Fans Convinced There's a Meghan Markle Reference in Queen Charlotte
Here's what Shonda Rhimes has to say about it.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a valuable and highly compelling addition to the Bridgerverse.
The Bridgerton prequel shows how the alternate, diverse London of the 19th century came to be, and while it takes a somewhat simplistic approach, fans can't help but draw parallels to modern times.
The spin-off's main character, young Queen Charlotte, has many fascinating character traits, but perhaps her most distinguishing feature is her Black heritage, which becomes a problem for the royal family. Of course, such a storyline reminded fans of one very real person who shares a similar situation — Meghan Markle.
In the show, the London ton and royal family of the 18th century are portrayed as a closed, predominantly white structure, resistant to letting in any outsider, so the new Queen's dark skin is bound to shock them. That is why George's mother, Princess Augusta, creates the so-called Great Experiment, aimed at diversifying high society and making Charlotte more acceptable to the ton.
Unfortunately, things are not that simple in real life. Three centuries after the show is set, Meghan Markle, who is biracial, married Prince Harry and is now going through her own 'experiment.' The Duchess' name never leaves the headlines, and some conflicts in the royal family are directly linked to Markle's ancestry.
When Meghan and Harry were expecting their first child, an unnamed member of the royal family expressed concern about the color of the future royal baby's skin, as Meghan revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Fans of Queen Charlotte saw the direct reference to this situation in the scene where Princess Augusta says that the future Queen is 'very brown.' Also, later in the series, she is seen closely examining George's first son before saying he is perfect.
However, in the interview with Vulture, Shonda Rhimes denied any reference to the Duchess of Sussex.
'Meghan Markle did not enter into it,' the show's creator said. 'My brain mostly thinks in terms of American politics, unfortunately, so I was really thinking about what would happen if this girl, Charlotte, came to America and was married off and how that was handled.'
Intentionally or not, much of Queen Charlotte's appeal to audiences lies in this resemblance to some of the personalities of our time. People have always been drawn to Meghan Markle or her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, because of their nonconformity, and Charlotte is a great fictional example of this rebellious member of the royal family.
Source: Vulture.