One piece of good manners that wasn't discussed 200 years ago was about mobile phone because they never existed then. I used to hear many stories of people on call at work and they were invited to a party with friends and if you have to answer a call you need to excuse yourself from the table and answer it......I have heard of many people yelling at the top of their voice to the person on the other end of the phone that everyone else's conversation at the table has to end.......I also think it is UNBELEIVABLY rude when someone is at a shop cashier and talking on their phone and just throw money at them.......UNLESS YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT OR PRIME MINISTER YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT THAT YOU CAN'T TELL THE PERSON AT THE OTHER END TO WAIT A SECOND WHILE YOU ARE BEING SERVED !
Everybody stills needs these manners in the military. Even junior enlisted Marines are expected to attend the Marine Corps Ball every year. My son had people in his squad that had never in their life attended a sit down dinner with courses that needed designated silverware and actual cloth table linens. He ended up running 'classes' for his juniors with all the bells and whistles so they would know what to do. Senior officers notice. He had better manners as a Corporal than some of the junior officers LOL. He learned them from family dinners - we didn't do the full roll out every Sunday, but holidays, birthdays and special celebrations (promotions, big project, graduation, etc) always saw the good china, silver and linens come out. As a retired single person, I occasionally do the full set up and cook myself something a bit extra just for the joy of it.
Considering it wouldn't have been cut into sections this would have been somewhat physically challenging. Imagine if you made the attempt but were not in fact able to actually fully bite through it?😂
My father was born in Denmark in 1923. I was born in America and my father and mother taught us old World etiquette. I taught my son and daughter the best I could. Not many people nowadays would know anything like this simply because it is not taught now.
I’m a 6th generation native Texan and I was taught to curtsy and everything about table etiquette and manors! I’m only 54! Our grandmothers taught all of us.
My great grandmother made sure to teach me old world etiquette as well. If one were to dress me up, I could pass with flying colors and no one would ever know that my father's sister and youngest brother spent the entire family fortune. 🤷🏼♀️
When I got married in the 1980s, the bride could be assured of receiving either Miss Manners (of Washington Post fame) or Emily Post’s books of etiquette as a shower gift. Absolutely no bride could survive without at least one of these. Dinner parties started one month after marriage. Yes, it was like that. I wasn’t raised in the upper classes nor was my husband but these rules applied to everyone but those in abject poverty.
As an introvert I am most displeased that I can't spontaneously develop a horribly anti-social disease the day before a dinner party. So I guess I'll develop it the week before :=). Fun video, very informative :=)
This was exactly how I was brought up to dine at formal occasions (including every Sunday dinner) in my family in the 1950s in New England / New York America.
This was very interesting! I see some of the table and dining etiquettes back then are still being taught to us today. I for one had to learn some of these as a teen for when going out to dine in a finer restaurant. THANKS for sharing with us, Historidame
There was a great series in 2004 on the BBC called Regency House Party, it was a reality TV show with participants in the role of all classes. I can highly recommend 😊😊
Wow, there are similarities with the dinning rules in Japan where I live, for gatherings of people (not so much for close friends or family). For example, the most common rule that most people know is saying itadakimasu before eating and gochisosama deshita after. We don’t eat until everyone at the table receives their food. we shouldn’t pass food from chopstick to chopstick, we should put it on their side plate instead. We shouldn’t stick the chopstick in rice upright. We can’t take a sip of our alcohol until everyone has their drinks so we can say cheers together and then drink. If there’s one piece of food left on the plate (most restaurants are sharing plates) we wait and wait because we don’t want to take the last piece and to seem selfless. Similarly, we need to eat at a normal pace to not seem gluttonous or too slow that it looks like we don’t like it. Japan has a hierarchical system , like in work or school or university. When we say cheers and bring our glasses together, the higher person (like a teacher) should be the highest and the students should clink their glasses below the rim, like halfway down, to give respect. If we order our own dishes we need to offer others if they would like to try it. We need to pour drinks, like water or alcohol for others glasses first. In the past it was usually women who did this but men do it too now. If someone talks to us while we’re chewing, as girls we need to cover our mouth with our hand if there’s food in there. Slurping noodles is normal however, it doesn’t actually mean respect to the chef, it actually just means you’re enjoying it. There’s proper ways to hold chopsticks (from the upper part) and even knives and forks (using a spoon and fork when eating spaghetti looks the best). After eating we should stack some dishes to make it easier for the restaurant staff to clean up. When we leave the restaurant we always say thank you to the waiter or chef, whoever is there Probably there’s more etiquette but that’s all I can think of. It seems really strict but it’s easy to get used to however not doing it is rude sometimes. Also this video reminded me of the dinner scene from Shrek 2.
Very interesting, High society in all cultures have similar social norms, I think the modern world has to a large extent put pressure on all societies to choose fast food options. There is still a place for good manners, beautifully presented food and a gracious hostess, we just have no time to indulge this style of dining every day.
Great video, thank you. My understanding is that you never arrived before or on time but 10 mins late, to allow the hostess to fix any last minute issues.
С удоволствие ще ви следвам. Как да се държиш на масата идва от детските години, когато възприемаш това, което правят близките ти. Майка ми казваше, че трябва да се яде спокойно с естествени маниери. За късмет зная повечето правила, които показахте. Вече ваш абонат от България.
Conspicuous consumption takes on a whole new meaning! Unfortunately, most members of the gentry, aristocracy and royalty rarely if ever thought about giving all of the leftovers of these lavish banquets to the poor in their parish or community.
I just pity the house staff that had to get up at 4 o'nothing to start preparing the rooms, and the cook who's been working away for the whole week making cakes and puddings and preparing the dishes. And after it's over, the staff had to clean everything away before creeping up to the attic to sleep until 4 o'nothing again.
The French Revolution did change the way people dress as the haves were afraid of losing their head and tried to look neutral and subsequently high culture is a past.
This is interesting from a historical perspective, and it demonstrates that some etiquette customs go back centuries. However, I don’t understand why modern people get so hung up on table etiquette. As long as you’re not being unsanitary or creating a disturbance for others, eat how you wish!
It was second-nature. All of the guests, and host and hostess, were raised with manners, and practiced etiquette from early childhood (one of the duties of a nanny), so that by the time they were adults, they didn't even have to think about it. It was just a reflex.
I think it would be fun to do once for amusement and novelty, but otherwise, it sounds like hell on earth. I have never been more glad to not be in a position to attend formal events 😂
I wouldn't survive, best to not go for me. I've been to meals with as many as 12, but nothing formal like that. Not rowdy, but still not that fussy. I'd escape the powder room, oh wait, they didn't have one, oh dear.
you inverted "service à la française" and "service à la russe". "à la française" : ordered, small quantities of many things, "à la russe" everything on the table. please correct , it's a terrible faux pas.;)
I think most of the commenters are American. Only people who come from a culture that views the eating etiquette of a three-year-old toddler as the social norm for all adults could be dismayed and puzzled by the Regency etiquette shown here. In most cultures, these manners have been taken for granted for thousands of years.
@@isabelleskiss "thousands of years". I doubt that. Maybe since the early 1700s, which is still a good long time, but I do doubt that our Germanic ancestors worried too much about which fork to use for their salads, and not to talk to someone sitting opposite them in a large gathering...
I enjoyed the video immensely...lots of interesting facts I didn't know ....but you need to check the images you use as many of them are late 19th century and represent a hideous distortion of the regency ....
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed! Yeah, unfortunately I am aware of the image issue. When you make the kind of videos I do, it can be difficult to find enough high quality images to fill the length, especially with a more niche topic like dining. I had to make some exceptions in choosing which ones to use. I appreciate you pointing it out though!
@Historidame Totally understand and I hope you didn't take this as a criticism..it was more an observation...It's not as easy a task as people think making these videos and your work to entertain us is appreciated...So Thank you 👍
If it was a smaller gathering, it is likely that guests would already be acquainted with each other. If not, a mutual friend or acquaintance (such as your host) could give you a formal introduction.
Hey, thanks for commenting! I am aware that many images used take place after the regency. When you make a video in the format that I do, you need a lot of images, and I simply couldn't find enough in high resolution that fit regency dining specifically. Unfortunately, some some leeway had to be given.
If they had tv and internet back then there is NO way they’d have these rules! 😂😂😂. Why visit someone after their dinner party to say thanks again. Just text. 😂😂
It's far more elegant to send a handwritten card to thank them for the evening. Yes, one can text but that take such little effort, so one will be more remembered if they send a personal note.
Not a single rule about the food having to be good? If they would have had good food, they would've rather focused on enjoying the evening around the food in good and relaxed manner instead of making the people stick to rules.
I think most of the commenters are American. Only people who come from a culture that views the eating etiquette of a three-year-old toddler as the social norm for all adults could be dismayed and puzzled by the Regency etiquette shown here. In most cultures, these manners have been taken for granted for thousands of years.
and there is plenty of Black noble and gentry even royalty like Queen Charlotte, they were greatly respected Lady of the ton like Dido Belle, a black heiress and socialite, she could've been a duchess but she married for love
We all know that the colorblind casting of these series and films is well-intentioned, but also problematic. Especially in combination with the inadequate education provided by America's schools and similar education systems. In the fantasy world of Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte is a black woman; the real Queen Charlotte was a German princess, born Sophie Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg and just as light-skinned as the Germans back then. Of course there were a lot of black nobles and kings, but not on the European continent, but in the various areas of Africa. Dido Belle was an exception back then, just as, as far as I know, there were no Asian kings in Africa at that time.
@isabelleskiss they have so little self esteem and accomplishments they need to force themselves into ours. It's a race of perpetual, jealous children.
Most of these rules are very relevant today also it’s just plain and simple good manners or common sense.
So true! Honestly, I think we should put more emphasis on table manners today.
Really lmao? Some of them are, like greeting the host and hostess and being mindful of how much you take but ultimately most these are ridiculous 😂
I also keep a pineapple on my table to show off my status
Quite! I don't understand the amazement of the narrator AT ALL!!! This is still normal dinner-party manners.
One piece of good manners that wasn't discussed 200 years ago was about mobile phone because they never existed then. I used to hear many stories of people on call at work and they were invited to a party with friends and if you have to answer a call you need to excuse yourself from the table and answer it......I have heard of many people yelling at the top of their voice to the person on the other end of the phone that everyone else's conversation at the table has to end.......I also think it is UNBELEIVABLY rude when someone is at a shop cashier and talking on their phone and just throw money at them.......UNLESS YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT OR PRIME MINISTER YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT THAT YOU CAN'T TELL THE PERSON AT THE OTHER END TO WAIT A SECOND WHILE YOU ARE BEING SERVED !
My dad was a career climber in the army. I was taught most of these rules of etiquette from an early age. Nice to know where they got started.
Everybody stills needs these manners in the military. Even junior enlisted Marines are expected to attend the Marine Corps Ball every year. My son had people in his squad that had never in their life attended a sit down dinner with courses that needed designated silverware and actual cloth table linens. He ended up running 'classes' for his juniors with all the bells and whistles so they would know what to do. Senior officers notice. He had better manners as a Corporal than some of the junior officers LOL.
He learned them from family dinners - we didn't do the full roll out every Sunday, but holidays, birthdays and special celebrations (promotions, big project, graduation, etc) always saw the good china, silver and linens come out.
As a retired single person, I occasionally do the full set up and cook myself something a bit extra just for the joy of it.
It's up for debate where, and when it started. One safe bet, the British copied nearly all of their rules of etiquette from the French.
Imagine going to a fancy dinner party, looking the hostess right in eye as you take a large bite of her prized raw pineapple
Considering it wouldn't have been cut into sections this would have been somewhat physically challenging. Imagine if you made the attempt but were not in fact able to actually fully bite through it?😂
I died at the first course because they served almonds and they still don't know why I died because regency era allergies did not exist back then
Lmao
Stopppp 😂😂😂
My father was born in Denmark in 1923. I was born in America and my father and mother taught us old World etiquette. I taught my son and daughter the best I could. Not many people nowadays would know anything like this simply because it is not taught now.
I’m a 6th generation native Texan and I was taught to curtsy and everything about table etiquette and manors! I’m only 54! Our grandmothers taught all of us.
Omg! My parents were also from Denmark and taught us kids strict old world manners and etiquette 😆
Hello here from Denmark 🇩🇰 I’m teaching my grandson how to be a gentleman 🥰 I agree with you
My grandmother made me go to charm school. It was all etiquette and such.
My great grandmother made sure to teach me old world etiquette as well. If one were to dress me up, I could pass with flying colors and no one would ever know that my father's sister and youngest brother spent the entire family fortune.
🤷🏼♀️
When I got married in the 1980s, the bride could be assured of receiving either Miss Manners (of Washington Post fame) or Emily Post’s books of etiquette as a shower gift. Absolutely no bride could survive without at least one of these. Dinner parties started one month after marriage. Yes, it was like that. I wasn’t raised in the upper classes nor was my husband but these rules applied to everyone but those in abject poverty.
When I graduated from high school, my older brother (11 years older) gave me a copy of Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers.
... We learned basic etiquette in Home Economics during G3 in the Philippines... Sadly everything's theoretical and we bloody forget sh*t in HS...
I have Etiquette and it is very helpful.
As an introvert I am most displeased that I can't spontaneously develop a horribly anti-social disease the day before a dinner party. So I guess I'll develop it the week before :=). Fun video, very informative :=)
You missed one thing with soup spoons. One should scoop the soup away from oneself ,rather than pull it as if bailing it into one’s mouth.
Also, if you scoop it away from yourself, only the table is affected if an incident happens, not your clothes.
“Like ships out to sea, I spoon away from me”
Yeah that actually makes sense 😅😊@@lenkamaresova4116
@@Player_404😂😂
Yeah she forgot that..
And about a thousand other rules. I think it was more of a overview than an extensive guide buddy
This was exactly how I was brought up to dine at formal occasions (including every Sunday dinner) in my family in the 1950s in New England / New York America.
I am reminded of Babette’s Feast and how the pious and superstitious villages made such a brouhaha over an elegant dinner party.
Babette’s Feast was among the best films ever !
❤ such a wonderful movie
My favourite food movie!!
Pretty name. Babette
So many of these things are still considered nice manners!
This was very interesting! I see some of the table and dining etiquettes back then are still being taught to us today. I for one had to learn some of these as a teen for when going out to dine in a finer restaurant. THANKS for sharing with us, Historidame
I have the sudden feeling this will be the first of a binge of your videos 😍
So many of these rules are still true today if you care to follow proper etiquette at a formal dinner party like a wedding or your bosses home
Your videos are my latest obsession 😭
There was a great series in 2004 on the BBC called Regency House Party, it was a reality TV show with participants in the role of all classes. I can highly recommend 😊😊
That sounds so cool! I'll check it out :)
Wow, there are similarities with the dinning rules in Japan where I live, for gatherings of people (not so much for close friends or family).
For example, the most common rule that most people know is saying itadakimasu before eating and gochisosama deshita after. We don’t eat until everyone at the table receives their food. we shouldn’t pass food from chopstick to chopstick, we should put it on their side plate instead. We shouldn’t stick the chopstick in rice upright. We can’t take a sip of our alcohol until everyone has their drinks so we can say cheers together and then drink. If there’s one piece of food left on the plate (most restaurants are sharing plates) we wait and wait because we don’t want to take the last piece and to seem selfless. Similarly, we need to eat at a normal pace to not seem gluttonous or too slow that it looks like we don’t like it. Japan has a hierarchical system , like in work or school or university. When we say cheers and bring our glasses together, the higher person (like a teacher) should be the highest and the students should clink their glasses below the rim, like halfway down, to give respect. If we order our own dishes we need to offer others if they would like to try it. We need to pour drinks, like water or alcohol for others glasses first. In the past it was usually women who did this but men do it too now. If someone talks to us while we’re chewing, as girls we need to cover our mouth with our hand if there’s food in there. Slurping noodles is normal however, it doesn’t actually mean respect to the chef, it actually just means you’re enjoying it. There’s proper ways to hold chopsticks (from the upper part) and even knives and forks (using a spoon and fork when eating spaghetti looks the best). After eating we should stack some dishes to make it easier for the restaurant staff to clean up. When we leave the restaurant we always say thank you to the waiter or chef, whoever is there
Probably there’s more etiquette but that’s all I can think of. It seems really strict but it’s easy to get used to however not doing it is rude sometimes. Also this video reminded me of the dinner scene from Shrek 2.
Very interesting, High society in all cultures have similar social norms, I think the modern world has to a large extent put pressure on all societies to choose fast food options. There is still a place for good manners, beautifully presented food and a gracious hostess, we just have no time to indulge this style of dining every day.
Nice video!
I feel that the part where you thank the hostess and host an extra time a couple of days later is something we could brush up on today.
Thank you!
I can't believe you only have 10k subs, your videos are so professional!
Thank you! I do my best 😅
A very interesting presentation, and your choice of music was superb! Thank you.
I'm glad you liked it! :)
I would not have survived 😭
This is such a good video! I love learning about these types and I just need to watch more of you videos ❤🎉
Thank you!
My grandparents used a lot of these for our holiday formal meals.
Amazing quality, especially for such a small channel!!! Bravo!
Thank you so much!
no, she got "service à la française" "service à la russe" wrong it's teh reverse, everybody knows this. She could have checked, bad.
I'd like to imagine that some of these people just rolled their eyes and said just eat. If anyone asked we did all the fancy stuff 😊😂
Great video, thank you. My understanding is that you never arrived before or on time but 10 mins late, to allow the hostess to fix any last minute issues.
I was brought up with almost exactly the same dinner-table rules. Not the dinners themselves, just the rules!
С удоволствие ще ви следвам. Как да се държиш на масата идва от детските години, когато възприемаш това, което правят близките ти. Майка ми казваше, че трябва да се яде спокойно с естествени маниери. За късмет зная повечето правила, които показахте. Вече ваш абонат от България.
The knife protects the spoon from the fork. Once I heard this I was always able to remember where the cutlery goes.
Conspicuous consumption takes on a whole new meaning! Unfortunately, most members of the gentry, aristocracy and royalty rarely if ever thought about giving all of the leftovers of these lavish banquets to the poor in their parish or community.
The servants ate them.
It either went to the servants or the poor.
Ignorance is not a flex.
Wine and flowers etc are quite common dinner party gifts these day, but when did it become de rigueur to bring the host/hostess a gift?
Great channel. The information is clear and concise. 😊
Thank you!
I just found your channel and have been binge watching all of your videos.😊
My mother was insistent that proper behavior was more important than anything else. Any young lady can be forgiven a lot as long as she behaved well.
I just pity the house staff that had to get up at 4 o'nothing to start preparing the rooms, and the cook who's been working away for the whole week making cakes and puddings and preparing the dishes. And after it's over, the staff had to clean everything away before creeping up to the attic to sleep until 4 o'nothing again.
What was the etiquette to respond to an invitation? What was the appropriate amount of time and/or manner to accept and/or refuse?
The French Revolution did change the way people dress as the haves were afraid of losing their head and tried to look neutral and subsequently high culture is a past.
The French Revolution pre-dates the Regency period so interesting comment!
This is interesting from a historical perspective, and it demonstrates that some etiquette customs go back centuries. However, I don’t understand why modern people get so hung up on table etiquette. As long as you’re not being unsanitary or creating a disturbance for others, eat how you wish!
I went too charm school and was taught etiquette
I would have a long list of excuses ready at hand to use as soon as i received an invitation
How bizarre. The dinner party is not jury duty. No excuse is needed or expected. Just be sure to RSVP by the date on the invite.
Thank you ❤.
... and * never * spoon soup towards you, always slip the spoon through the soup away from you (still true today).
But if I shovel the soup toward me, it gets in my tummy faster! 😊
It sounds like hell on earth. I’ll just stay home with tea and crumpets
It was second-nature. All of the guests, and host and hostess, were raised with manners, and practiced etiquette from early childhood (one of the duties of a nanny), so that by the time they were adults, they didn't even have to think about it. It was just a reflex.
nice!
💚 Fun Facts we never knew😊. Thanks.5/17/24~
I think it would be fun to do once for amusement and novelty, but otherwise, it sounds like hell on earth. I have never been more glad to not be in a position to attend formal events 😂
I wouldn't survive, best to not go for me. I've been to meals with as many as 12, but nothing formal like that. Not rowdy, but still not that fussy. I'd escape the powder room, oh wait, they didn't have one, oh dear.
I have served multi-course formal meals in my home over the years so my sons would know how to behave.
7:53
30-Minute Healthy Green Pea Soup
I actually ended up finding a recipe for green pea soup because of this video and let me just say it was damn tasty!
Actually all the rules you mentioned are still considered polite etiquette
I was born for that era! However, would have preferred the Edwardian era to the regency era.
Same! I love the idea of the regency but I think living in the Edwardian era would suit me best :)
My introvert self would not survive that 💀
you inverted "service à la française" and "service à la russe". "à la française" : ordered, small quantities of many things, "à la russe" everything on the table. please correct , it's a terrible faux pas.;)
Great content and even better narration. Very well done. Allow me subscribe. 😀
I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
This is basically any middle eastern dinner party
This is still the case now, so I don't quite get the tone of amazement, of the narrator.
I think most of the commenters are American. Only people who come from a culture that views the eating etiquette of a three-year-old toddler as the social norm for all adults could be dismayed and puzzled by the Regency etiquette shown here. In most cultures, these manners have been taken for granted for thousands of years.
@@isabelleskiss "thousands of years". I doubt that. Maybe since the early 1700s, which is still a good long time, but I do doubt that our Germanic ancestors worried too much about which fork to use for their salads, and not to talk to someone sitting opposite them in a large gathering...
What happens if you are just stuffed to the brim and need to use the restroom?? How do you leave without looking like a heathen ?
One etiquette manual said that you should only leave in the case of an emergency.
This dinner party sounds exhausting 😂
Did they not write a thankyou letter after three days?
Seems very similar to today's expectations and rules.
Except for the Servant's 3:17
I enjoyed the video immensely...lots of interesting facts I didn't know ....but you need to check the images you use as many of them are late 19th century and represent a hideous distortion of the regency ....
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed! Yeah, unfortunately I am aware of the image issue. When you make the kind of videos I do, it can be difficult to find enough high quality images to fill the length, especially with a more niche topic like dining. I had to make some exceptions in choosing which ones to use. I appreciate you pointing it out though!
@Historidame Totally understand and I hope you didn't take this as a criticism..it was more an observation...It's not as easy a task as people think making these videos and your work to entertain us is appreciated...So Thank you 👍
@@gilchristantiques7464 Oh not at all! Besides, I appreciate that you pointed it out for those who might not recognize the difference between the two.
Uhm..how do we politely ask the people's names, then?
If it was a smaller gathering, it is likely that guests would already be acquainted with each other. If not, a mutual friend or acquaintance (such as your host) could give you a formal introduction.
Place cards at the table .
Why do you keep saying season?
"The season" was a time when all the nobility would go to these parties and socialize in the city. It ran roughly from November to June.
There's no way I could sit through all of that. I'd go nuts.
No wonder their dresses don't have waist lines
Please look at your images carefully - the majority used here are Victorian or later
Hey, thanks for commenting! I am aware that many images used take place after the regency. When you make a video in the format that I do, you need a lot of images, and I simply couldn't find enough in high resolution that fit regency dining specifically. Unfortunately, some some leeway had to be given.
Was it OK to not try all the dishes? I don't want to be beheaded.
Yes, it probably would have been impossible to eat everything.
Thank God the US declared independence from all that.
Someone needs to make a TikTok “would you survive” game based on this
If they had tv and internet back then there is NO way they’d have these rules! 😂😂😂. Why visit someone after their dinner party to say thanks again. Just text. 😂😂
It's far more elegant to send a handwritten card to thank them for the evening. Yes, one can text but that take such little effort, so one will be more remembered if they send a personal note.
Beef cures every disease
Whew that was stressful 😅
Not a single rule about the food having to be good?
If they would have had good food, they would've rather focused on enjoying the evening around the food in good and relaxed manner instead of making the people stick to rules.
Do you eat like a swine? It wouldn't matter to me how good my food is if I would be seated next to one.
I think most of the commenters are American. Only people who come from a culture that views the eating etiquette of a three-year-old toddler as the social norm for all adults could be dismayed and puzzled by the Regency etiquette shown here. In most cultures, these manners have been taken for granted for thousands of years.
In that case, this American will eat with atrocious table manners with pride! 😆
This is ridiculous just eat your damn food
That's a very lower class opinion.
Preach!
and there is plenty of Black noble and gentry even royalty like Queen Charlotte, they were greatly respected Lady of the ton like Dido Belle, a black heiress and socialite, she could've been a duchess but she married for love
We all know that the colorblind casting of these series and films is well-intentioned, but also problematic. Especially in combination with the inadequate education provided by America's schools and similar education systems.
In the fantasy world of Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte is a black woman; the real Queen Charlotte was a German princess, born Sophie Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg and just as light-skinned as the Germans back then.
Of course there were a lot of black nobles and kings, but not on the European continent, but in the various areas of Africa. Dido Belle was an exception back then, just as, as far as I know, there were no Asian kings in Africa at that time.
@isabelleskiss they have so little self esteem and accomplishments they need to force themselves into ours. It's a race of perpetual, jealous children.