Finding the Real Queen Charlotte

The enormously popular Netflix series “Bridgerton” has brought Britain’s Queen Charlotte into the limelight. It can be easy to oversimplify representations of her, especially with so much attention on court controversies and the impact of the illness of her husband, King George III, on the royal family. How accurate are the show’s portrayals of this long-reigning queen consort?

Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger explores the many ways in which Charlotte made a difference in her subjects’ lives during her 57 years on the throne and her influence on social life, the arts, and politics during the reign of George III and the Regency. Gain an appreciation of her legacy, her focus on charitable work, and how her interest in music brought an 8-year-old Mozart to the English court. Charlotte’s lengthy and complicated relationship with her husband is also examined, from their marriage just  hours after they met, through a happy and productive 25-year partnership, and finally into an increasingly distant and strained experience as George’s health deteriorated and their son took over as prince regent.

Lloyd-Stanger is former manager of visitor education at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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