Was the Real Queen Charlotte Black? (Revisited)
From Vulgar History: Tudors by Vulgar History | Realm
March 18, 2026 · 1h 47m · Season 8 · Episode 21
About this episode
The episode explores the rumors of Queen Charlotte's Black ancestry and her portrayal in Bridgerton through expert interviews.
Queen Charlotte on Bridgerton is inspired by the real-life Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom. On Bridgerton, Charlotte is shown as a Black woman living in Regency England. There have long been rumours about Charlotte’s real-life Black ancestry. To understand this complex situation, I sat down with two experts to learn more. In interviews recorded in 2023 and revisited here, I spoke with Dr. Stacey Murrell about Queen Charlotte's ancestory, and with Dr. Brooke Newman about how Charlotte was viewed during her lifetime. Learn more about Stacey Murrell and her work YouTube video of Stacey’s presentation on Madragana (her part is from 1:00:15 to 1:26:46) Learn more about Brooke Newman and her work Buy a copy of Brooke Newman's book (affiliate link) — Buy a copy of Ann's book Rebel of the Regency — Get 15% off all the gorgeous jewellery and accessories at common.era.com/vulgar or go to commonera.com and use code VULGAR at checkout — Get Vulgar…
People in this episode
Host: Ann
Guests: Dr Brooke Newman, Dr Stacey Murrell
Topics covered
- Queen Charlotte
- Black ancestry
- Regency England
- Bridgerton
Keywords
- Queen Charlotte
- ancestory
- historical analysis
Sponsors
Common Era
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Vulgar History, Rebel of the Regency, Brooke Newman's book
Books & works: Rebel of the Regency
Places: Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the United Kingdom, England, US
More episodes of Vulgar History: Tudors
- Queer Tudor History · September 9, 2026 · 1h 6m
- Marie Maitland, Scotland's Sixteenth-Century Sappho · September 2, 2026 · 1h 22m
- Witch Hunts in Tudor Era Scotland (ft. Witches of Scotland) · August 26, 2026 · 1h 12m
- The Tudors Take America · August 19, 2026 · 1h 3m
- The Other Boleyn Girls (and Boys) · August 12, 2026 · 1h 2m
- Catherine of Aragon: Real Queen Sh*t · August 5, 2026 · 1h 47m
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