5 Facts About the Very Real Queen Charlotte Bridgerton Fans Might Not Know

Bridgerverse is a magical place full of beautiful people, stunning costumes and hairstyles, breathtaking scenery, incredible song covers, and romantic stories with happy endings. It's so perfect that viewers sometimes forget it is based on a real Regency-era London ton and, in some cases, real people.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is coming in just a few hours and will focus on the story of the royal couple in their youth. Did you know that both Charlotte and George are based on real historical figures, and that the Bridgerverse reflects some of their real-life events?

Here are some interesting facts about the real Queen Charlotte that may have found their way into the spin-off.

Real Name and Upbringing

Charlotte is only part of the Queen's full name, which was of course much longer — Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The last part is the name of a small German duchy, the birthplace of the future Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Her date of birth was May 19, 1744.

Growing up, Charlotte didn't have much of a social life and buried herself in books and education in botany and natural history.

Wedding

Charlotte was 17 years old when she was chosen over other suitresses to be the wife of the 22-year-old King George, who had just ascended the throne. The choice had nothing to do with love or affection. Charlotte was simply the best option.

The wedding took place within six hours of Charlotte's setting foot on the shores of England. The journey to England was very difficult, and Charlotte was seasick and lost a lot of weight. The heavy wedding dress almost fell off her.

Children

Despite the rocky start, Charlotte and George's marriage is generally considered a happy one. They spent most of their time and attended social events together. As proof of their happy marriage, Charlotte gave birth to 15 children. Their last daughter was born when Charlotte was 39 years old, which means that the Queen gave birth to a child every 1.4 years on average.

Debutante Balls

Famous debutante balls and social seasons happened in real life. The very first of these balls was held by King George III in 1780 in honor of his wife. After that, it became the annual event where young women of the ton were presented to the Queen. The elite held their own events around the same time, and it all added up to the annual social season we love so much in Bridgerton.

Black Ancestry

Charlotte has been theorized to have been the first black queen of Britain. Historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom claimed in his works, to the disagreement of other historians, that Charlotte was a descendant of a black branch of the Portuguese royal family with roots in Africa.

So it is very likely that Bridgerton's multicultural ton was inspired, if not by real life, at least by this interesting theory.