Shonda Rhimes denies there being a reference to Meghan Markle in Queen Charlotte on Netflix

‘Meghan Markle did not enter into it’

2 years ago

Shonda Rhimes has been forced to deny she made references to Meghan Markle in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix after viewers noticed parallels between the series and the Meghan’s experience in the Royal Family.

The Queen Charlotte series is a prequel to the original Bridgerton show and tells the story of how Charlotte came to be the Queen of England. In Bridgerton, Charlotte is a Black mixed-race woman, played by India Amarteifio as a 17-year-old and Gold Rosheuvel in her older years.

In a number of the episodes, comments are made about Charlotte’s skin colour and the King’s mother, Princess Augusta, even told an artist to paint Charlotte’s skin lighter. In the very first episode, the princess also calls Charlotte “very brown”.

“She is very brown. You did not say that she would be that brown,” she says.”

via Netflix

In an interview with Vulture, Shonda Rhimes said Meghan Markle’s experiences were not something she “considered” when writing the show.

“Meghan Markle did not enter into it,” she said. “My brain mostly thinks in terms of American politics, unfortunately, so I was really thinking about what would happen if this girl, Charlotte, came to America and was married off and how that was handled.”

Viewers immediately thought Shonda was inspired by Harry and Meghan’s bombshell claim that a member of the royal family questioned the colour of Prince Archie’s skin while Meghan was pregnant.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.