What "Queen Charlotte" Gets Right About the Real Charlotte and George

There really was a Queen Charlotte who married King George III in 1761 before they had a chance to get to know each other. The new Netflix series "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is inspired by the real Charlotte and George, but uses them to tell their own story based on — but not exactly following — historical fact, set in the world of "Bridgerton."

The show itself, which premiered on 4 May, acknowledges that it's not exactly "true" from the very first moments, when the voice of Lady Whistledown (Julia Andrews) says, "This is the story of Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton. It is not a history lesson." She goes on and says, "It is fiction inspired by fact. All liberties taken by the author are quite intentional."

However, if you do want to separate what's fact from fiction in "Queen Charlotte," find the true story behind the series ahead.

The Real Queen Charlotte

Queen Charlotte was born in 1744 in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a small duchy in what's now Germany (and was then the Holy Roman Empire). Her father was the duke and her brother, Adolphus Frederick, later became duke in 1752.

In "Queen Charlotte" and "Bridgerton," Charlotte is depicted as a Black woman. But was Queen Charlotte actually Black in real life? The record is complicated. The real Charlotte descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a member of Portuguese nobility, and many believe early portraits of Charlotte depict her with Black features. PBS's Frontline published a report in 1999 that Charlotte was Black on account of her relation to Margarita, whose ancestry was described as "Moorish," meaning from Northern Africa. But many scholars have argued that, at the time, the word "Moor" was meant to only denote that someone was Muslim, not their race.

In 2021, a historian writing for the Library of Congress noted that while the record is mixed on if Charlotte did have African ancestry, "She did not, in any case, choose to identify with people of African descent or with the plight of the enslaved in Britain's colonies." It's been said that Charlotte also did not speak up for the abolition of slavery.

The Real King George III

King George III was born in June 1738, during the reign of his grandfather George II. His father, Prince Frederick, died unexpectedly in 1751, making George the heir. He became king in 1760. George eventually struggled with mental illness, but it's believed that he was most affected by it toward the later days of his life; in "Queen Charlotte," he struggles with his health as a young man. British papers dubbed George "Farmer George" to mock him for his interests in more mundane issues as opposed to major politics, but many felt that made him a man of the people.

George was king during the American Revolution, and anyone who's read the Declaration of Independence knows that the American colonists were not happy with his reign and decried him as a tyrant. But some have challenged their characterisation. British historian Andrew Roberts published a 2021 biography, "The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III," and he argues that — unlike many Founding Fathers — George III was opposed to slavery. Roberts told the New Yorker in 2021 that George wrote a paper in the 1750s when his grandfather was still king, denouncing slavery, calling it "absurd." His biography also states he never bought or owned a slave. In 1807, George signed the Slave Trade Act in 1807 which abolished the slave trade. However, slavery itself did not become illegal in the UK until 1833, 13 years after his death.

How Did Charlotte and George Marry?

Similar to what "Queen Charlotte" shows, King George sent a party to fetch Charlotte to be his bride when she was 17, and her brother signed the marriage contract for her in August 1761. Charlotte was brought immediately to England, where she married George just six hours after meeting him. Though it's unclear how happy they were to get married, Charlotte and George ultimately had 15 children together; 13 of them survived to adulthood. George was also reportedly a rare king who never took a mistress.

King George's Relationships

In the show, Charlotte seems to be George's first major romantic relationship, but in real life, he did have some love affairs before choosing his bride. In 1759, he wanted to marry Lady Sarah Lennox, but his advisers convinced him not to. He wrote his most famous quote during the incident: "I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation and consequently must often act contrary to my passions," as per History Today. Fictional George says those same words to his mother, Princess Augusta, in "Queen Charlotte." George became king a year later in 1760.

Queen Charlotte's Christmas Trees

"Queen Charlotte" makes a point of showing the queen and her children decorating Christmas trees in the castle. Queen Charlotte actually brought the tradition of Christmas trees from Germany to England, according to the Royal Collection Trust, though they note she used a yew instead of a fir. It remained a family tradition and Queen Victoria then carried on the legacy of having a Christmas tree. According to RCT, when images of Victoria, Prince Albert, and their family celebrating with a tree were published, the practice spread throughout the UK.

Queen Charlotte and Princess Augusta's Relationship

As depicted in the show, Charlotte and Augusta had an adversarial relationship in real life. Augusta did have spies in Charlotte's court — like Lady Danbury in the show — that reported news of the queen to her. But one thing the show only touches the surface of is how Charlotte, who was German, struggled with British court life. The day she married George, Charlotte didn't speak any English and she had to learn, quickly.

Queen Charlotte's Quest For an Heir

As "Queen Charlotte" shows, though Charlotte and George had many kids, they didn't have an heir after her oldest son George's daughter Charlotte of Wales died. All her other grandchildren were illegitimate. Charlotte brokered marriages between Prince Edward and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and her son William (later William IV) and Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. As the show depicts, they wed in a joint ceremony in 1818. Though William would become king after his brother George's death, Edward and Victoria's daughter, born in 1819, ultimately became one of Britain's longest reigning monarchs: Queen Victoria.

"Queen Charlotte" is streaming now on Netflix.