Queen Charlotte: 10 behind-the-scenes facts about the costumes and jewellery
The Bridgerton prequel lands on Netflix on May 4
The highly anticipated Bridgerton prequel, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, has now been released on Netflix.
It tracks Queen Charlotte’s rise to power, including her marriage and love story with King George.
There are plenty of characters Bridgerton fans will recognise from the original series, including Lady Danbury and Lady Violet Bridgerton.
Young Charlotte is played by India Amarteifio, and Golda Rosheuvel reprises her role as Queen Charlotte. As in Bridgerton, the costumes and jewellery are elaborate and carefully considered…
1. Charlotte’s wedding dress was intentionally plain
Young Charlotte’s wedding dress was meant to be plain, with simple embroidery representing the English rose and wheat patterns.
The embroidery and jewelling in her costumes become more opulent as Charlotte grows into her royal role.
2. Costume designers were inspired by the runways
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The costume designers took inspiration from the runways, ranging from Zuhair Murad’s 2019 fall couture show for young Charlotte’s French dress, to Elie Saab’s 2019 fall couture collection – the final look inspired her wedding tiara.
Jewellery maker Stephen Rogers and milliner Jennifer Lewis built the tiara by hand, with around 1,500 beads and 23 feet of bead wire.
3. Costumes are a lot heavier than Bridgerton
The costuming team used around 16-23 feet of fabric to make one gown on Bridgerton – but the outfits are a lot heavier for Queen Charlotte.
For the prequel, it took around 39-46 feet per gown, and that’s not even including the corset, petticoats, stockings and other undergarments.
4. George and Charlotte’s colour palette is intentional
Corey Mylchreest as Young King George and India Amarteifio as Young Queen Charlotte
The colours George and Charlotte wear are meant to reflect their love story – when they’re together, the colours are similar and complementary.
When they first meet before their wedding, George wears silver and Charlotte is in cream with touches of silver.
Everything in the costumes was closely considered – such as George and Charlotte’s initials being subtly woven and embroidered into several costumes, including the coronation robes.
5. The wardrobe on the show is vast
Throughout the show, young Charlotte wears a total of 80 gowns – in one episode alone, she has 27 costume changes.
She’s not the only character with an extensive wardrobe – young Agatha Danbury has around 60 custom costumes, and Princess Augusta has 30.
6. There’s a whole lot of jewellery too
Hugh Sachs as Brimsley and Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
The number of jewellery pieces used in the show is well into the thousands – Charlotte alone has over 500 pieces of jewellery, and that number would be over 900 if you counted hair ornaments among the necklaces and tiaras.
To add drama in the ball scenes, 500 ostrich feathers were used as hair accents.
7. Princess Augusta has the most period-correct wardrobe
This reflect her traditional nature, but Augusta’s look was also heavily inspired by Glenn Close as the Marquise de Merteuil in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons.
For every costume, she had a full matching set of jewellery – predominantly featuring traditional pearls.
8. A modern brand helped with costumes
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Luxury accessories brand Roger Vivier – originally established by French shoe designer Vivier in the 1930s, and worn by celebrities including Marion Cotillard and Brie Larson – was responsible for making young Charlotte’s casual slippers.
Known as banyans, the costuming team sent Vivier the fabric Charlotte would be wearing, and the brand sent back shoes that matched exactly.
9. There’s a nod to Shonda Rhimes’ previous shows
Fans of producer Shonda Rhimes’ previous shows will appreciate the wedding dress cape, which pays homage to Olivia Pope’s famous capes on the series Scandal.
The cape was around 10 feet in length from the shoulder, and was so heavy India Amarteifio had to wear a harness underneath to secure it.
10. You never see Charlotte in the Regency style
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From the time she’s a young woman to an older queen, you won’t catch Charlotte dressed in the sleeker Regency silhouette.
Across both timelines, she only wears Georgian styles.
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