Queen Charlotte: Who was she, is Bridgerton spin-off based on a true story and how to watch new Netflix series

The release date for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is around the corner – but is the new Netflix series based on a true story?

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will see Netflix fans transported back to the ton (high society in the United Kingdom during the late Regency era) with a new slate of characters and fierce scandals next week. The Shondaland series will centre around fan favourite Queen Charlotte and how her relationship blossomed with King George.

Following on from Bridgerton’s highly anticipated second season, the showrunners announced in May 2022 that the spin-off had been greenlit. The news was welcomed by thrilled fans who have been eagerly awaiting the third season of the Netflix sensation based on the Julia Quinn novels, and now another actress has been announced as joining the cast.

The show will run across two timelines, focusing on both Young Queen Charlotte and the Queen Charlotte we know and love from the Bridgerton series. India Amarteifio will star as Young Queen Charlotte, with Golda Rosheuvel resuming her role as the older Queen Charlotte during her reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.

But who was Queen Charlotte and is the Bridgerton spin-off series based on a true story? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who was Queen Charlotte?

Queen Charlotte was in fact a former Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (more commonly known as just ‘Charlotte’) was born in 1744 in the town of Mirow in Germany.

She was the eighth child to Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Elizabeth Albertina of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

As she had many older siblings, little was taught to young Charlotte about political life and her education was mostly devoted to domestic affairs.

However, when Charlotte turned 17, she was thrown into the British court following her marriage to King George III in 1761. The pair, who tied the knot six hours after Charlotte arrived in England for the first time, had a long lasting marriage until Queen Charlotte’s death in 1818.