The Bridgerton Prequel’s 2 Timelines Shed New Light On Queen Charlotte

Though actor India Amarteifio takes center stage as the titular young monarch in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Golda Rosheuvel hasn’t totally abdicated her throne. The actor who originated the Queen Charlotte role in Bridgerton, appears throughout the prequel, which is set in two timelines. Beginning when Charlotte is 17 years old, the Netflix prequel follows the young German royal’s rise to prominence and power after marrying King George (Corey Mylchreest). The real Queen Charlotte got married in 1761, but the new series never explicitly states the year.

Meanwhile, the future timeline seems to take place shortly after most of the events of Bridgerton Season 2, which was set in 1814. That seems apparent when Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) mentions to Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) that Anthony and Kate are away on their honeymoon. Fans might recall that the final scenes of Bridgerton Season 2 finale revealed that the newlyweds had already traveled together for six months after their wedding.

Rosheuvel previously teased that Queen Charlotte would interweave flash-forwards and flashbacks. “So where in Bridgerton I might have been at the Presentation Ball and then leave the room, in Queen Charlotte I walk straight into a scene that’s in the spin-off," she explained to Radio Times in April. The actor also shared how creator Shonda Rhimes incorporated Bridgerton into the prequel, in which Julie Andrews also gives voice to Lady Whistledown.

“Shonda has been really clever in connecting the worlds, connecting the two series together,” Rosheuvel added. “Lady Whistledown is there, the young and older Danbury are there. The universe sort of swirls round within itself, so it will be fascinating to see whether the fans notice little nuances and Easter eggs that we’ve put in both productions. It’s a fascinating way of telling the story.”

In a Harper’s Bazaar interview published on May 4, Rosheuvel elaborated that she had an emotional-research technique for bridging her and Amarteifio’s iterations of Queen Charlotte. “I’d walk into the room that India had been shooting in, and think, as Charlotte, ‘My younger self was here. How do I feel about that? What am I keeping, and what have I said goodbye to?’” she told the magazine. “The through line connecting India’s Charlotte to mine is her feistiness. The damn determination to make it work, for her and George. Even in vulnerable moments, she’s sure of herself.”

Amarteifio also drew inspiration from the OG actor. “[Charlotte] has to change her brain and see herself as a different kind of person but retain her sense of self, which I’d seen in Golda’s Charlotte when I watched Bridgerton,” she said in the same joint interview. “All around her, people are grappling with one another, romantically, politically, and at the eye of the storm is this vital, poised woman who knows who she is. I’d wanted to know, how is she so sturdy in a society that is frivolous and crumbling?”

By rewinding to the past, the answer became much clearer.