Bridgerton: Every Real-Life Figure Who Appears (And What They Looked Like)
Netflix's Bridgerton, created by Chris Van Dusen and based on the book series by Julia Quinn, is an accurate portrayal of Regency-era London in the early 19th century, but only three characters are based on real-life figures. Bridgerton is the second project Shonda Rhimes has produced for Netflix as part of a 2017 deal that made her the highest-paid showrunner in television. The events of season 1 are pulled from the pages of the first Bridgerton novel, The Duke and I, which chronicles the love story between the eldest Bridgerton daughter Daphne and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings.
Bridgerton is set against London's 1813 social season, focusing on eligible women's urgency to secure marriage proposals or risk ending up as twentysomething spinsters. The show's historical consultant Hannah Greig told the LA Times the aim was “keep the money and the power within a fairly small circle of society by controlling the pool of suitors.” Bridgerton stays true to the time's behaviors and practices, including single women going to great lengths to maintain their reputation and virtue. Many young ladies entered into marriage, knowing little or nothing about sex and reproduction.
Bridgerton also captures the era's love of gossip through the mysterious narrator and villain Lady Whistledown, whose scandal sheet publicizes the private lives of the upper echelon of society known as the ton. With such painstaking detail paid to recreate Regency London, many viewers have been curious if Bridgerton is based on a true story. The short answer is no, but there are a few characters who are actual historical figures.
Queen Charlotte was born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to a German duke and princess on May 19, 1744. According to an article in The Washington Post, historian Mario De Valdes y Cocom claimed Queen Charlotte was directly descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family. Paintings of the royal were likely modified to minimize features considered to be unflattering. Van Dusen told ET the possibility that Queen Charlotte was England's first bi-racial queen opened up all sorts of interesting storytelling possibilities. “What could this queen have done? Could she have used her power to elevate other people of color in society?" Regarding the Queen's appearance, Golda Roshevuel, who plays the formidable monarch, told ET, “Queen Charlotte doesn’t have any kind of continuity, so you’ll see her in lots of different outfits, lots of different wigs, and it kind of adds to the creativity of her character." She also noted that the Queen is "quite feisty" and "loves a gossip."
King George III (played by James Fleet) was a doting, although controlling father and a devoted husband who began his reign in 1760 at the age of 22. His biggest political misstep was the loss of the Revolutionary War and with it, the American colonies. In 1788 he began suffering physically and mentally from a mystery illness that would plague him the rest of his life, causing a fractured relationship with his wife and leading his son George IV to become Prince Regent in 1811. According to the Historic Royal Palaces website, the King and Queen were happily married for 25 years, but his increasingly violent behavior scared the Queen (the series includes a scene where the King accuses his wife of murdering their daughter Amelia), and he became more isolated. While the series highlights the Queen's obsession with the King's death, she remained loyal to her husband until her death in 1818.
On Bridgerton, the Queen's nephew Prince Friederich of Prussia (Freddie Stroma) is the single, sought-after royal who fails to capture Daphne's heart. The real Prince Friederich (1794-1863) was a handsome man who caught the eye of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George IV, Prince of Wales (son of King George III), and Caroline of Brunswick. In a biography of Charlotte, The Lost Queen, written by historian Anne Stott, the author reveals that the Princess met Prince Friederich in June of 1814 and began corresponding with him in secret, but he became engaged to Princess Luise of Anhalt-Bernburg, and the two married in 1817. Bridgerton clearly changes his story somewhat to suit the narrative, but that's in keeping with the show's loose commitment to history.