Will fans have to say goodbye to a beloved ‘Bridgerton’ character in future seasons?

Throughout the three seasons of Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) has plotted and schemed to unmask Lady Whistledown’s true identity in response to the gossipmonger’s unflattering words. Finally, in the last episode of season 3, Queen Charlotte’s quest finally comes to a scandalous end when Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) reveals herself to the queen in a letter.

At the butterfly ball, hosted by Penelope’s sisters Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Philippa (Harriet Cains), Queen Charlotte announces that she knows the true identity of Lady Whistledown and invites Penelope to address the ton. She ultimately grants her permission to continue writing the gossip column.

With much of Queen Charlotte’s storyline focused on outing Whistledown, what does this mean for her role in future seasons?

Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell told Variety in an interview on June 13 that despite Penelope earning the queen’s stamp of approval, “I don’t think we’re done with Lady Whistledown.”

“Now Penelope is a public gossip columnist who people are going to know is the writer when she writes about them,” Brownell explained. “And certainly . . . she will have to contend with the queen and the queen’s demands, the queen’s desires, the queen’s scrutiny.  So how Penelope balances that is fodder for season 4.”

Brownell also confirmed that she and the writers are trying to “avoid time” when it comes to Queen Charlotte’s character.

“In reality, Queen Charlotte dies at a certain point that’s not far away,” Brownell said. “But we have sort of intentionally gone away from specifying what year we are in — even though it’s probably pretty easy to work out.”

Based on the dance cards that come into view throughout Bridgerton Season 3, the show takes place around the year 1815, approximately three years before the real Queen Charlotte died in November 1818. She was England’s longest-serving female consort.

But Brownell said that Bridgerton takes place “in an alternate universe . . . because of The Great Experiment. We’re just in a different dimension and maybe Queen Charlotte lives longer in that dimension.”

Some fans previously speculated that Queen Charlotte’s death may be imminent in upcoming seasons of Bridgerton after the premiere of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story back in May 2023.

One fan on TikTok pointed out that at the end of Queen Charlotte, the queen receives the happy news that one of her children is expecting a baby after pressuring her children to conceive following the death of the first heir. In history, the baby was born in May 1819, a few months after Queen Charlotte died. If the show follows the historical timeline, then the queen possibly finds out the news about the baby months before her death.

Another fan on TikTok also spotted a possible moment at the beginning of Bridgerton season 3, part 1 that could cheekily foreshadow the queen’s death. At the presentation of the new debutantes, Brimsley asks if he can fetch Queen Charlotte a refreshment, which she responds with “perhaps a casket” and expresses that the “lack of interest here today shall usher me to an early grave at any moment.”

In an interview with Elle published on May 16, Queen Charlotte actress Rosheuvel said that her character is “very passionate about moving forward and the future.”

“How do you form a solid community in high society? There are interesting layers to [naming a Diamond] because of course she loves the pomp and ceremony, but the human side of it is what she’s searching deeply for,” said the actress.

Rosheuvel also revealed that she filmed the Queen Charlotte spinoff and Bridgerton season 3 around the same time.

“I would go out of a room in Bridgerton into a scene with my children or George, and it was a lived life,” Rosheuvel said “It was a whole life that was ignited by information. It was a roller coaster but it was satisfying and everything kind of made sense. You do, by osmosis, bring things and take things from the two shows.”

Fans will most likely have to wait until 2026 to see Queen Charlotte and the rest of the Bridgerton clan together in season 4. Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter on June 12 that they are writing for season 4 and are working at a “two-year pace” at the moment.

Brownell explained that “we are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language.”

Bridgerton season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.