biggest strain on their marriage.
This should be cause for crisis — for a royal couple, a strained marriage has extra high stakes. They have the weight of an entire country on their shoulders.. or at least, they should. Because in truth, the differences between this and a normal "Bridgerton" season are just for show. For better and worse, "Queen Charlotte" is more of the same.
Despite a Queen-centric story, the series isn't particularly interested in the politics of the nation or the daily grind of ruling a country. "Bridgerton" always benefitted from the fact that the royals were kept at arm's length as peripheral characters — it means we can shrug off the lack of politics, and zero in on the frothy Regency-era confection. All romance all the time! But to center the love story of the royals creates an expectation for more. Yet there is next to no palace intrigue here nor any serious, weighty drama. There is occasional mention of Parliament and the survival of a nation but as far as we know, these royals never see their people or attend to any duties.
Shallow, but still delightful
Speaking of things that "Bridgerton" deftly avoided but "Queen Charlotte" has decided to confront: the colorblind casting. As historical fiction, the Bridgerton-verse is rooted in the 19th century under King George III's reign — but in a world where the royal court is diverse. What does that mean for the rest of the world? Do the Bridgerton characters even see color? For a long time, it wasn't addressed but now it (sort of) is: Charlotte's arrival causes a stir, prompting some purposeful integration to ensure that the ladies of the court look like their queen.
But aside from vague references to Charlotte sparking a societal shift and a young Agatha Danbury (Arsema Thomas) worrying about her position at court, that's as far as this goes — which is much weirder than when Bridgerton simply opted to ignore color altogether. It's a subject that the light world of "Bridgerton" doesn't seem equipt to handle, so the shallow engagement just makes it ring that much more hollow.
As usual, romantic dynamics are where the story thrives: Shonda Rhimes has found yet another way for two young lovers to connect and still be held apart by circumstance. Sparks fly when the royal couple is together, and even when they're apart, other juicy subplots keep the energy high and the drama addictive. Beyond Charlotte, we also spend time with a young Lady Danbury who is as shrewd as ever and finally with something to do. There are also flashforwards to the present "Bridgerton" timeline (a storyline set between the second and upcoming third season) that allows us time with an older Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), the Queen, and Bridgerton matriarch, Violet (Ruth Gemmell). Seeing more of Rosheuvel's Queen highlights how perfectly Amarteifio fills the role: her young Charlotte really feels on the cusp of becoming the powerhouse who will one day rule Bridgerton's courting season with a judgemental gaze. It's also nice to finally get more insight into each woman's inner life.
There are plenty of missed opportunities within the prequel, but I can't fault "Bridgerton" for being itself: shallow as ever but a joyous confection all the same. Ridiculous but effective obstacles arise at every corner; sharp words are exchanged; and social status is wielded to entertaining effect. There are grand balls with pop songs to identify and extravagant costumes to ogle. The main couple has plenty of chemistry and the surrounding subplots earn their time onscreen. It's fun and easily breezed through— when the six episodes were done, I was stuck between longing for more and being content with a well-paced drama. "Queen Charlotte" may share the flaws of its mothership series, but it also offers all the same virtues.
"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" premieres globally on Netflix on May 4, 2023.