As Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story debuts, 3 places to follow in footsteps of the real-life queen, starting with Buckingham Palace
- The release of Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story promises to spark interest in the German-born consort of Britain’s King George III
- We look at places in and around London related to the queen’s life that you can tour, from exhibitions to gardens to houses such as the one in which she died
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, streaming on Netflix from May 4, is a fictionalised drama about the wife of King George III going back to when the young princess arrived in Britain, in 1761, to marry the monarch.
The series’ executive producer, Shonda Rhimes, says the prequel to Bridgerton came about as both she and the mother-in-law of Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos are “obsessed” with the Queen Charlotte character.
If your interest in the real-life queen consort from the north German duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz has been similarly sparked, here are three places where you can follow in her footsteps.
1. Buckingham Palace, London
A good place to start is the newly opened “Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians” at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace (on every day, excluding Tuesdays and Wednesdays, until October 8). Queen Charlotte features prominently in this exhibition showing Georgian fashion primarily through portraiture from The Royal Collection.
There are many paintings of the queen, including a life-size portrait in her coronation robe by the king’s principal painter, Allan Ramsay; several depicting Charlotte with her family by one of her favourite artists, Johan Zoffany; and – the star of the exhibition – a rarely displayed full-length portrait by Thomas Gainsborough.
Some of Charlotte’s jewellery and personal artefacts are also on display, including the queen’s psalm book wrapped with elaborate fabric from one of her dresses, a needlework bag which she embroidered herself and a ring bearing a miniature of her husband, given to her on her wedding day.
George III bought Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) for Queen Charlotte in 1761 as a private residence away from the nearby official royal residence, St James’s. Charlotte liked it so much and spent so much time there it was renamed The Queen’s House.
The main body of Buckingham House remains where the state rooms of Buckingham Palace are today. After George and Charlotte’s day, the house was remodelled and extended, mainly under the reign of their son George IV and then Queen Victoria (their granddaughter) into the palace it is now.
Full-length portraits of Charlotte hang above the Grand Staircase, Green Drawing Room and East Gallery in the state rooms.
2. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, London
Today, the botanical gardens on the outskirts of southwest London are a bucolic attraction with plant-filled borders, dells, woodlands and temperate houses to explore.
George III bought what’s now called Kew Palace, in the grounds, as a summer retreat for the royal family. The diminutive (for a palace) building was built in the Dutch style of architecture – with red bricks and gables – as a house for a wealthy Flemish merchant.
Charlotte died in the house and Queen Victoria decreed that her bedroom be kept as it had been in her grandmother’s lifetime. Even the black horsehair chair in which Charlotte breathed her last is still there.
Situated about as far away as you can get from the palace, in the southwest of Kew Gardens, Queen Charlotte’s Cottage was built not as a residence but as a place for refreshments when the queen went for walks in the extensive gardens.
The cottage is set in a bluebell wood and animals, including kangaroos, were kept by the royals in the adjoining paddock.
This year, the palace is open to the public daily, and the cottage on weekends and public holidays, from April until September 24.
3. Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire
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Queen Charlotte bought the house in the 1790s as a retreat from Windsor Castle and the worsening illness of her husband.
The queen and her daughters painted and studied botany there and Charlotte’s love of the science influenced the decor of what is now called the Mary Moser Room.
Moser, an 18th century flower painter, was commissioned by the queen to decorate the walls and ceilings and her design can still be seen.
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Charlotte also commissioned the creation of Frogmore’s picturesque gardens (where Harry and Meghan had their engagement photos taken), adding paths, glades, mounts, lakes and bridges as well as the planting of more than 4,000 trees and shrubs.
Frogmore House is open to the public on certain days in August; this year’s dates are yet to be confirmed.
