The premiere of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is just weeks away, and Shondaland has been steadily gearing up for the May 4, 2023, debut on Netflix. We’ve regaled you with first clips, sneak-peek photos and a first-look trailer, and everything we know so far about where the story is headed, and some of the cast have been making the rounds, getting fans as excited as we are for the Bridgerton spin-off series. Recently at Essence Hollywood House, India Amarteifio and Arsema Thomas, who play young Queen Charlotte and young Lady Danbury, respectively, sat down to chat about the series and their characters:
The ladies gave some great insight into not just the women they play but also their own relationship on and off camera, and fans at the festival and around the world were abuzz at all that was revealed.
But, dear readers, we’re only just getting started! We’re thrilled to bring you even more treats from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, including the full-length trailer, new photos, and a gorgeous piece of key art featuring young Queen Charlotte herself from the original Shonda Rhimes-penned series!
First up, the new trailer!
As you can see, the trailer gives so much more insight into Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which chronicles how the young queen ascended the throne and, once atop the monarchy, found herself in a marriage to King George, played by newcomer Corey Mylchreest. Charlotte and George’s betrothal was as much a love story as it was a union that changed society forever, and the Netflix series will reveal not only the inner workings of their court and courtship but also explore the backstories of some of our favorite Bridgerton faces, including Lady Danbury and Lady Violet Bridgerton.
Remember when we gave you eight stunning shots from the six episodes of Queen Charlotte? Well, we’ve got eight more gorgeous photos, along with insider tidbits from the actors who make up the regal cast who bring us deeper into the intricacies of the ton and its origins.
“I think I relate to [my character] in the sense of her curiosity; we’re always asking questions, even if people are not willing to answer them,” Amarteifio recently told Shondaland about the connection she’s found to playing young Queen Charlotte. “But other than that, I think she is so different to me — she’s super-strong in times of complete downfall when there’s nothing to even hope for and it’s all bleak, yet she still finds the power and the strength from somewhere. It’s a testament to her character. I definitely don’t have that!”
“Danbury is more Danbury, if anything,” Adjoa Andoh says of her character, who gets to straddle both Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte. In the latter, we’ll finally learn more about how the young Lady Agatha Danbury got her start in the ton. “But you do get to see a much more vulnerable side of her, a much franker side. I think of Danbury being on duty and off duty, and you see slightly more of her off duty. Or rather, you see moments when her game face is not so on, and I love that. Everybody always kind of wants to pull the curtain aside slightly and go, ‘What’s she really like? What’s she really thinking, feeling?’ She does laugh a lot in this show, and there are moments where she’s a little bit devil-may-care about everything, sort of irreverent about her own position. She’s the grand dame, the grand matriarch, and the grand arch schemer. They all have a gig to do; this is her gig.”
Through sickness and health, ruling a nation, and raising their brood of children, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and King George (James Fleet) have never lost their love for each other. They’re pictured here in King George’s observatory, and it’s evident that their respect for each other has never waned, despite what life throws at them.
“[Queen Charlotte] has the privilege of looking at a smaller list of characters, which means it’s a deeper look at these characters,” Mylchreest recently told Shondaland. “The subject matter is undoubtedly darker, which is always brilliant to play with. I would say it has just as much sex, just as much humor and color and vibrancy, and just as many balls — in all senses of the word — but it also has a fuller character analysis and goes to darker parts of the human vision. And luckily for me, so much of this show is about George!”
“[It’s been challenging] to use an accent the entire time, [but] it has been a really good exercise,” Thomas told Shondaland about stepping into her first television role. She’s pictured here with Lord Danbury, played by Cyril Nri. “Because once I have the voice, then I know I’m the character, and I think that would be more difficult if the character sounded like me. And staying on my toes has been tough. It’s easy to have an idea of the character and hold on to it, and then you get a script change, or they have a new direction, and to be able to let go of what I was holding on to before, that’s been a difficult skill to learn.”
“I really like Princess Augusta [Michelle Fairley],” says Amarteifio when asked about other characters she admires from Queen Charlotte. “She starts off as a wicked-stepmother type, but then you understand, actually, the reason she’s so strict and cross is because she cares so much about her son. She’s really scared for him, and there’s a passing over of responsibility that she doesn’t want to do, so toward Charlotte, she’s bitter and resentful, and Charlotte obviously thinks it’s just because she doesn’t like her. But it’s miscommunication, and actually, they’re not too dissimilar. They both love the same man in different ways, and it’s a fight for who he considers his closest ally.”
“I think the initial shock of seeing so many people from different ethnicities all living together in harmony without any kind of conflict can be quite jarring because we’re not used to that,” Amarteifio recently said of how Queen Charlotte dives into the origins of Bridgerton’s ton. “It’s something that we are still getting used to in our own society today. And we’re now focusing on only a couple of characters and showing their journey, seeing each individual blossom. Bridgerton has so many characters, and it’s very story-driven; I think that we are quite character-driven, which is going to be great for fans.”
The show will dive deeper into some of our beloved Bridgerton characters, including a pre-teen Violet Bridgerton as Violet Ledger (Connie Jenkins-Greig). Her relationship to her father and the very early sparks of her friendship with Lady Danbury are both explored in Queen Charlotte.
Lastly, before we go mark our calendars in diamond dust for the May 4 premiere date of Queen Charlotte, feast your eyes upon this breathtaking key art image of Queen Charlotte (Amarteifio) from the show. Dear readers, they’ve outdone themselves.
If you’d like to see more tidbits from the upcoming show, you can watch (or rewatch!) Tudum on Netflix’s YouTube channel for more insights. And while there is so much more to come from season three of Bridgerton and the debut season of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, for now, make sure to catch up on everything we know about season three, and listen and subscribe to Bridgerton: The Official Podcast, available on Apple, iHeart, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts. As the months turn into weeks before the debut of this fantastic story, be sure to check back here for more information, photos, and inside looks as more is released.
Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated, and The Washington Post. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads, and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Instagram at @ByValentinaV.
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