King George III and Queen Charlotte’s journey to happiness wasn’t always smooth sailing. The couple encountered various challenges over the course of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, but their love prevailed.
In an emotional finale monologue, George professed his unwavering love for Charlotte and said he had been in love with her from the moment he saw her trying to go over the palace wall before their wedding. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY Corey Mylchreest about the significance of that moment for George and why it sparked those feelings for Charlotte.
“Charlotte has been a victim of systemic oppression her whole life and duty and responsibility. George has been the victim of domestic and familial oppression and that comes from his mum, his relationship with his grandfather, and his father,” Corey told HollywoodLife at Queen Charlotte’s event at The Paley Center for Media on May 4. “There’s pressure from the crown, a career, and a life he doesn’t want, and he desperately wants to escape. In that moment, for the first time, these two characters see each other as people. It’s the first time they are being seen. It’s the first time that they are seeing.”
He continued, “Charlotte is a woman who is trying desperately to go over a wall, and George is a man who is adamant that he is just George, not Your Majesty. It’s the first time for the both of them that’s happened, and I think that brings up something that has been building up inside of both of them their whole life.”
The series also explores King George III’s struggle with a mental illness disorder. The real King George III suffered from a mental illness and was dubbed the “Mad King” throughout history. HollywoodLife asked Corey what was important for the show to get right in this portrayal of the monarch.
“A lot of times I get asked about how it resonates with modern day, and I think to me, that’s something that happens in the eye of the beholder. That’s something that happens in the audience,” he said. “For me, I fell in love with the man that I researched. It was important to me to give what I felt like was a misunderstood and silent friend a voice and do whatever it took as an actor to portray that truthfully, sensitively, and specifically for him.”
Rest assured, Charlotte and George do get their happily ever after. The power of true love endures despite the hardships. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is now streaming on Netflix.