Dearest readers of the 'ton, have you ever pondered what our beloved Violet Bridgerton might have been prior to becoming the matriarch of the Bridgerton family? Well, fret not: Deadline reports that Connie Jenkins-Greig has joined the cast of Shondaland's Bridgerton spinoff about Queen Charlotte as the recurring young Violet Ledger.
Violet, the daughter of Vivian and Lord Ledger, is described as "a kind and inquisitive teenager who has not yet entered the marriage mart...or famously become a Bridgerton."
The limited series will center on a young Queen Charlotte (Line of Duty's India Amarteifio) as she's betrothed to King George (Sandman's Corey Mylchreest) against her will and is thrust into London society.
The spinoff will also focus on a young Agatha Danbury (played by Arsema Thomas), years before she's known as the sharp, silver-tongued Lady Danbury.
In order to connect the spinoff to the original Bridgerton series, Ruth Gemmell, Golda Rosheuval, and Adjoa Andoh will be returning to reprise their respective roles of Violet Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte, and Lady Danbury.
Per Deadline, Jenkins-Greig's previous credits include ITV's Mr. Selfridge, BBC's New Blood, and 2017 action film The Take Down. She is repped by AK Agents of London.
Queen Charlotte: A Fan Favorite That Almost Wasn't
Golda Rosheuval's Queen Charlotte quickly became an important character in the first season of Bridgerton, with Her Grace designating the most desirable diamond of the season.
However, the commanding queen is a new addition to the Bridgerton universe: Queen Charlotte does not exist in Julia Quinn's regency romance series that inspired the Netflix show.
But Queen Charlotte was a real person—alongside her husband King George III, Charlotte ruled England and Ireland from 1761 to 1818. "What really struck me with the books from the beginning is that this was an opportunity to marry history and fantasy in a really exciting, interesting way," show creator Chris Van Dusen told Oprah Mag. "So in Queen Charlotte, that was the history. And then it was thinking of these fantastical scenes and situations to put her in that were really fun to write too."
Author Julia Quinn is as big a fan of the new addition as the rest of us, even telling Oprah Mag that she sent a fan letter to Rosheuval after seeing her performance as the Queen. "I go back and forth between wishing I had actually written her in the books and then being glad I didn't, because I don't know if I could have done as good a job," she continued.
There's no release date for the Queen Charlotte spinoff yet, but the limited series is expected sometime in 2023.