The Gays Really Pulled Focus In Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”
Bridgerton on Netflix has been one of the platform’s most successful series to date and has spurned a spin-off about the early life of the Queen. Netflix released Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on May 04 and apart from the decadent fashion, steamy intimate scenes and breathtaking backdrops, the two gay footmen were the underdog stars of the series.
Queen Charlotte’s gays (Spoilers ahead)
The series is based on the real King George III (known to history as the mad king) and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who together had 15 children. That’s about where the historical accuracy ends though. In traditional Bridgerton fashion, the glitz-filled opulence of regency England is revisited through the lens of George and Charlotte, played by Corey Mylchreest and India Ria Armateifio respectively.
The series takes many liberties with history, in fact it opens with a statement that reads: “Dearest Gentle Reader, this is the story of Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton. It is not a history lesson. It is fiction inspired by fact.” The original Bridgerton series included many anachronisms such as having Queen Charlotte be a Black queen with many of the ton being people of colour too. The one anachronism that seemed notably absent was the presence of LGBTQIA+ folks. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story corrected that error with the inclusion of Brimsley and Reynolds, two gay footmen played by Sam Clemmett and Freddie Dennis.
According to Tudum, this is Bridgerton’s first major queer romance and both Sam Clemmett and Freddie Dennis want to honour the task. “I’m filled with a sense of pride to bring the first central LGBTQIA+ storyline to this incredibly rich and diverse world,” says Dennis. “These are two young men that lead these very isolated lives within the monarchy. Their number-one duty in life is to serve the crown. But in their downtime, the only other person they have is [each other],” Clemmet says. “They have this really beautiful emotional support system for each other, and they seek solace in each other.”
[SPOILER: DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM AT THE END]
In the final episode, both Brimsley and Reynolds steal away a tender moment at the King’s ball to dance in the moonlight together. The hidden moment of love then cuts to a scene of a now-older Brimsley dancing alone in a quiet moment to himself. The heartbreaking implication being that somewhere along the way, Reynolds was lost.
