A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

  Disclaimer: Lady Whistledown makes it very clear at the opening of the show that this is an alternate universe from reality, so I never expected it to line up with real history and I do not fault it as “wrong” for not doing so! But I will be comparing what happens on the show with reality for discussion purposes. A lot of this show revolves around dynastic politics, particularly of the House of Hanover. A brief background on the Hanoverians, which the show doesn’t get into: Queen Anne of Great Britain (that is, Olivia Colman in  The Favourite  (2018)) had no heirs. Because her nearest relations were Catholic and the British state was officially Protestant, the succession stepped around them and went to her nearest Protestant cousin, Sophia - Sophia was a granddaughter of King James I/VI of England and Scotland, and was married to the Elector of Hanover. By the time Anne died, Sophia had also died, and so the throne went to her eldest son, George I in 1714. George I was 54 at the time

This was originally posted at Substack, but as Substack's decided to stand behind its policy to allow Nazis to post and monetize on their platform, I'm coming back to Blogger! Synopsis A spin-off of the hit show,  Bridgerton  (2020- ),  Queen Charlotte  focuses on the eponymous consort and her history. The main action of the plot takes place in the early 1760s, involving the betrothal and wedding of Charlotte to George III and the first years of their marriage: the forthright and confident Charlotte comes to Great Britain and is flummoxed by her kind but distant husband until she learns of his mental illness, which she is determined to help him with. Slimmer subplots are set in the Regency period of  Bridgerton , with Charlotte and her children dealing with the loss of her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, and Agatha Danbury and Violet Bridgerton talking about new love after the end of a marriage. Overall, I was impressed with the show, to an extent that was a bit surprising!