Bridgerton spin-off announced that will explore the story of Queen Charlotte

Netflix have officially announced a Bridgerton spin-off, centring around the story of Queen Charlotte, a fan favorite character from the show's first season.

Bridgerton was a smash-hit when it landed on our screens just after Christmas last year, allowing us all to escape into the upper echelons of society and the fascinating gossip of Lady Whistledown.

So fans will no doubt be delighted to hear that as well as a second season of the main show, we can also look forward to a prequel which will focus on the life of Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel.

Netflix announced the exciting news yesterday. They said, "All Hail the Queen! Thrilled to announce we’re expanding the Bridgerton universe with a limited series that will tell Queen Charlotte’s origin story—the series will also feature young Violet Bridgerton and young Lady Danbury."

Queen Charlotte won over fans in season one as the matriarch of Bridgerton society, and the one all characters looked to for approval.

Netflix's head of global TV Bela Bajaria explained of the Bridgerton spin-off that not many know the story of Queen Charlotte, despite the show being based on Julia Queen's romance novels. 

She said, "Many viewers had never known the story of Queen Charlotte before Bridgerton brought her to the world, and I’m thrilled this new series will further expand her story and the world of Bridgerton."

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Shonda Rhimes, who produced Bridgerton, will act as showrunner on the prequel.

Netflix have already confirmed a season two for the main series of the show, which is currently believed to be filming in Bath, England.

However, fans were left heartbroken earlier this year when it was announced the Regé-Jean Page would not be reprising his role as the Duke of Hastings, Simon Bassett in season two.

Viewers were enthralled by the on-off romance between the Duke and Daphne Bridgerton who *spoiler alert* ended the first season by welcoming their first child together.

Discussing his departure from the show, Regé-Jean Page explained that the character's story has been told in the one season, which was something he liked about the role from the beginning.

He told People, "It's a one-season arc. It's going to have a beginning, middle, end — give us a year,"

Reflecting on his early conversations with producers, he said, "'That's interesting,' because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on."