A Bridgerton cast member has reignited the long-running debate about the real-life heritage of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, who appears prominently in the Regency-era series.
Adjoa Andoh stated that the monarch, portrayed by fellow Black actress Golda Rosheuvel, was not reimagined as a woman of color for the show. “Queen Charlotte wasn’t invented as a woman of color — she was a woman of color. You just need to look at the historical research,” she said, according to The Daily Mail.
Andoh — who in 2023 described the Buckingham Palace balcony after King Charles’ coronation as “terribly white” — added that the Netflix drama offers viewers “a more realistic interpretation of history.”
Historians note that Charlotte, who was born in Germany, can trace her lineage to a single ancestor of Moorish descent dating back roughly 500 years before her lifetime.
One viewer remarked, “My odds of having Black ancestry are much higher than that, and I’m not considered a woman of color.”
He continued, “History is full of genuinely fascinating women of color, so we should be creating shows about them instead of assigning credit where it isn’t deserved.”
Bridgerton is a romance and historical drama set in 1810s Regency London and produced by Netflix.
Based on Julia Quinn’s novels, the series follows intertwining love stories and social drama. It has been renewed through season 6, and season 4 — centered on Benedict’s romance — is now available on Netflix.
