India Amarteifio has taken on the royal role of her dreams in Netflix spin-off miniseries Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
The 21-year-old star, who has previously had small roles in hit shows such as Line of Duty and Sex Education, plays the lead in the prequel period drama that lays the foundations for the world of Bridgerton.
Yet she feared she'd missed out on the biggest part of her acting career so far when she choked and had to walk out of the audition!
"My first audition was in November 2021," she says. "I got a brief to say it was something in the Bridgeton sphere. I didn't exactly know what it was, but I was like, if I have the opportunity to do it, sign me up!"
"Then in my second audition I met the show's director Tom Verica and the Shondaland team, which was really cool and really calm," she explained during a recent press event. "But I had a coughing fit. I choked, so much so that I had to end my Zoom call and go downstairs and recuperate. I thought then that it wasn't going to go my way!"
But despite her nerves, show creator Shonda Rhymes and her team were certain India had what it took to bring the young Queen Charlotte — who's played by Golda Rosheuvel in the main series — to life.
Set mainly in the 18th century, decades before the events of the main Netflix drama, the stand-alone six-part prequel follows the story of the young Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George III.
It was a union that not only went down in history but triggered a societal shift that laid the foundations for the scandalous and seductive world of the Ton, which Bridgerton fans know and love.
"Charlotte comes from a small province in Germany and is forced into this arranged marriage with King George III, which she’s not too happy about at first," explains India.
"It’s essentially the story of a black woman who, against all odds, became part of one of the most powerful monarchies in the world. We don’t brush the subject of race under the carpet either, she’s different but that’s not the issue, it’s society that needs to change."
Yet while we delve into the history of famous characters such as Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton, we’ll also get a chance to see how the past directly affects the Bridgerton present.
As such, a second timeline set at the same time as the main series will explore the lives of these women, with Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh and Ruth Gemmell reprising their roles from Bridgerton.
"There was overlap between us and the younger actors," says Golda Rosheuvel. "Sometimes they’d be on set in the morning, while we'd be there in the afternoon and we’d high five in the corridor. But I always wanted India to come at the role from her own truth and be authentic with it. She did a great job."
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story premieres on Netflix on Tuesday 4 May
