Bridgerton spinoff goes beyond the screen

The new Netflix spin-off of the popular period drama “Bridgerton,”” is called “Queen Charlotte,” and it follows a series of throwbacks to the early life of Queen Charlotte from the original series Bridgerton.

In the series, Charlotte is a young German royal who is arranged to marry the King George III of England. The series follows their life together as newlyweds and the challenges they face in their relationship.

The storyline is by no means a factual account of history. But, as stated in the beginning of the show, “It is not a history lesson. It is fiction inspired by fact.” Thus, there are many accurate historical references hidden in the plot. Just like the series, there was a real life King George III, who was best known for his role in Britain’s loss of control of the American colonies, who was married to the German Queen Charlotte.

In the series, a big part of the plot surrounded King George’s mental illness, which is a mystery to the audience but caused him to spiral into delusions and transformed him into a different version of himself. This severely impacted his relationship with Charlotte. Similarly, the real King George also was known for his mental health troubles, which

SKY History UK noted as his “Descent into Madness.” The real King George underwent similar extreme treatments that the one in the show went through, such as being plunged into cold water and burning his skin, all of which did not work.

The main storyline involving the older Queen Charlotte is the one of her mission to secure a legitimate heir after her man children. This is prompted when her only granddaughter dies in childbirth. These events also happened in history, when Princess Charlotte, the only legitimate granddaughter of King George and Queen Charlotte, died in childbirth, causing a deep impact on the royal family.

Viewers see a distressed older Queen Charlotte obsessing over her Christmas trees in the show, regularly calling for “more gold!” to be put as tree decorations. According to English Heritage, the actual Queen Charlotte was the first to introduce the Christmas tree to Britain, popularizing it amongst the upper class. In one particular scene, Queen Charlotte was in the presence of her ladies in waiting while they listened to a young piano prodigy Mozart-- perform. According to the Royal Trust Collection, the famous classical composer,