Golda Rosheuvel Says Queen Charlotte's Ending Scene Has Happened 'Many, Many Times' in George and Charlotte's Relationship

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the finale of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Read at your own risk!]

It's only May, but the finale of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story already has a major contender for the Most Romantic Scene of 2023. Though the entire Bridgerton prequel series is driven by the love and lust between young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and young King George (Corey Mylchreest), the final moments of the last episode tug at the heartstrings like no other. 

The scene takes place after the older version of Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel, learns that her greatest wish is coming true: Prince Edward and his wife Princess Victoria are having a baby, a.k.a. there will be a royal heir. She rushes to Kew to tell the older version of King George (James Fleet) this news, but when Charlotte enters the room she finds him lost in his drawings. This is the state King George appears in most of his time in Bridgerton, due to his unnamed illness. Charlotte's unable to get her husband's attention, until she crawls under the bed and asks him to join her. "Come," the Queen says. "Hide from the heavens with me." It's a direct callback to an earlier scene in Episode 6, when young Charlotte finds young George in this location after he failed to deliver an address to Parliament.

"It's the place where George feels the most safe," Amarteifio told TV Guide at the Paley Center for Media ahead of a Queen Charlotte panel. "Anything that Charlotte can do in order to aid the person that she loves the most, she will go above and beyond." The actor said there's another reason why this particular location makes George feel at ease. "They don't have to look at one another, they're looking up," Amarteifio said. "It's often easier to talk freely and naturally when you're not looking at the person that you're baring all to."

And for a man who's long felt burdened by his monarchical obligations, this spot beneath the bed provides a brief respite. "They've got this space where it's just the two of them," Amarteifio said. "The weight of the great nation doesn't feel like it's on their shoulders."

Mylchreest also spoke about the significance of location. While the final scene takes place between the older versions of the characters, it's made all the more stirring by George and Charlotte seeing flashbacks of each other's younger selves. "George spends a lot of his time hiding from responsibility, from duty, and from the affliction that he suffers from," Mylchreest said. "And for whatever reason, George feels safe under the bed." 

It's a place of safety for young George, which becomes even more important as he aged. "When he's older and the affliction has gotten to a point where he's almost never lucid, it's a place where he feels safe enough to come back to reality," Mylchreest said. "And that's where Charlotte and George, their love operates."

Does Mylchreest think that in their adulthood, Charlotte and George had multiple moments communicating in this way? "I would imagine so," he said. "It's the only time when he's alive as we love him and as we know him — any moment between the two of them is either going to be under the bed or is going to be a chance moment of lucidity in George."

In Rosheuvel's mind, the couple has regularly spoken in this spot throughout their relationship. "That's one thing that I wanted to show coming through that door at the beginning," Rosheuvel explained. "I speak to him and I realize, I know what you need — because she has had years of figuring it out." It's not the first time that Charlotte has taken this approach, according to the actor. "Both of them, together as a couple have figured out how we get him back," Rosheuvel said. "Under the bed many, many times in their relationship."

Amarteifio recalled the first time she read this scene in the script. "I was in absolute floods of tears," she said. "Myself and Corey read it together in the car when we were driving to the next location. We just knew how important the scene was going to be." The actor said the filming experience was particularly special because she and Mylchreest were able to shoot with Fleet and Rosheuvel.

Rosheuvel also appreciated Queen Charlotte's final moments because of how they connect to the Bridgerton series. "When I speak to fans, they always talk about those intimate scenes with George in Bridgerton," she said. "And to be able to round that full circle with that last scene, I think people are going to really connect and embrace what has gone on in the past with us in Bridgerton."

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is available to stream on Netflix.