Ellen Ramsay’s collage of portraits of Queen Charlotte Sophia

For generations, historians and genealogists have debated an unusual question in British royal history: Did Queen Charlotte, the German-born wife of King George III, have African ancestry? The debate, once largely confined to academia, has resurfaced in pop culture via Netflix’s Regency drama Bridgerton, whose reimagining of the royal court puts Charlotte at the center as a black queen. However, the idea didn’t originate from the series. It draws on an old historical argument that has circulated for decades, intrigued some scholars but dismissed by others but remains unresolved.

A modern TV series resurrects an ancient historical debate

The latest spark came during an open discussion at the SCAD Television Festival, where Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury in the Netflix Regency drama, appeared alongside actress Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte. Speaking about the show’s depiction of a black queen of Georgian Britain, Andoh insisted the idea was rooted in historical claims and not just creative casting, telling viewers Queen Charlotte “is a woman of color.” “Queen Charlotte was not fictionalized as a woman of colour, she was a woman of colour. You just have to do the historical research,” she said.She also pointed to historical accounts of the young queen’s arrival at the English court.“When she came to the English court, they complained. They complained about her ugly thick lips, her ugly broad nose, her mulatto skin, and they powdered her when they painted her.”Adjoa Andoh believes the importance of casting goes beyond the scope of the show. Although Bridgerton is fictional, she believes it allows audiences to imagine history in new ways.“What you’re seeing is a version of history, a more realistic version of history, and while it’s fiction, it’s not a documentary, and it gives us an opportunity to play these characters of stature, and it gives the audience … a chance to see ourselves in a different way in a historical drama.”Her comments have refocused attention on the long-running debate over the real Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the German-born princess who became queen of Britain and Ireland after marrying King George III in the 18th century.

Bridgerton has argued before

The theory itself predates the TV series. Long before Bridgerton brought it into mainstream pop culture, some historians and genealogists had speculated that Queen Charlotte might have African ancestry. 2023 Bridgerton founder Shonda Rhimes The idea was discussed while talking about the Netflix prequel Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Rhimes said she found people’s reactions to the possibility to be telling in itself. She told viewers that some historians had raised questions about the Queen’s ancestry after the show depicted her as black, adding that she was curious how some people were vehemently opposed to the idea. “I find it interesting that people worked so hard to make sure she couldn’t be brown.” Rhimes then asked the audience a broader question: “Why does this matter? Think about it.”

Who is the real Queen Charlotte?

Historic Charlotte was born in 1744 in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a small German principality in what is now northern Germany. By royal standards, her upbringing was largely unremarkable. This territory was considered relatively small among European aristocratic states. Her life suddenly changed in 1760 when young George III became king after the death of his grandfather George II. The new monarch desperately needed a Protestant wife to produce an heir. Charlotte was chosen in part because she had no strong political alliances that might complicate British diplomacy. As one report noted, advisers believed she had “no idea of ​​meddling in public affairs.”

Portrait of Queen Charlotte Sophia by Allan Ramsay, shortly after her marriage to George III in 1761/Image: St John’s College, Oxford University

The match was quickly arranged. Charlotte arrived in England in 1761, having never met George and speaking no English. The couple married just hours after she arrived in London, and she became Queen of Britain and Ireland on the same day. The marriage lasted for decades, and Charlotte eventually gave birth to 15 children.

George III (1738-1820), Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) and their six eldest children/Zoffany Royal Collection Trust

Despite her royal status, contemporary depictions of Charlotte’s appearance tend to be unflattering. At the beginning of the novel by Charles Dickens A tale of two citiesshe was simply dismissed as “a plain-looking queen.” Historian John H. Plum later described her as “mediocre and unpopular.” Even Baron Christian Friedrich Stockmar, a doctor who later served the royal family, reportedly described the elderly queen as “short, crooked, with a true mulatto face.” It was remarks like this that sparked later speculation about her ancestry.

Where did the African ancestry theory come from?

Modern discussions can largely be traced back to the work of Mario de Valdes y Cocom, a historian and genealogist who specialized in the African diaspora. in a 1997 PBS Frontline DocumentaryValdes believes Queen Charlotte may have had African ancestry through distant Portuguese ancestry. According to his research, Charlotte is a descendant of Margarita de Castro Sousa, a 15th-century Portuguese noblewoman whose family tree can be traced back to King Alfonso III of Portugal and his mistress Madagana. Madagana are sometimes described in historical sources as Moors, a term used in medieval Europe to describe the Muslim people from North Africa who ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. The Moors, a mixture of Berber and Arab Muslim populations, conquered much of modern Spain and Portugal in 711 AD and ruled parts of the region for nearly 800 years before the final Christian reconquest in 1492. Valdes believed that this ancestry meant Charlotte inherited African ancestry through a chain of descendants that stretched over the centuries. He also believed that Charlotte’s lineage could be traced back to Inês de Valladares, the wife of Martín Alfonso Chiquero, the illegitimate son of Alfonso III and Madagana. Through these genealogical connections, Valdes claimed that the queen had “African Islamic ancestry.” By his calculations, there were hundreds of lines of blood between Charlotte and this noble Portuguese family.

Portraits and debates about appearance

Supporters of this theory often point to a portrait of the Queen painted by the Scottish artist Sir Allan Ramsay, who produced many official royal portraits during the reign of George III. Valdes believed that Ramsay’s paintings emphasized what he called “clearly African” features. He wrote: “Artists of the period were expected to downplay, soften or even remove undesirable features from their subjects’ faces. But Sir Alan Ramsay was the artist responsible for most of the Queen’s paintings, and his depictions of her are undoubtedly the most African of all her portraits.” Some historians have also speculated that Ramsay’s anti-slavery sympathies may have influenced the way he portrayed the Queen.

Sir Allan Ramsay’s 1762 portrait of Queen Charlotte, Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

Ramsay was associated with the British judge Lord Mansfield, whose 1772 Somerset case was a landmark ruling against slavery in England. Mansfield’s family also included Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed-race relative whose life has been studied extensively by historians.

Allan Ramsay, 1713-1784. Artist (Self-Portrait)/National Gallery of Scotland

Because of these social ties, some researchers believe Ramsay may have been sympathetic to any emphasis on African ancestry.One of the more bizarre references often cited when discussing Charlotte’s appearance comes from poems written in memory of Her marriage to King George III and subsequent coronation celebrations. These lines were part of the celebrations surrounding the royal union and have sometimes been interpreted by modern critics as containing allusions to southern or African imagery.Descendants of a race of warlike destroyers,She still wears that title on her face.Their victory shone over the plains of Numidia,Their names preserve the fields of Arussia;They only conquered the southern world with weapons,She still conquers with her victorious charm,oh! Born to rule, – on its triumphant browThe greatest monarch in the north must bow.Some modern critics have interpreted Boswell’s ideas about the “Plains of Numidia” and the Queen of the South as allusions to the biblical figure of Africa or the Queen of Sheba, although interpretations of the poem vary Historians warn against over-interpretation of poetic language Written to celebrate a ceremony.

Why many historians remain skeptical

Although genealogy is interesting, most mainstream historians remain cautious. One reason is the huge distance between Charlotte and the ancestors identified in the theory. If this link runs through Madagana in the 13th century, the putative African ancestor predates Charlotte’s birth by about 500 years, or about 15 generations. Critics argue that even if Madagana were of African descent, over so many generations the genetic contribution would be very small. Another complication is the meaning of the word “Moore.” In medieval Europe, it could refer broadly to Muslim populations from North Africa or Iberia, many of whom were Berbers or Arabs, not necessarily sub-Saharan Africans. Art historians have also questioned whether Charlotte’s portrait actually showed African features. Desmond Shaw-Taylor, curator of the Royal Collection, said he carefully examined the paintings but found no such features. “I looked at it a lot, but it never occurred to me that she had any African features.” Shaw-Taylor added that the caricatures of Charlotte held in the British Museum also do not depict her as African, which critics of the theory say might well have happened if those characteristics had been widely recognized at the time.

Arguments that may never be resolved

The question of Charlotte’s pedigree ultimately remains unresolved. Physical evidence is limited, and scholars’ interpretations of iconography and genealogies vary widely. But the discussion continues to fascinate historians, in part because of its broader implications. historian kate williams famous If Charlotte were thought to have African ancestry, even remotely, the genealogical consequences would be significant. “If we classify Charlotte as black, then therefore queen victoria and our entire royal family, [down] arrive prince harryalso in black… It’s a very interesting concept. “ Currently sitting somewhere between genealogy, interpretation and cultural debate, the theory is a historical mystery resurrected by a TV series but with roots in questions that historians have been exploring for years.As Julie Andrews, who voices the unseen narrator Lady Whistledown, reminds viewers at the beginning of Bridgerton: “This is fiction inspired by fact.”