Queen Charlotte Is a Larger-Than-Life Character — Is She in the 'Bridgerton' Books?

From the moment she made her first appearance in the first season of Netflix's Bridgerton, it was evident that Queen Charlotte (Golda Roshuevel) was in command, striking healthy fear into the hearts of every single young debutante. The story of her own marriage is told in the Bridgerton prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Given Charlotte's incomparable presence in the show universe of Bridgerton, it's understandable to wonder if she plays the same sort of roles in the original Bridgerton novels, written by Julia Quinn.

So, is Queen Charlotte in the Bridgerton books? Here's what we know.

Queen Charlotte actually doesn't factor into the original Bridgerton books whatsoever (OK, she's mentioned once, but that's the extent of it!). While the books themselves focused solely on the love lives of Violet Bridgerton's eight children, the Shondaland adaptation has broadened the scope of Julia's original books tenfold, to include the story of Queen Charlotte.

With a desire to expand the Bridgerton Cinematic Universe and inspired by Golda's phenomenal portrayal of Queen Charlotte, Shonda Rhimes and Julia decided to collaborate on a novel — May 2023's Queen Charlotte — that centered Bridgerton's most fascinating royal figure.

Shonda told Entertainment Tonight in May 2023, "It was incredibly important to infuse the narrative with these themes mainly because the character that we're talking about, Queen Charlotte, [we] already created a very simple backstory for her on Bridgerton. Their love [King George III and Charlotte] united the countries is the explanation for the society and I really wanted to explore that part because what does that actually mean?"

Queen Charlotte's own growth from German nobility to proud queen of England, her role in the Great Experiment, and her love story with King George III (the younger George played by Corey Mylchreest) are all explored in the series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.