Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Queen Charlotte follow. I loved watching the Bridgerton spinoff Queen Charlotte, which dropped on Netflix on May 4, but there was one detail in the show that made me do a double-take: Queen Charlotte’s children. All 15 of them. (Yes, 15!) I thought there was no way anyone could have 15 kids, especially ones that seemed to be so close in age, so I did a bit of research on George and Charlotte’s offspring.
In Queen Charlotte, some of the children aren’t even named on screen — there’s just too many to keep track of, and the show doesn’t expect you to try. All you really need to know is that Charlotte and George’s oldest son, George IV, is the only one with a legitimate heir to the throne: his daughter Princess Charlotte Augusta. The main conflict for the present-day timeline (well, present-day within the world of Bridgerton, at least) kicks off when she passes away and creates a succession crisis. None of the other siblings have legitimate kids of their own (many of Charlotte’s sons, it appears, have a thing for women who are already married), and unless one of them can produce an heir, the legacy of the entire family line is at risk.
This is one aspect of Queen Charlotte that, believe it or not, takes inspiration from real life. Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales passed away in 1817 at the age of 21. Her death was sudden and shocking to the British people, but there was the more pressing concern of who would be second in line for the throne after George IV. In the show, this is where Queen Charlotte begins to turn up the pressure, marrying off two of her sons and constantly asking her children for updates on whether or not any of them were with child. But just who were her children? Let’s break it down.
In age order, here are the names of Charlotte and George’s kids (in Queen Charlotte), according to Netflix Tudum: Prince Regent George, Prince Frederick, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince Edward, Princess Augusta, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Ernest, Prince Augustus, Prince Adolphus, Princess Mary, Princess Sophia. You might notice that there are only 12 names on that list, and that’s because it doesn’t include the ones who died young. 13 of the royal children reached adulthood, with their two youngest sons, Prince Octavius and Prince Alfred, dying of smallpox at ages four and two, respectively. Charlotte and George’s youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, did reach adulthood, but also died young at just 27 years old, according to TODAY.
All of the children’s ages are one to two years apart — the oldest, Prince Regent George (who became George IV as king), was born in 1762, a year after Charlotte and George got married. The youngest, Amelia, was born in 1783. This means that Charlotte had 15 kids in just 21 years. That’s got to be a superpower of some kind.
Prince Edward solves the succession crisis when he and his wife have a baby girl at the end of Queen Charlotte. That baby, in real life, grew up to be Queen Victoria. Victoria ruled England for almost 64 years, and she and her husband had nine children of their own, so I guess you could say succession crises weren’t a problem for the royal family any longer. I can’t even fathom having nine children, let alone 15! Maybe that means I’m not cut out for royalty?