The Biggest Spoilers From 'Queen Charlotte'

Lady Whistledown is back, and this time she’s got the hot gossip on Bridgerton’s formerly supporting characters: Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. Netflix’s new prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story dives into the backstories of this trio, with updates on their lives following Seasons 1 and 2 of the flagship show.

“[Creator] Shonda [Rhimes] has been really clever in connecting the worlds, connecting the two series together,” Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the adult Charlotte, told Radio Times in April 2023. “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.”

Whistledown (again voiced by Julie Andrews) narrates the events following the Season 2 wedding of Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma. This time, it’s Queen Charlotte who’s having trouble getting her children married off, which could present a real problem for the British line of succession. Her only legitimate grandchild has just died, leaving her husband, George III, and her eldest son, George IV, without an heir.

Related: Queen Charlotte Delivers Off-the-Charts Chemistry

Meanwhile, flashbacks explore the early years of young Charlotte’s marriage to George (Corey Mylchreest), who she met on the day she married him. This is Bridgerton, so the romance is a major part of the appeal, but the new show also delves into the beginnings of Charlotte’s friendship with a young Agatha Danbury (Arsema Thomas), who’s stuck in a loveless marriage to a much older man.

“Agatha becomes someone who Charlotte can go to for a voice of reason and honesty, and someone who she can seek refuge in,” India Amarteifio, who plays young Charlotte, explained in an interview with Netflix ahead of the show’s premiere. “Agatha will be honest with Charlotte, and I think it’s really rare for the queen to have someone who will say, ‘No, that’s not right,’ because she’s surrounded by yes people. As the story progresses, she gets closer and closer.”

That friendship, however, comes with a ton of drama attached. Keep reading for the biggest spoilers from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

The biggest spoilers from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

What happens to Queen Charlotte?

When the series begins, young Charlotte is gearing up to marry King George, a man she’s never met, thanks in part to the efforts of her brother Adolphus. After a meeting with George’s mother goes awry, Charlotte decides the palace isn’t the place for her and tries to escape, only to be stopped by George himself. Having never met him, Charlotte doesn’t immediately know that the charming man she’s just confessed all her fears to is actually her future husband. Their conversation proves he’s not a troll, though, so she decides to go through with the wedding.

Things seem to be going smoothly until the wedding night, when George informs Charlotte that she’ll live at Buckingham House while he stays at Kew. This arrangement doesn’t sit right with her, but there’s not much she can do about it. The couple finally consummate their marriage and agree to meet on even days only in an attempt to conceive a child, but their obligatory dalliances soon turn passionate and they confess their love for one another.

As it turns out, George was holding back because he was afraid of Charlotte discovering the truth about his mental illness, but she ultimately becomes his fiercest protector when he gets caught between his overbearing mother and a nefarious doctor whose treatments are extremely unsound. By the end of the series, they have one child and another on the way.

In the “present-day” storyline, Queen Charlotte is struggling with the fact that only one of her children has produced a legitimate heir to the throne of England, and that heir (Princess Charlotte) has just died. Her matchmaking skills may be the talk of the ton, but they’re no use among her own sons, who don’t take kindly to her attempts to set them up with random noblewomen. After many uncomfortable family meetings, her son Prince Edward announces that he and his wife are expecting a daughter named Victoria.

As for her relationship with George, that’s a little more complicated. Throughout the show, Charlotte asks her staff whether George has died, leading them—and viewers—to think that she’s eagerly awaiting his demise. In the finale, however, we see that’s not true. Charlotte is still deeply in love with her husband in spite of his health problems, and she proves to be the only person who’s capable of reminding him of who he once was.

Related: Who Plays King George in Queen Charlotte? All About the Series Heartthrob 

What is wrong with King George?

As based on the real King George III, the Queen Charlotte character suffers from an unidentified mental illness that makes it impossible for him to rule. The illness isn't named in the show, but that’s actually true to the period, as doctors at the time weren’t sure what was wrong with him.

Throughout the season, we see George subjected to disturbing and inhumane treatments, which to some extent reflect what happened to the monarch in real life, as doctors tried forcibly restraining George until he had calmed himself. (The mysterious Doctor Monro, played by Rob Maloney, is loosely based on Thomas Monro, who attended the king in 1811.)

As we see, George’s symptoms include periods of mania where he repeats himself and speak for hours without stopping. Historians now think he may have had bipolar disorder or porphyria, a liver disorder that can affect the nervous system.

What happens to Lady Danbury?

Agatha actually isn’t a Lady yet when we meet her in Queen Charlotte, but she does have a husband who’s much older than her. When the palace realizes that Charlotte isn’t as white as they thought she was, they decide to undertake “The Great Experiment” and invite more families of color to the royal wedding. Agatha and her husband score an invitation and become Lord and Lady Danbury in the process.

Initially, Agatha agrees to spy on Charlotte for George’s mother, Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley), but she reverses her decision when she realizes that Charlotte is young, alone and lacking a true confidante. The pair become fast friends, and Agatha eventually starts giving her advice on love, sex and in-laws.

After Lord Danbury’s death, Agatha begins a brief affair with Violet Bridgerton’s father, Lord Ledger (Keir Charles), but their romance doesn’t last because he’s already married. She then considers marrying Charlotte’s brother Prince Adolphus (Tunji Kasim), but decides not to because she enjoys the relative freedom she feels as a widow. Knowing she’s on her own to protect her family’s future, however, she decides to renew her arrangement with Augusta and secure her son’s inheritance and status as a lord.

In the present day, Violet (Ruth Gemmell)  discovers Agatha’s affair with her father when she finds one of his signature birthday crowns sitting on Agatha’s mantelpiece. She’s at first upset by what she perceives as a betrayal, but she eventually accepts her friend’s past indiscretion.

What happens to Violet Bridgerton?

In the flashback scenes, Violet Bridgerton is still a child (played by Connie Jenkins-Greig), happily ensconced in the home of her father, Lord Ledger, and mother. Like her future daughters, she begs to attend balls despite not being out in society, but her parents won’t have it.

As an adult, Violet comes to realize that she’s begun craving intimacy again after the death of her husband years earlier. Lady Danbury encourages her to get out there and meet a marquess, but Violet’s afraid of betraying Edmund’s memory. Agatha assures her that it’s OK to want more for herself now that he’s gone, but the series ends before she follows through on her new desires.

What happens to Brimsley?

Charlotte’s trusted servant Brimsley has a majorly expanded role in the prequel series. When the young queen first arrives in England, she doesn’t understand why someone gets paid to simply follow her around, but she eventually comes to appreciate Brimsley’s willingness to do her bidding (though even she doesn’t know everything he does for her behind the scenes).

Young Brimsley (Sam Clemmett) also gets a love story of his own: He’s in a relationship with fellow servant Reynolds (Freddie Dennis), who works for George. When the duo aren’t at odds over what their respective bosses want, they manage to sneak off for a fair amount of R-rated fun. Once Charlotte and George work out their own relationship, Brimsley and Reynolds seem excited for a future where they can keep seeing each other while working so closely.

In the present, however, Reynolds is nowhere to be seen—at one point, another servant catches Brimsley dancing alone on the palace grounds. Charlotte, meanwhile, seems unaware that Brimsley ever had true love in his life at all.

Does anyone die in Queen Charlotte?

When the series begins, Charlotte’s son George is mourning the death of his daughter, Princess Charlotte, but her demise happens off-camera. Other than that, the only person who dies is Lady Danbury’s husband, Lord Danbury (Cyril Nri), who expires during a vigorous (for him) lovemaking session.

Which characters have sex in Queen Charlotte?

After Charlotte and George overcome their initial miscommunication about what they want their marriage to be, they have sex—a lot of sex, like a “Simon and Daphne in Season 1” quantity of sex. Unbeknownst to them, their servants Reynolds and Brimsley are also having a lot of sex, which increases in frequency during the periods when George and Charlotte are getting along well.

Lady Danbury is the only other main character in Queen Charlotte who gets laid. When we meet her, she’s joylessly copulating with her husband, Lord Danbury, but once he dies, she’s free to pursue more enjoyable pleasures. After his passing, we see her have one day of intimacy with Lord Ledger, but he cuts their affair short for the sake of his family.

What is the Great Experiment and is it a success?

The Great Experiment is what Queen Charlotte’s characters call the intermingling of society following the marriage of George and Charlotte. George’s family agreed to marry him off to the German noblewoman without knowing what she looked like, so when she arrived, they were surprised to find she was, in their words, "quite brown." George’s mother, Princess Augusta, works to steer the narrative (“It is only a problem if the palace says it’s a problem,” she tells her advisors), so she reaches out to various noble families of color to make sure they attend the wedding. She also bestows titles on a diverse range of society members, including Lady Danbury and her husband.

While the series ends with Lady Danbury trying to secure her son’s inheritance on behalf of all the families with new titles, Bridgerton proves that the Great Experiment was mostly a success. Simon, for example is a duke, having inherited the title from his father, and members of the ton are somewhat less shocked by interracial marriage.

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