15 secrets and techniques about Bridgerton, the present everyone seems to be speaking about

1. Beyoncé helped inspire Queen Charlotte’s look

Produced by Shonda RhimesBridgerton, the all-rounder behind shows like Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, has been hailed for his diverse casting. For example, on the show, the Guyanese-British actress Golda Rosheuvel plays Queen Charlotte of England who was a real person. Some historians believe that the wife of King George III. Was a descendant of a Portuguese royal family of African descent, according to PBS.

“When I researched Queen Charlotte and found she was of African descent, it gave me so much more leeway to create her gorgeous look,” said the show’s makeup and hair designer Marc Pilcher said Vogue. “I used the silhouettes of that period, but to celebrate their ethnicity, I used locks, braids, and afro-textured styles. Her huge afro was shaped like a Gainsborough wig, but was influenced by Beyoncé as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers Gold Member.”

Repeating his comments on Essence, Pilcher said, “I went through some pictures and then saw Beyoncé Knowles in Austin Powers Goldmembers, and then I thought, ‘This is what I want.’ I wanted the biggest afro anyone had ever seen, this wig was actually four or five wigs that were all folded up so we had the wigs for the curls and then we bought afros and then we straightened them and put them on curling rods and brushed them back through so we could get the best volume of afro, then stitched them on top of each other to get that nice shape. “