Dearest gentle reader, a new and long-awaited season of passion is finally upon us with just hours until Netflix‘s regency drama Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story makes its formal arrival. The Shonda Rhimes limited series, which is a prequel tale to the epic Bridgerton series, chronicles the elaborate life and love of Princess Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and her regal entanglement with the King of England, King George (Corey Mylchreest). In honor of the show’s impending release, the streaming giant unveiled the first nine minutes of Queen Charlotte.

In true Bridgerton style, the episode opens with the familiar voice of Lady Whistledown who begins by introducing a season unlike any other and duly clarifying the story is “fiction inspired by fact” with “all liberties taken by the author…quite intentional.” Playing within the same delectably colorful palette viewers are accustomed to, Queen Charlotte quickly paints a vibrant picture of the young royal’s headstrong nature. Swanning around her hardly-humble palace in an effortless peach gown, Charlotte is seen perusing the corridors as she sleuths around for her brother. It’s not long before she sees him putting quill to paper over a mysterious deal with one of the King’s guards which naturally prompts her to destroy a seemingly priceless bust in a flash of frustration.

She is then whisked off into a carriage evidently belonging to His Majesty where she spends the subsequent hours throwing a string of if-looks-could-kill glances towards her brother Adolphus. Their exchange quickly turns from a comical back-and-forth about the joys of being a lady (and one wearing a whalebone corset) to the real reason she is being forced to meet with the King despite her blatant destain. “I know I should’ve taken a firmer hand with you when Mama and Papa died,” he begrudgingly tells Charlotte. “I allowed you to read too much, and I indulged your every whim and frivolity, so I take full responsibility for the fact that you are now exceedingly headstrong and mistakenly think you can make decisions. You cannot.”

Queen Charlotte Will Address The Realities of a Black Woman Taking the Throne

Despite her brother’s insistence that she must comply, Charlotte’s truly powerful ability to read between the lines prompts her to push for a proper explanation instead of a watered-down reason. In a goosebump-inducing speech, Adolphus peels back the layers of hierarchy and race influencing his decision. “…They are the British Empire, and we are a tiny province in Germany,” he admits. “We had no choice. I had no choice. There is no good reason. In fact, the reason might be terrible. I know that no one who looks like you or me has ever married one of these people ever, but I cannot question because I cannot make an enemy of the most powerful nation on Earth. It is done. So shut up, do your duty to our country and be happy.” Perhaps most remarkably of all, Charlotte becomes immediately willing when she sees the helplessness on her brother’s face, hinting at her fiercely loyal nature both to family and country. There is also the subtle nod to the fact that Charlotte’s life is set to be thrown into total disarray as a result of the match.

The social nuances of a young Black woman marrying into a white monarchy are beautifully addressed in the simplest of ways in the sequence and this is something Rhimes has been widely praised for in the creation of the on-screen Bridgerton-verse. The scene sets the landscape for the inevitable challenges on the horizon for Charlotte upon her union with George as the ton comes to terms with their new Black queen. If anything has been confirmed in this first snippet, it’s that Queen Charlotte is setting the stage for quite a powerful tale ahead.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story arrives on Netflix tomorrow on May 4. You can watch the first nine minutes here and a trailer for the series below.

via Collider