Sure, it's a romance but death still permeates the Netflix hit—so who died in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story?
The Bridgerton spinoff, which hit Netflix on Thursday, May 4, follows a fictionalized version of the real-life monarch Queen Charlotte (played by India Amarteifio as a teen and Golda Rosheuvel as an adult) during her marriage to King George III (Corey Mylchreest and James Fleet).
Early on in the Bridgerton prequel, Queen Charlotte is notified of a death occurring in the royal family, but it's not the only passing that occurs in the Ton. Here's what we know.
Who died in 'Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story'?
Two deaths occur over the six episodes of the Bridgerton prequel series. The dearly departed are:
1. Princess Charlotte of Wales
In the first episode of Queen Charlotte, entitled "Queen to Be," our titular royal's evening is interrupted when the doctor drops by the palace unexpectedly in the "present-day" timeline. (“It is treasonous to interrupt my beauty sleep. You are lucky my face is a rare jewel," she barks. Preach!)
Initially, Her Majesty worries that something is wrong with her husband, King George, whose battle with mental illness has gotten worse in his old age. But while the doc assures her that all is well with her hubby, he does have sad news to share: her 21-year-old granddaughter and namesake Princess Charlotte of Wales passed.
As the only daughter of the queen's firstborn son George IV, Princess Charlotte was the only legitimate heir to the throne—the rest of the royals' grandchildren were born out of wedlock and therefore dubbed illegitimate—which leaves Queen Charlotte scrambling to get one of her 13 children to bear another heir and continue their bloodline.
2. Lord Herman Danbury
Though we don't see Princess Charlotte's death onscreen, only the aftermath, the same can't be said for that of Lord Danbury. In episode three in the 1761 timeline, we see young Lady Agatha Danbury (played by Arsema Thomas) having to yet again withstand intimate time with her much-older husband (Cyril Nri). It is after such marital duties are complete that Lord Danbury falls off the bed and dies seemingly of a heart attack.
Upon her husband's passing, Agatha is immediately relieved. "We're done!" she joyfully tells her maid-slash-confidante Coral (Peyvand Sadeghian), to whom she had previously divulged how much she hates being physically intimate with her husband. The duo celebrates, until Agatha snaps into character and goes back into their bedroom, screaming as she pretends to come upon her dead husband, while Coral goes to get help.
Lord Danbury's death puts the Great Experiment and the matter of inheritance into question, as Lady Danbury worries if his newfound title and property will be passed down to their eldest son. Thankfully, with help from her friend Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury officially remains a lady throughout Queen Charlotte and into Bridgerton.
Lady Danbury does not remarry following her husband's death, despite a secret dalliance with Lord Ledger (Keir Charles) and a proposal from Queen Charlotte's brother Adolphus (Tunji Kasim). Even in the Regency timeline, she remains single.
The Queen Charlotte miniseries is available to stream on Netflix, as are the first two seasons of Bridgerton.
