Netflix Queen Charlotte recap guide: All 6 episodes explained

Creative genius Shonda Rhimes is back with a new limited series titled Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, and it’s what everyone’s chattering about. It’s a prequel to the smash hit period drama series Bridgerton and follows a young Queen Charlotte’s rise to power and marriage to King George of England.

The amazing talented actress India Amarteifio plays the leading role of a young Queen Charlotte while Golda Rosheuvel reprises her role from Bridgerton as the adult version. Additionally, rising star Corey Mylchreest portrays a young King George III.

While the period drama mainly focuses on Queen Charlotte’s story, it also tells the stories of young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury. Arsema Thomas plays a young Lady Danbury, while Connie Jenkins-Greig plays a young Violet Ledger/Bridgerton. Adjoa Andoh reprises her role as an older Lady Danbury from the original series, and Ruth Gemmell as an older Violet Bridgerton. In Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and Violet Bridgerton already seem to be close. In Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, we see how this friendship came to be.

Now that all six episodes of the period drama are streaming on Netflix, we’ve decided to share a comprehensive recap guide, breaking down what happens in each episode of the show. So, go ahead and bookmark this page and follow along!

MAJOR spoilers ahead from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story recap guide

We explain everything you need to know about each episode in this guide.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story episode 1 recap: Queen to Be

The first episode opens in Mirow, Germany at a large palace. A young Queen Charlotte secretly peeks through a door and watches two men discuss paperwork and then shake hands. Angry by what she just witnessed, Charlotte knocks over a statue and then quickly walks away. The next scene shows Charlotte walking out of the palace to a carriage where one of the men she was spying on it awaits her.

After the opening finishes, we cut to Charlotte and the man she was spying on sitting in a moving carriage. In this scene, we find out the man is actually Charlotte’s older brother Adolphus and that they’re headed to London, England because Charlotte has been chosen by the King of Great Britain and of Ireland for marriage. Charlotte doesn’t want to get married, but Adolphus tells her she can’t get out of it because he already signed the betrothal contract. He tells Charlotte he hates that she has to marry a stranger, but he had no choice but to hand her over because he didn’t want to make enemies with the powerful British empire.

Then, the episode cuts to the present time in the 19th century with an older Queen Charlotte, Brimsley (Queen’s right-hand man), and Charlotte’s maids quickly making their way to the front doors of Buckingham House to meet a guest. The guest is a doctor who came to report to Charlotte that her granddaughter has passed away in childbirth along with her baby. Now, Queen Charlotte is faced with a dilemma. Although she has 13 children, none of them have a legitimate royal heir. The princess royal was the only royal heir, but she died so now one of Charlotte’s kids must produce another royal heir to the throne.

Then, the episode cuts back to a flashback of the past where a young Queen Charlotte and Adolphus meet with Princess Augusta, King George III’s mother, and her councilors. After Princess Augusta examines Charlotte she tells a young Brimsley to take Charlotte to the seamstress to get her wedding gown fitted. As Brimsley and Charlotte walk through the palace, Charlotte asks Brimsley for information about the King but comes up empty.

In one of the rooms in the palace, Princess Augusta and the councilors discuss Charlotte. They talk about Charlotte’s skin complexion and how everyone would be talking about her. They see this as a problem and want to cancel the wedding immediately. However, this can’t happen because the trade has already been made and it’s the day of the wedding. After realizing that nothing can be changed, Augusta tells the councilors that the guest list for the wedding should be expanded to include Charlotte’s court. Initially, the councilors disagree, but then Augusta tells them that that’s what the King wants and they back down.

Then, we cut to wedding invitations being delivered to all of Charlotte’s court. One of the invitations is to the Danburys. After Lord Danbury and a young Lady Danbury have sex, Lady Danbury goes to take a bath and finds out from her maid, Coral, that they’ve been invited to the royal wedding. She also discovers that she’ll be attending Queen Charlotte as part of her court.

Meanwhile, as Charlotte prepares for the wedding, she can’t help but think about how her life will be going forward. She also wonders why she has yet to meet the King. As people arrive for the wedding, Brimsley tries to discreetly track down a missing Charlotte while Augusta and the councilors greet the Danburys and bestow upon them the titles Lord and Lady Danbury. Augusta also tells them that they are officially members of the ton and that it’s time for them to be united as a society.

Brimsley finds the King’s right-hand man, Reynolds, to ask for his help in finding Charlotte while a mysterious man sitting at a table looks over at them talking. Meanwhile, Charlotte makes her way to the garden and tries to climb over a wall to escape.

The mysterious man walks up to Charlotte and asks her what she’s doing. Charlotte replies by saying she’s trying to climb over the garden wall because she doesn’t want to marry the King who she believes might be a beast or a troll since no one talks about him. The mysterious man then introduces himself to Charlotte as King George III, her soon-to-be husband.

Charlotte apologizes to George multiple times and addresses him as “Your Majesty” but George corrects her. He tells Charlotte to call him, George and that is all. They share a sweet moment where George shares information about himself with Charlotte. He tells Charlotte that he’s a farmer and likes astronomy. After listing several more things about himself, George bids Charlotte goodbye and tells her that he hopes to see her at the altar. In the end, they get married.

As the guests leave, Lady Danbury introduces herself to Charlotte and warns her to be careful. She also tells Charlotte that she can call on her whenever she needs her before leaving with her husband. Then, George tells Charlotte that he has a surprise for her.

They arrive at Buckingham House and George tells Charlotte that it’s her house. However, Charlotte is confused because she thought they’d be staying together since they’re husband and wife. George tells Charlotte that he has an estate in Kew and that that’s where he’ll be living. As Charlotte continues questioning George, he grows angry and yells at her. Charlotte apologizes and George tells her that it’s for the best that they stay in different houses before leaving.

Then, the episode cuts to the present time where older Queen Charlotte meets with all 13 of her kids to discuss where they are in producing a royal heir. She demands that they all find respectable husbands and wives and that one of them produce a royal baby very soon. The episode ends with a flashback to the past. A young Queen Charlotte sits in her bed alone and says out loud, “I should have gone over the wall.”