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Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Hair and Makeup Details

"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" Is Full of Easter Eggs — and 1,500 Wigs

May 3 2023

Watch out! This post contains spoilers.

"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is a new spinoff series hitting Netflix centreed on the king and queen's marriage. Starring India Ria Amarteifio as a young Queen Charlotte and Corey Mylchreest as young King George, the six episodes introduce us to the royal couple and take us through their first few years of marriage.

Along the way, we're also presented with other members of the ton, including Arsema Thomas as a young Lady Agatha Danbury and Sam Clemmett as young Brimsley. The story is primarily told from the perspective of the young characters, but it occasionally flashes forward to the "Bridgerton" universe with some of the same beloved actors from that hit series, like Golda Rosheuvel as the older queen, Adjoa Andoh's Lady Danbury, Ruth Gemmell's Lady Violet Bridgerton, and more.

With the prequel, you can expect some of the same period-piece charm, steamy sex scenes, lavish costumes, and, of course, breathtaking hair and makeup moments. In total, the hair department created around 1,500 wigs for the series to be worn by the principal and background actors, and every single one was unique.

Ahead, Nic Collins, the hair and makeup department head of the series, shares how the hair on "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" tells a story and discloses the significance behind a few key looks. Keep reading to learn some behind-the-scenes details.

Image Source: Netflix

Where the Team Got Its Hair and Makeup Inspiration

Similar to the original story, the hair and makeup in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is magical. "I love the contemporisation of period drama," Collins tells POPSUGAR. To get inspiration, Collins says she looks all over, including magazines, fashion shows, and 18th-century diaries.

"We read a lot of diaries that were printed at the time and that gave us technical instructions," she says. Ultimately, they combined Regency Era wig-making practices with more modern techniques to get the wigs you see in the new show. This was necessary not only for time's sake and to make the wigs more wearable for the actors, but also because wigs from that period rarely featured natural hair — an important focus in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story."

Paintings of the real Queen Charlotte were another prominent source of inspiration but Collins and her team didn't replicate any of her looks — they just used them for ideating purposes.

"There is one portrait that I love of Queen Charlotte and she has the big oval shape of the 18th century," says Collins. That shape loosely inspired the bridal hairstyle we see on the young Queen Charlotte in the show (more on that later).

Image Source: Netflix

How the Hair in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" Tells a Story

"Bridgerton"'s Queen Charlotte is known for her creative, larger-than-life wigs. But it took some time for her to reach that place, as witnessed in the new series. The evolving hairstyles in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" show a journey. When we're first introduced to Charlotte in episode one, she's just travelled to a new country to marry a man she's never met and she wears her hair with its natural texture. "Our young Queen Charlotte really knows who she is and where she goes and then, as she adapts to this world, the hair becomes more elaborate," says Collins. Slowly she morphs into the playful, experimental queen we know from "Bridgerton."

Young Queen Charlotte's hair is contrasted by young Lady Danbury's, who wears a slightly looser, freer version of her same hairstyle as the older version of herself. "[Lady Danbury] kind of already conformed to that society, whereas our young Charlotte is fighting that right now."

Image Source: Netflix

The Significance of Queen Charlotte's Bridal Hairstyle

We first see these royal two worlds collide ahead of the wedding when Charlotte first meets her soon-to-be mother-in-law, Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley). Princess Augusta critiques her bridal gown, insisting she wears the one provided for her, but Charlotte finds a different way to let her personality shine through.

For the monumental event, Charlotte is wearing her hair in a beautiful afro with twists at the front that lead into knots, holding a tiara in place. But if you watch the episode closely, there's a different wig sitting on her dressing table. "That was the wig that would have been chosen for her to wear," says Collins. "But she's not going down that route — she's definitely choosing to show her textured hair in its beauty."

But that's not where the significance of the style ends. "It's in an oval shape — it's not round," says Collins. This is a nod to the oval shape of the real Queen Charlotte's hair in one of her famous portraits.

Image Source: Netflix

Makeup Got a Modern Twist in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story"

Much like the hair, the makeup seen in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" puts a modern twist on Regency looks. 18th-century makeup was all about flawless faces, pale, flat skin, and rosy cheeks, but Collins knew she didn't want to use any white powder on the characters. (Even though, technically, that would be more realistic to the times.) Instead, she decided to update the looks with fresh, youthful skin and raspberry, blushed cheeks.

Image Source: Netflix

The Hidden Meaning Queen Charlotte's Most Intricate Style

The hairstyles in "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" are loaded with hidden meanings, but one in particular stands out. A large focus of the show is producing an heir for the thrown — it's a prominent plot-line in both Queen Charlotte and King Geoge's story but also in Queen Charlotte's relationship with her children. In the scene where the older Queen Charlotte is talking to her daughters and sons about continuing the family, she's wearing a large wig that's braided in the front, but the back holds a special detail.

"It's actually hollow in the back — it's almost like an egg shape and it's full of flowers and orchids, which are for fertility," says Collins

Image Source: Netflix

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