Bridgerton star Golda Rosheuvel has opened up on the similarities she sees between Queen Charlotte and Queen Elizabeth II, sparking intrigue ahead of the release of season 2.
In the enchanting world of the Netflix period drama, Queen Charlotte always wants to be at the heart of the gossip gripping the ton, making grand entrances with her magnificent gowns and becoming fixated on finding out the secret identity of wordsmith Lady Whistledown.
However, behind the scenes, the typically composed queen is impacted by her husband King George III’s declining health.
While speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press at the premiere of season two at London’s Tate Modern, Golda compared her character’s journey to that of Queen Elizabeth II, who suffered the loss of her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh in April last year.
When asked whether she took inspiration from other royal historical figures for her performance, the actor responded: ‘I haven’t, but recently – and I don’t know why this is, and I don’t want to wish bad on our Queen – but she’s getting older, and I just wonder if she’s looking back on her life, do you know what I mean? And what that’s about.’
She continued: ‘I’m thinking about dynasty and what that word means to us as human beings, but also what it means to the Queen and her problems with her husband and all of that stuff, and taking over that role. It kind of mirrors what our own monarchy has done, and the loss of Philip for her.’
Golda said that she had been ‘contemplating’ that parallel for some time, so much so that she believes it will inform her story arc even more in season three.
‘I think that will work for season three when we come back to it,’ she said.
‘I think I want to just hold onto all of that for season three and see where that takes me.’
In Bridgerton, viewers have so far only had a brief glimpse of the King, played by James Fleet.
In real life, the cause of King George III’s mental illness remains unknown, although it has been speculated that he might have had bipolar disorder.
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During the premiere on Tuesday evening, Bridgerton author Julia Quinn spoke to Metro.co.uk about what book readers can expect in terms of the tale diverging from the original source material.
‘I’ve always said that you could do a masterclass on how to adapt a novel with what they’re doing, because there’s almost nothing that’s word for word or even scene by scene, and yet the characters are absolutely true to who they are in the books and the overall story arc is absolutely true to it,’ she said.
Julia added that as she ‘loves it’, having seen all eight episodes of the new season, she reckons that ‘readers will love it too’.
Bridgerton season 2 is set to premiere on Friday March 25 on Netflix.
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