Who was Queen Charlotte?

Many state Queen Charlotte was Britain’s first black royal. Her ancestry connects to an African branch of the Portuguese Royal Household. Thanks to the art of the time, we can see in paintings some telling facial features, though we can assume, like some magazine and press pictures today of stunning celebrities being edited, these paintings may well have also been white-washed. Sir Allan Ramsay’s portrait is possibly the most telling and informative today. He was a keen abolitionist – which helped end slavery in Britain in 1807. We can see in various paintings her wide eyes and sumptuous dresses are critical features in family portraits and her greatest paintings. Her relative Alfonso III of Portugal ‘defeated the small town of Faro from the Moors – people of North African and Andalucian descent’. Shockingly, as a prize, he demanded the youngest daughter of the town’s governor, whom he had three daughters with… their descendants led to Queen Charlotte. Golda Rosheuvel and India Amarteifio portray the Queen in Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, the spin-off prequel, showing her stunningly accurately, with hints in the script to the social conflicts her heritage may well have caused within aristocratic circles at the time – where the trans-Atlantic slave trade was still prevalent, and sugar, cotton, tobacco and other products were still produced through horrific abuse of human life and unpaid labour. The royal couple were genuinely in love, and despite social norms of the time, George III never took a mistress or girlfriend. They were rarely apart. A scene of interpreted true history within the show is when Mozart performed at the Royal Palace, aged 8. Queen Charlotte had an influential ear for music and the arts, having also befriended Johann Christian Bach. She was incredibly intelligent, with conversations among friends that enlightened both men and women and may have helped pave a path for future gender equality. She quickly learnt English, having been a native German speaker, and shared a great interest in the sciences with her husband. Charlotte founded many hospitals and orphanages and encouraged women’s education, including for her daughters. These daughters, as shown in the film, then so enjoyed being at home with their mother, and helping their father through his sickness, that it was hinted that they never had children – the Queen encouraged them all to ‘just get on with it and make an heir’! Perhaps, when we say Queen Victoria was the Mother of Royal Europe, Queen Charlotte was the mother who bought a proper mix of DNA and culture into the Royal Family and Britain as a whole – as well as the Christmas Tree too… no, it was not Prince Albert.