There are tons of things to enjoy about Netflix’s Bridgerton. It’s delivered fabulous Regency clothes in the brightest colors we’ve seen on screen, swoon-worthy dialogue, the sexiest Bridgerton sex scenes fans could have hoped for, and an amazing cast. Part of that amazing cast (which has brought some much needed diversity to stories told in this era) is Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the determined, fashionable, crafty, and gloriously royal Queen Charlotte.
As one of Bridgerton’s best characters, Rosheuvel makes sure that every scene with the queen is better for her appearance, adding to the stakes of the show while also delivering lots of laughs, heart, and intensity along the way. Here, now, are Queen Charlotte’s 10 best moments, ranked for your full enjoyment. Oh, and there are some Bridgerton Season 1 and Bridgerton 2 SPOILERS below, so BEWARE if you haven’t completed both seasons yet!
10) That Night Queen Charlotte Wore The Largest Afro Wig Known To Man (Season 1, “Art Of The Swoon”)
Obviously, there are several Bridgerton characters whose portrayal requires the use of wigs, but Queen Charlotte takes the wig cake. Though her regalness has worn a number of stunning hair designs in every episode, this perfectly picked-out crown of an Afro wig she sported in Season 1, Episode 3 has been the most striking.
The roundness of the Afro encompasses her head to a degree that it would surely protect her royal brain should she suffer an impact of any kind. Plus, it has the added benefit of making sure everyone watching knows that we are, in fact, looking at a proudly Black Queen Charlotte, and for that alone, it deserves a spot on this list where her other daring wigs do not.
9) When The Queen Was So Bored That Not Even A Lady Fainting In Front Of Her Was Interesting (Season 1, “Diamond Of The First Water”)
In Bridgerton’s very first episode, just a little over five minutes in, we’re shown Queen Charlotte for the first time, and the scene perfectly sets up the seen-it-all nature of her life, earning its spot on this list.
As the Ton’s young women are being presented to her for the first time, Charlotte is clearly unimpressed. After she waves off the Featherington daughters with barely a glance, Prudence (who’s been laced into her corset too tightly) faints. The queen only straightens from her slumped posture briefly to look at the prone figure at her feet, and then goes right back to looking bored AF.
8) When She Made It Clear That Daphne Couldn’t Settle For Nigel (Season 1, “Shock And Delight”)
The second episode of Bridgerton’s first season makes it abundantly clear that the queen can get her point across subtly, which is why this moment ranks. Charlotte has a private chat with Lady Bridgerton after hearing that Daphne may marry Nigel, to dissuade the match. In only referring to a much earlier encounter with Mozart, Charlotte makes it clear that her chosen diamond of the season should not settle for Nigel “because when I choose to extend to someone my favor, I expect them to make good on it.” If it hadn’t been for Charlotte, Daphne may well have married Nigel, so we owe her a debt for much of Daphne’s romance with Simon!
7) When The Queen Shut Down Rumors About Kate And Anthony (Season 2, “The Viscount Who Loved Me”)
We see that Charlotte understands how to use her power, but few instances are as obvious, yet understated, as this Bridgerton Season 2 ending scene, making it perfect for this list. About two-thirds through the episode, we see Charlotte stave off rumors about Kate and Anthony as they dance at the Featherington ball, when people openly speculate that their relationship led to the downfall of his wedding with Edwina. The queen instead notes that the wedding didn’t happen because she changed her mind about it, knowing that no one would dare contradict her.
6) When She Openly Guffawed (Season 2, “Capital R Rake”)
It’s nice when we can see royals acting like regular people who experience a full range of emotions, which is why the Bridgerton Season 2 premiere scene where Queen Charlotte breaks into a full, unfettered guffaw ranks here. For much of the first season, Charlotte was scheming, bored, or attempting to entertain herself, but here we see her laughing heartily at a somewhat awkward comment from Eloise, which helps show that the queen’s like a regular person… sometimes.
5) When She Allowed Simon To Change Her Mind (Season 1, “The Duke And I”)
This moment shows Bridgerton viewers that Charlotte’s willing to hear people out, which is one reason to love it, and why it ranks in the top five on this list.
When Simon and Daphne seek out the queen’s help for getting a marriage license, she’s at first rather uninterested in the idea of assisting (likely because she’d wanted Daphne with her nephew, Prince Friedrich). When Simon begins to plead their case, though, Charlotte is sincerely moved by him telling the truth of how their friendship turned into love, and allows Daphne to make the final decision.
4) That Time She Threatened Eloise (Season 2, “Harmony”)
Many of the Queen Charlotte moments listed here show different sides to her personality, and so does this one. We’d seen her be cunning to get what she wants, but never had she been downright mean, until the Season 2, Episode 7 scene where she threatens Eloise.
The queen has become convinced that Eloise is actually Lady Whistledown, so she takes it upon herself to invite the teenager into her carriage so that she can propose they finally become allies, lest Charlotte “deploy my resources to crush you like a serpent.” The queen may be punching down here by threatening a kid and a family beneath her station, but, damn does it ever prove that Charlotte will do whatever it takes to get her way when it really matters to her.
3) When She Intimidated Lady Danbury (Season 2, “The Choice”)
This is simply one of my favorite moments of Bridgerton overall, and one of the reasons why it’s listed so high. This series features several tough ladies who make hard choices, but few of them are equally as impressive as Queen Charlotte, with the exception of Lady Danbury.
She’s another commanding woman who stands for no bullshit, and this is why it was such a treat to see Danbury flustered after Edwina left Anthony at the altar, and even more flustered by the queen blaming her for the whole mess, which actually managed to leave Danbury intimidated and scrambling to salvage the embarrassing failure so it wouldn’t touch Charlotte’s immaculate reputation. Basically, even the toughest people who piss Queen Charlotte off will have to make amends, or pay for it.
2) Queen Charlotte Allowed Edwina To Make Her Own Decision About Anthony (Season 2, “The Choice”)
There are few Bridgerton moments that show that the queen has a heart more than the times we see her with King George, but the same can be said for the scene where she decides to let Edwina make her own decision about whether or not to marry Anthony.
This comes after Edwina was able to calm George down when he burst into a meeting where all the ladies were talking about the failed wedding. Charlotte finds Edwina, makes a passionate speech about love, and admits “even I must recognize the importance of each person deciding what to do in the face of true love,” leaving Edwina to make her choice without any more pressure from the queen.
1) When Queen Charlotte Had A Sad Conversation With The King (Season 1, “The Duke And I”)
Speaking of Queen Charlotte’s heart, it’s on full display when she has her Season 1 conversation with King George at dinner. There’s a moment from a few episodes prior where it certainly seems like all love has been lost between the queen and king, if it ever existed in the first place.
However, this scene, which has a (for once) lucid king devolving back into his state of dementia to yell at and berate the queen over a loss he’s simply forgotten, truly shows that they did begin as friends, cared deeply for each other, and that Charlotte misses the connection they had, which has been lost to his worsening illness. It’s sad, but gives the moments where she lets Simon change her mind about him marrying Daphne and when she allows Edwina to make up her own mind about Anthony, a lot of deeply personal meaning for her.
I’m sure there will be tons of amazing Queen Charlotte moments in Bridgerton Season 3, as well as in the queen’s newly cast upcoming prequel series where we get to see Charlotte’s romance with George, and I can’t wait to devour them all!
