'Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story' Will Be Queen of May

Bridgerton fans won't have long to wait for a return to the Regency Era. Netflix has confirmed Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the Georgia Era set prequel to the hit show, is set to arrive this spring, in the first week of May 2023. Though the original series was based on the novels written by Julia Quinn, the new spinoff series was conceived of by series creator Shonda Rhimes and is set prior to any of the Bridgerton-centered novels written by Quinn, including her own prequel set, The Rokesby Series. However, Quinn will not miss out on the new story, releasing a novelization of the new series that same week.

Queen Charlotte does not appear in the Bridgerton books, which focus exclusively on the titular clan and its eight siblings. Though the initial three novels were set in the mid-Regency Period of 1813-1816, the other five are all set after George IV finally takes the throne. Rhimes was the one to come up with the idea of turning the series into a larger ensemble where the aristocracy that surrounds the leads included Charlotte, who was known for her parties during the period of her husband's decline and her son's regency.