“Queen Charlotte. A Tale from the Bridgerton World” is currently the most popular series among Polish Netflix users. It is also very likely that after the publication of the world ranking, we will find out that it is also on top of the top 10 here. The inspiration for the Shonda Rhimes series was, among others, the thesis that Zofia Charlotta from Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III of Hanover, who came from Germany, was black. The fact that Charlotte could have been the first black queen of Great Britain was argued, among others, by Jamaican-American writer JA Rogers and historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom. According to him, she came from the black branch of the Portuguese royal family.
Queen Charlotte is also the story of Lady Danbury
The scriptwriters of “Queen Charlotte” came to the conclusion that they can afford, among others, to add the thread of granting lordships to black members of the community just before the wedding of Charlotte and Jerzy by the decision of his mother. In the title role, they cast the talented theater actress India Ria Amarteifio, but also, for example, Arsema Thomas as the young Lady Danbury (in “Bridgertons” their older versions are played respectively by Golda Rosheuvel and Adjoa Andoh). And while the former could be based on historical sources, Thomas had to create her heroine from scratch.
In The Bridgertons, Lady Agatha Danbury is an influential, powerful aristocrat who is not afraid to speak her mind and has a large fortune. “Queen Charlotte” shows how this happened. Lady Danbury is a young woman in the series who already has four children with a man she does not love – it was an arranged marriage. However, she has intelligence and pride that help her when she is put in a position where she becomes a representative of black subjects. Suddenly they were given certain privileges, which are not always followed by respect. Besides, it turns out that not everything that the crown gives is definitely given forever.
Arsema Thomas on Grandma’s Arranged Marriage: She said she didn’t feel bitter or angry
“I spoke to my mother about what it was like growing up in Ethiopia under the communist regime. I asked her about what it’s like to be a girl in this situation because I’m privileged enough and I’ve never felt uncomfortable outside of racism and sexism. On the question of marrying a much older man of her own choosing, she could consult her grandmother:
I spoke to my grandmother because she herself became one of the parties to an arranged marriage when she was seven years old. She said she didn’t feel bitter or angry, but rather that she felt it was her duty, and she immediately let me empathize with how Agatha found herself in her situation.
The actress herself, although born in the United States, is of half Ethiopian, half Nigerian descent. She has spent most of her life in sub-Saharan Africa as her parents were diplomats and moved to Uganda when the girl was only two weeks old. Later they lived in Tanzania, Kenya and India. As a result, Thomas is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Yoruba (one of the Niger-Congo languages of West Africa) and Amharic, spoken in Ethiopia.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
