Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, explores the woman under the crown. As a young woman, played by India Amarteifio, the past illuminates her struggles as a new monarch and finding her voice, adding context to the queen in the present day, played by Golda Rosheuvel, as it pertains to her present fixation on securing her family line.
The course of true love never runs smoothly, and by the end of the six-episode season, audiences now see how her story with King George III (Corey Mylchreest) is a war she continues to fight whether she’s with him or they are apart. Without further ado, let’s look at where Charlotte and her court end up at the conclusion of the season.
Charlotte and George Hide From the Heavens Together
After intervening and dismissing Dr. Monro (Guy Henry), Charlotte makes it her mission to look out for George’s well-being. George initially tries to push her away, but Charlotte fights back because she knows that he loves her. When he finally admits that he loves her desperately, the two return back to solid ground, secured by their love. While at first George has some good days, like being by Charlotte’s side at the birth of their son, he does fall into some bad ones as well, like when he couldn’t get out of the carriage to address Parliament. Instead of getting frustrated with George, Charlotte meets him where he’s at with compassion. She finds him under his bed, and she goes to lie under the bed with him. George tries to tell her that he can’t give her the future she deserves, but she assures him that together they are whole.
Instead of George going to Parliament, Charlotte advises George to bring Parliament to him by throwing a ball at Buckingham House in celebration of their son. George begins to shake as they’re about to walk out, but Charlotte calms him by holding his hand, telling him to keep his eyes on her, and reminding him that it’s just him and her. The ball is a success, to the point that Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley) thanks Charlotte for making her son truly happy. Charlotte is now in control and Augusta has officially backed down from being George’s caretaker. As the ball ends, Charlotte gives her husband the news that she is pregnant again. Their family is growing once more, as it will eventually include fifteen children. They have each other and that’s what matters most to them.
I Will Always Love You
King George and Queen Charlotte weren’t the only couple featured in the spinoff series — we’ve also followed the relationship between their respective right-hand men, Reynolds (Freddie Dennis) and Brimsley (Sam Clemmett). Throughout the first season, they attempted to balance the inconsistencies of when they could spend time with each other with their loyalty to their respective sovereigns. Though their relationship has been shaken a few times due to a lack of trust, Reynolds and Brimsley come back to each other and dream of what it could be like if they could truly be together. During the royal ball, the two sneak up to a hill out of sight and dance together as a string rendition of “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston plays.
The scene transitions to the present where an older Brimsley (Hugh Sachs) is dancing that same dance, only this time alone. His solo moment is abruptly cut off when it’s announced that a visitor is there for the queen. As he looks off in the distance, audiences are left to wonder what happened to Reynolds. Has he died, or is it due to the queen and king remaining in separate palaces that they’ve remained apart as well? While Reynolds’ fate remains ambiguous for now, we can hold on to his remark from the past that great love can make miracles.
A Friendship On the Rocks?
Another surprising development over the course of this six-episode season was discovering how much Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and her past have intersected with Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). In the past, Agatha (Arsema Thomas) found companionship and a night of romance with Violet’s father, Lord Ledger (Keir Charles). Through her brief courtship with Charlotte’s brother, Adolphus (Tunji Kasim), Agatha realizes that she won’t be able to love another man the way she did Ledger. At the King and Queen’s ball at Buckingham House, she also comes to the realization that she doesn’t want to marry again. Though she wouldn’t have to worry about her position in society again, she’d rather face the unknown and breathe again on her own; Agatha rejects Adolphus. After Charlotte gets word of this, she finds her, and under the guise of pretend chastisement, Charlotte assures Agatha that her title will remain secure and that she can always come to her directly for anything.
Meanwhile, in the present, Violet discovers one of her father’s birthday hats at Lady Danbury’s house. When she tries to initially ask Lady Danbury about the man who made her garden bloom, Lady Danbury is coy at first but then pushed to say that it was Adolphus. While her courtship with the queen’s brother is technically true, she still lies in order to get Violet to back down. Unfortunately for her, Violet is unconvinced and tries a different approach. She invites Lady Danbury over for tea at Bridgerton House and has all of her birthday hats displayed around the room, including ones for her children throughout the years. Violet claims that it’s time to pack them away, but Lady Danbury tells her to leave the hats out. Lady Danbury knows that Violet has figured out her past with Violet’s father, but Violet hands Lady Danbury tea instead of confronting her, and the two friends sip their tea in silence.
A Happy Ending Fit for a Queen
In the present day, Queen Charlotte has set her sole focus on her children securing an heir for their family. Throughout the season, her children have tried to push back on their mother’s wishes but have failed to confront her. Finally, Prince George IV (Ryan Gage) and Princess Elizabeth (Sabina Arthur), on behalf of Charlotte’s children, stand up to the queen by expressing how cruel their mother’s baby race has been. From the lack of sympathy after George IV’s wife and daughter died to Elizabeth’s multiple miscarriages in her effort to provide an heir, they claim that Charlotte has been more of a queen to them instead of a mother. Charlotte stews over their comments but thanks to an open conversation with Brimsley, she realizes the validity of their claims. Not long after, her son Prince Edward (Jack Michael Stacey) and his wife, Victoria (Florence Dobson), visit Charlotte to tell her that they’re pregnant, and they’re expecting it to be a girl; this means the future Queen Victoria is in the womb and getting ready to make her debut. In response to the happy news, Charlotte hugs her son in a rare moment of tenderness.
Later, Charlotte goes to Kew to visit her husband to deliver the news to him. She finds George III (James Fleet) in the middle of one of his episodes. She crawls under the bed and tells him to follow her so that they can hide from the heavens together. George follows, and once he’s under the bed, he recognizes his love, and he becomes “just George” again. Charlotte assures him that his line will live on, to which he responds that it’s their line, not just his. They kiss and George remarks that Charlotte did not go over the wall, and Charlotte lovingly replies that she did not. The season showed the often tumultuous story of their marriage. While many on the outside believe that Charlotte merely tolerates the king, their last moments together reveal that their love has remained strong through it all.
The Seeds Have Been Planted for ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3
From the Queen Charlotte finale, we have the seeds planted for what we can expect to see in the third season of Bridgerton. Like Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), it’s expected that Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton won’t be as close as they once were but will perhaps remain cordial. Plus, Violet has expressed her desire to find a new husband for herself and let her garden bloom once again; does this mean she will be entering the marriage mart again in the new Bridgerton season? If so, pour one out for Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his nerves.
Queen Charlotte may not be as invested in the new marriage mart season now that there’s a royal baby on the way. However, Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julie Andrews, didn’t back down from her feud with the queen during the cold months of winter. Should Lady Whistledown cross the line with regard to Victoria’s pregnancy, Charlotte could very well strike back against the gossip columnist. Penelope may be the lead of this upcoming season, but she might need to keep her quills sharpened in case of an attack!
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is now available to stream on Netflix.