‘Bridgerton’ has two Queen Charlottes and they both rule

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‘Bridgerton’ has two Queen Charlottes and they both rule

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“Bridgerton” arrived at our collective hour of need — on Christmas Day 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Who didn’t want to disappear into silly gossip, gilded balls and bow chicka wow wow? The much devoured Netflix series, created by super producer Shonda Rhimes and based on the novels by Julia Quinn, is escapism at its velvety best.

But India Amarteifio, star of the recently debuted spinoff “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” wasn’t convinced. At first watch the British actress just didn’t quite get it. A lavish ballsandproposals period piece with an aristocracy played by White and Black actors? Was it a political statement? A gotcha?

“It really took me back to see all these people from all walks of life in these amazing costumes, and there’s no talk of the elephant in the room,” said the 21-year-old actress.

Amarteifio was, of course, referring to race, the twoton topic usually glazed over in historical British dramas in favor of gorgeous gowns and sumptuous pastoral scenes. Colonialism? Slavery? Ick. All that gets brushed under the opulent Persian rug. But in the alternative British Empire of Rhimes’s “Bridger-verse” the Queen of England is a woman of color and the ruling class, known as “the Ton,” looks like an old-school Benetton ad.

For Amarteifio, who is biracial, the doubletake was initially dizzying. Period dramas had never been her thing.

“I didn’t necessarily care for those stories because I knew that the people who looked like me then were not in a position of power. They were subservient,” Amarteifio said. “My history was not a history that was full of light and wonder and splendor and colorful bouquets. It’s not escapism for me to watch that. I want to watch something that I’m going to feel great about afterward. Hence why I never watched period dramas very much.”

Thankfully she gave “Bridgerton” a few more episodes, allowing herself to be swept into the frothy world where marriage proposals mattered more than air, the most eligible bachelor is Black and no one bats an eye.

“This is it! This is what I want. I want that escapism,” she said. “‘Bridgerton’ has completely done a 180 on my head.”

Open wide the palace gates.

“Queen Charlotte” is a six-episode prequel that peels back the frilly layers of the last two seasons of “Bridgerton” to reveal the genesis of “The Great Experiment” which, according to the show’s alternative history, granted people of color titles and the land that come with them for the first time. The spinoff seeks to explain in its own glossy way how the two “sides” of British high society joined together. Basically it addresses the question — What are they doing here? A question that Amarteifio, fans and critics of the show have been asking since day one.

In its premiere month on Netflix, fans consumed over 625 million hours of the period drama centered on one London-based family’s marriage prospects. Several characters were fan favorites, most notably actor Regé-Jean Page’s smoldering Duke of Hastings, whose departure after Season 1 caused a social media riot. But none have pierced the pop cultural zeitgeist (or sent more folks to Google) quite like Queen Charlotte, who is played to pursed lipped perfection by veteran British theater actress Golda Rosheuvel.

Rosheuvel’s Charlotte is exquisite and succinct. Her side-eye is legend. Her wigs (many featuring natural curly hair) are glorious and her oneliners even better. “While you may be content to accept defeat, it is certainly not how I approach things,” she informs a young royal unlucky in love. For two seasons the Queen has worn a somewhat impenetrable mask. The spinoff lets it slip.

“It’s looking behind the curtain of this character that we know and love and seeing her as a human, as a mother, as a vulnerable woman,” Rosheuvel said.

Because the spinoff toggles between young Charlotte’s first year in London and the present-day Regency era of the main show, the two actresses never share a scene. But Amarteifio was quick to seek out Rosheuvel before filming. The younger actress had already asked production one critical question — “How much do you want me to reference Golda?”

“Oh no no no. Goodness no! Blah. Awful,” Rosheuvel said at the very thought of Amarteifio imitating her interpretation of Charlotte instead of discovering the queen for herself. “That would just be a completely different show,” Amarteifio added. But the two did chat about how Rosheuvel imagined Charlotte’s younger life over drinks. Still, the casting team must have recognized a miniRosheuvel in Amarteifio. “That is probably one of the biggest compliments I could have been given because Golda is just flipping great,” she added.

How then do these two actresses define the role? Because the word “queen” is doing a lot. It’s an actual title. An endorsement shouted on sweaty dance floors. An honorific bestowed on a woman who deserves it. We know one when we see one. Angela Bassett, Beyoncé, the Elizabeths. The definition is both fixed and fluid, and now with two Black queens, even more tiers are being added to the mythological cake.

“It’s a very interesting question because of the generational thing,” Rosheuvel said. “But queen to me … like my mother was a queen, you know? A woman who really knew herself, was really generous and complicated but stood proud in who she was and had an amazing life.”

Amarteifio had a slightly different take. She’s “a matriarch. I think of someone who is able to look after a lot of people but also is a voice for the voiceless, a voice of reason. Someone who is almost not human,” she said.

“Yeah, right. Otherworldly?” Golda added.

“Almost ethereal,” Amarteifio said. “Because of the responsibility that they are able to take on.”

Responsibility and duty are two obvious themes grounding “Queen Charlotte.” But the series offers a darker take on the weight of royalty. It’s like the reverse side of intricate embroidery, all threads and hard work. Charlotte and George’s love story is not all gowns and downward glances. King George has secrets and Queen Charlotte often feels alone — a stranger in a strange land. That theme is driven home by the fact that she is clearly a woman of a color and has the fate of the newly uplifted, diverse elite on her shoulders.

Off-screen, Amarteifio feels that same power of representation as a biracial actress playing the Queen of England.

“To be a part of that and to be a voice in that is more than what I signed up for. It comes with a lot more weight. I feel a duty to do this project. Because it will just mean so much for a lot of people,” said Amarteifio.

Rhimes herself was clear about who the show recognizes. “I’m really proud of what the show means,” she said at the Washington premiere, held at National Museum of African American History and Culture. “It’s a celebration of Black women in particular. It writes onto the screen what is so often erased. Black hair. Black intelligence. Black beauty.”

Amarteifio, the actress who once didn’t see herself in period pieces, is an evangelist.

“Why can’t we retell history? Why can’t we involve these people? It’s 2023, we can do whatever we want. There’s no rule book,” said Amarteifio, who is now firmly ensconced in the “Bridger-verse” and all the show has come to mean over three seasons — escapism and equity. The experience, she said, has changed her, opened her up. “Now what does that mean? What other things can we be a part of? Why does it have to just stop here?”

At that Rosheuvel got visibly excited. She sat up straighter and leaned toward her young co-star on the couch. “Yeah yeah,” the veteran actress whispered, both agreeing with and egging on Amarteifio.

“Why does Shonda have to make this really brave choice, which is a horrible thing to say, but basically is? Why can’t we expand and include people?” continued Amarteifio, sounding every bit the nascent ruler ready to take on and tear down the establishment.

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