I Guess We Need To Talk About What Queen Charlotte Was Sniffing On Bridgerton
No, it's not what you think it is... well, kinda.
Even a monarch wants something to take the edge off every now and then, but Queen Charlotte’s favorite feel-good method may not have looked super familiar to some Bridgerton viewers. Throughout Season 2, the ton’s resident bigwig with big wigs lightened her mood by sniffing a mysterious powder. The frequent huffs may have had fans wondering what the queen was sniffing in Bridgerton Season 2, so here’s the deal with the stuff.
No, Queen Charlotte wasn’t just constantly doing bumps of coke during the social season, but the truth actually isn’t too far from that. Based on historical trends, the queen was inhaling snuff, which is simply ground-up tobacco leaves that was a popular party stimulant during the Regency period. Snuff was also a demarcation of class among British aristocracy, as the sociopolitical elites would carry ornate snuff boxes to display their wealth and status. The powdered tobacco rose to popularity in 17th century Europe, with famous royals like Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, and King George IV all being users.
Since Queen Charlotte is a party girl who loves to show off her high status whenever possible, it only makes sense that she would be an avid snuff enthusiast.
The Bridgerton queen’s snuff habit isn’t just a logical assumption as to how she would have acted — the actual person the character is based on was one of the most famous snuff lovers in Europe. The character of Queen Charlotte is based on Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who ruled as the queen of the United Kingdom until 1818. Queen Charlotte earned the nickname “Snuffy Charlotte” due to how much she used snuff; she even had an entire room of her castle devoted solely to housing her copious snuff stock.
So, both as a character choice and a historically accurate detail, Queen Charlotte’s love of snuff makes total sense in Bridgerton. That said, with all the modern-day research on the health hazards of tobacco, it’s best to let this habit live in the past where it belongs.
