Netflix's Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story ending explained

Table Of Content

• What is King George III's illness on 'Queen Charlotte'? A historian explains
• Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story ending explained
• Lord Cameron: Ukraine has right to defend itself with British weapons
• What Is Wrong With King George III?
• Golda Rosheuvel told Insider in 2020 that the writers of "Bridgerton" season one didn't narrow down a diagnosis either.
• Princess Charlotte, 9

For instance, in 1810, after the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, King George III experienced another spell of mental illness and a bill called the “Care of King During his Illness, etc. Dr. John Monro steps forward and says that the king’s condition is “not merely physical but nervous.” He believes George is suffering from a “disorganization of nerves,” and the king can be cured by simply talking to him. Dr. Monro was a real person and spent his life studying and treating mental illnesses.

What is King George III's illness on 'Queen Charlotte'? A historian explains

"He was brilliant with the children when he met them," Prince William told the BBC at the time. "He brought out his fossil collection and showed the children that, which, I think, George at the time absolutely adored - he's got loads of dinosaur fossils." It's no secret that the King's eldest grandchildren are fans of dinosaurs. Prince William previously revealed that Prince George's love for all things prehistoric was inspired by his exchange with David Attenborough. "Finding gifts for the man who really does have everything might be tricky, but, since his accession, his family have given the King several new ties.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story ending explained

While there were many Black and mixed-race people in England during this time, British society was still heavily segregated. Even by the Regency era, this would have been wildly unrealistic; while slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, slaves weren’t fully free in the British colonies until 1838 and its repercussions are still felt to this day. While Bridgerton, with its colorblind casting, rarely centered racial issues, Queen Charlotte, a true Shonda Rhimes joint, doesn’t shy away from making race an integral part of multiple story lines, addressing everything from colorism to segregation and integration. But while these important themes help to make the show a captivating and thought-provoking watch, there’s definitely a liberal blurring of the lines between history and fantasy in the series.

Queen Charlotte: What's Wrong With King George III? - POPSUGAR

Queen Charlotte: What's Wrong With King George III?.

Posted: Thu, 04 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Lord Cameron: Ukraine has right to defend itself with British weapons

Instead, the spin-off focused on a younger version of King George III and Queen Charlotte, whose older counterparts appeared in supporting roles in Bridgerton seasons 1 and 2. George begins to have one of his fits in front of Princess Augusta and Parliament. His mother brings a set of doctors together to figure out how to treat George. One doctor says that George’s symptoms “remain consistent with an inflamed cerebellum,” while another says it’s an “excess of ill humor in the legs.” One doctor believes diet is the key. While Queen Charlotte and King George III’s marriage seemingly got off to a great start after their adorable meet-cute, things took a turn for the couple right after their nuptials.

It comes after the Palace announced the monarch’s cancer diagnosis in February which was discovered while he had unrelated treatment for a benign prostate enlargement. Releasing a new birthday snap of each of their three children has become a tradition for the Waleses. The Prince and Princess of Wales released a new image of their daughter to celebrate her birthday today. As a newborn, William said that Louis was "behaving himself" and sleeping "reasonably well." Both Charlotte and George immediately took to their roles as doting older siblings and were seen lovingly caring for Louis in several photos. By nine months old, Louis was the "most cheerful, smiley little boy" and had mastered the art of crawling.

What Is Wrong With King George III?

In Queen Charlotte, an arranged marriage between the young German princess and the King of England turns into a tumultuous and then passionate meeting of the minds and a true love match. In real life, the actual Charlotte and George had by all accounts a truly loving marriage despite its having been arranged, one that was certainly viewed as successful at that time because of their many children. The couple was married for 57 years, with Charlotte holding the record for Britain’s longest-serving female consort and the second longest-serving consort in British history (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is the first). The couple ran into challenges because of George’s mental health issues, which caused him to have episodes of mania, increasingly as he got older. Despite this, Charlotte remained a loving and loyal wife, advocating for the king, until his bouts grew so violent in the early 1800s, that that they were forced to live separate lives for her safety.

Golda Rosheuvel told Insider in 2020 that the writers of "Bridgerton" season one didn't narrow down a diagnosis either.

"His Majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming some public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued care and expertise," the spokesperson added. "Of my two portraits released by the Palace, this image of Louis in the wheelbarrow with HRH The Princess of Wales, laughing down towards him, is my favorite," the photographer said. "It not only captures Louis’ spirit and cheek but also the relationship he has with his mother and the fun they have together. You can’t but help feeling joy, love and laughter when you look at this photo."

King George's Illness in "Queen Charlotte" and "Bridgerton"

In 2016, Charlotte took part in her first royal tour with her family, traveling to Canada for a week-long trip. While meeting with the children of military families, Charlotte spoke her first public words, and was overheard calling William "Dada" and shouting "pop pop!" while playing with balloons. She also spent time playing with her brother George, who William said was becoming a good friend to the toddler.

Princess Charlotte, 9

'Queen Charlotte': What Is Wrong With King George III? - Business Insider

'Queen Charlotte': What Is Wrong With King George III?.

Posted: Fri, 05 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

From the earliest episodes of "Bridgerton" (and, depending on your high school history classes long before that) we've known that King George III has been affected for years by a serious illness. The prequel series "Queen Charlotte" dives more into George's illness from a young age, revealing more about what's going on and how it affects his relationships. In 1788, the King suffered his first major bout of mental illness when he was 50, and according to the Smithsonian, he had trouble sleeping for more than two hours at a time and would "speak out of turn," making inappropriate advances toward the Queen's attendants. Per the Georgian Papers, he reportedly assaulted their oldest son, George, Prince of Wales, as a result of his mania. Though the king recovered before his son could step in, Parliament would later have to pass Regency Acts at other periods in George III’s life.

Just a month later, he was ready to run and keep up with the other children, with Kate sharing that the little boy was definitely keeping the family on their toes. In late 2017, it was announced that William and Kate were expecting their third child, and on April 23, 2018, they welcomed their son Louis Arthur Charles. Like his older siblings, his name has special meaning to the family, likely a tribute to Prince Philip's grandfather Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg and King Charles' great-uncle and mentor, Earl Louis Mountbatten. In honor of Charlotte's eighth birthday, William and Kate shared a new portrait of their daughter on Instagram. The young royal was also seen in a black hat with a bow at the Westminster Abbey service. Wearing a hat is a custom for British women when attending formal events, and this marked Charlotte's first time participating in the tradition.

The spinoff dives into the circumstances of the monarch to reveal his long-debated — never officially — diagnosed mental illness and the effect it had on the young royals’ marriage and roles. Instead, Peters proposes that King George III actually suffered from recurrent mania, possibly bipolar disorder. He notes George was diagnosed at the time with was then called "manic depressive psychosis." As Historic Royal Palaces writes, "They shared a happy life together, producing 15 children until their lives were changed and saddened by the King’s devastating mental illness. Nonetheless Charlotte remained steadfast and loyal to her husband."

At the time, as we see in Netflix’s Bridgerton prequel, the king’s illness is diagnosed as “madness”, which was a catch-all term during that time in history for a wide range of mental disorders. Some of the symptoms he exhibited across the show’s six episodes include episodes of mania, depression, delusions, and agitation were also suffered by the real King George III and likely used as inspiration within the show. Over the course of Bridgerton's first two seasons, we see that Queen Charlotte runs the monarchy as the King gets treated for his mental illness, and in the prequel series, we see where and how it originated.

Ahead, find everything we know about King George's mental health in real life and how it pans out in the Bridgerton universe. Over the years, historians have debated the nature of the king's illness. According to Elle, a 1960s study conducted by psychiatrists Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter claimed that George had acute porphyria, which impacts the nervous system. Years later, researcher Timothy Peters claimed their diagnosis was incorrect in an issue of Clinical Medicine. In 2013, Peter Garrard, a researcher at St. George’s University of London, agreed with Peters, telling the BBC that the porphyria theory is “completely dead in the water.” Instead, he argues that King George endured a psychiatric illness.

There are moments of joy — a Season 1 scene where he has a few hours of lucidity and invites her for an affectionate dinner — and heartbreaking one (said dinner ends badly when George believes their deceased daughter is still alive). In the second season, Edwina Sharma earns the Queen's trust and respect when she smooths over an awkward moment when George escapes his caretakers and barges in, giddily believing it to be his and Charlotte's wedding day. Throughout his reign, it's been documented that King George had struggles with mental illness. One time, he foamed at the mouth and was unable to speak coherently for hours. There were also rumours that George once mistook a tree for the King of Prussia and tried to shake hands with it.

While history may remember George III as the mad king who lost the American colonies, Queen Charlotte depicts him as a complex yet loving man with a deep interest in science and astrology, whose very real struggles with mental health change the scope of his life. He was a devoted and loving husband and a ruler known for his interest in and support for culture, science, astronomy, and agriculture. He was responsible for buying what is now known as Buckingham Palace and opened up a library that was free for scholars to use, but his legacy as a king has largely been defined by his mental health struggles. Today, there is no definitive diagnosis for George’s condition, but historians and medical professionals have suggested several possibilities, including bipolar disorder, porphyria, or a rare genetic disorder called acute intermittent porphyria.