The Bridgerton fever returns once again, thanks to Queen Charlotte. Set decades before the events of the hit Netflix series, the prequel pivots to the teenage life of the titular royal, played by India Amarteifio, who is later portrayed by Golda Rosheuvel.
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And while a chunk of its characters and storylines take inspiration from the 18th-century real-life British monarchs, it’s best to note that these are fictionalized versions of the historical figures. However, that won’t stop viewers from noticing a few too-real references—whether or not it’s intentional!
LOOK: Netizens Think That a Scene in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" Alluded to Meghan Markle
In one case, a certain scene in the series had netizens noticing similarities to a more modern royal, Meghan Markle. The first episode showed King George III’s mother, Princess Augusta, noting her surprise at Charlotte’s complexion.
“She is very brown,” Augusta said, with George responding that she had “Moor blood.” In response, Augusta reiterated: “You did not say that she would be that brown.”
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In their famous tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan and Prince Harry revealed that an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed concerns about their son Archie’s skin color.
One Twitter user noted that the comment seemed to be a blatant reference to that. “‘Shonda said, “The Crown won’t cover it, but I will,’” the netizen wrote, referring to the series’ creator Shonda Rhimes.
#QueenCharlotte the Meghan Markle / Archie “what colour will the baby be,” reference in this scene has me deceased 😠💀 😂. Shonda said, “The Crown won’t cover it, but I will.” pic.twitter.com/LwKbvFBsLU
— Psych Bae (@CaribbeanSpyce) May 4, 2023
Another viewer quipped that the line felt like “shade” to Meghan’s royal in-laws.
“She is very brown!” in #QueenCharlotte is Shonda’s shade to Meghan Markle’s in-laws fr
— Victoria Gravesande (@vicgravesande) May 5, 2023
Meanwhile, one commenter imagined that the scene doesn’t seem improbable inside the halls of the royal family’s palaces.
can’t nobody tell me this is not the EXACT discussion that the royal family had when Meghan Markle came around #QueenCharlotte
— Rich TeTe (@judge_jessica) May 4, 2023
LOOK: "Bridgerton" Creator Shonda Rhimes Denies Meghan Markle References in "Queen Charlotte"
However, the series’ creator put the allusions to rest in a recent interview. Speaking to Vulture, Shonda claimed that Meghan “did not enter into it.”
“My brain mostly thinks in terms of American politics, unfortunately, so I was really thinking about what would happen if this girl, Charlotte, came to America and was married off and how that was handled,” she said.
While Shonda denied the references, it’s a nifty fact to know that Queen Charlotte was believed to come from Black ancestry, in light of her roots to a Black branch of a Portuguese royal house.
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“I know there are a lot of people who believe it’s absolutely fact that she’s from Black Portuguese royalty, and there are some who just can’t accept that. The idea that that would make her their first Black royal was very interesting to me,” she said.
“When we were putting Bridgerton together, we weren’t doing color-blind casting but wanted to build a reason for why Queen Charlotte was there.”
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is streaming on Netflix.
Watch our exclusive interview with the "Bridgerton" cast below!
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