The idea that Queen Charlotte was part-Black was popularized by one historian. But others say that’s a myth.

The Queen Charlotte in “Bridgerton,” played by Golda Rosheuvel, commanded the screen with her icy stare, towering wigs, and lavish gowns. She also stood out for her role as a Black monarch reigning over a reimagined, racially integrated London . The upcoming spinoff show , “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” goes back in time and explores Charlotte’s and King George III’s love story, and “how it sparked a societal shift, creating the world of the ton inherited by the characters in ‘Bridgerton,'” Netflix announced in September.

But the real Regency Era from 1811 to 1820 was nowhere near as diverse as the shows have reimagined. Slavery wasn’t abolished in England until 1833, and people of color were relegated to domestic work. “Bridgerton” leans into one historian’s theory that Queen Charlotte was descended from a Black branch of the Portuguese royal family.

But other scholars have since disputed this assertion. “The problem with the theory is that it’s been knocking around on the internet, reported on by the likes of The New York Times , and gained a veneer of respectability,” historian Lisa Hilton told Insider. “But one can say there is absolutely no credible evidence that she was Black.

” Princess Charlotte was born into the royal family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in a small duchy in Germany. As a minor German princess with major sway in politics, she was deemed a suitable match for George III, who inherited the British throne in 1760. Within six hours of her arrival in London on September 8, 1761, Charlotte married King George III, becoming the Queen of Great Britain.

The new queen spoke no English at first, but quickly learned the language and acclimated to British society, earning the approval of her subjects. “She was quite popular at the time: a good, pious Protestant woman who had a successful marriage with King Charles,” Hilton said. When King Charles’ mental and physical illness worsened in 1788, Queen Charlotte stepped in to effectively govern as regent, though she was never formally appointed as such.

She supported her husband throughout his mental illness until her death in 1818. The theory that Queen Charlotte was biracial emerged in 1997. Mario de Valdes y Cocom, who described himself as “an historian of the African diaspora,” posited that “at least 492 lines of descent can be traced from Queen Charlotte” to the “illegitimate son of King Alfonso of Portugal and his Moorish mistress.

” Cocom pinned this argument on what he perceived as “subtleties in coloring and facial bone structure of individuals of African descent,” pointing to a portrait by the official royal painter Allan Ramsay. But other historians have argued that Cocom’s theory is inconclusive. Hildon said his assertion that Queen Charlotte is part ” Moorish ” is “completely unfounded,” as the term did not necessarily refer to a person of African descent.

Instead, it was a general term used for the inhabitants — Black, white, or otherwise — of the Moorish empire in North Africa and Spain. “Even if that were the case, after 500 years, it is extremely unlikely that traces of the genetic makeup would have appeared in the features of an 18th-century princess,” Hilton said. Hilton further dismantled Cocom’s theory, which she said inaccurately referenced a physician who described her as having “a true mulatto face” at birth.

The physician in question was born in 1787 — 43 years after Queen Charlotte was born. Fact-checking website Snopes rated the theory that Queen Charlotte had African ancestry as ” unproven . ” Cocom’s theory resurfaced when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, which has continuously sparked discussions about the British royal family and race .

But many of the stories the media published at the time cited Cocom as their only source for the theory. “I found it distasteful that Black women should be seen as alien and different, and that precedents needed to be found for [Meghan Markle] within the royal family,” Hilton said. “There are far more interesting stories to be told about race in British history than looking for misnomers in the British royal family.

” Buckingham Palace has echoed Hilton’s sentiment around the significance of the theory that Queen Charlotte was Black. “This has been rumored for years and years. It is a matter of history, and frankly, we’ve got far more important things to talk about,” a spokesperson told the Boston Globe in 1999.

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