Queen Charlotte’s wigs on Bridgerton are so glorious (and so massive) that during Season 2, the crew made Golda Rosheuvel a neck brace to hold them up. But in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the majesty of her coiffure requires no structural fortification. When we first meet the earlier version of the character (played by India Amarteifio), in 1761 on the eve of her wedding to England’s King George III (Corey Mylchreest), the monarch features a no less resplendent, but more natural look.

In fact, authenticity is one of the things Amarteifio loved most about being Queen Charlotte. The actor told Netflix, “My favorite part about my hair and makeup is the fact that my own hair texture is represented in a period style, which is really not common. To be able to wear something that is so elegant and beautiful, and I’m also represented — obviously it’s a wig, but it’s not a straight wig. I can still have my curls and the coils and it’s still as elegant and as bold, probably more so, having something that looks so different. It’s a real privilege to be able to wear this.”

Liam Daniel/Netflix

Costume dramas are often known for their spectacular looks, but Queen Charlotte pushes the aesthetic into new places. “One of the things I really loved about the way the hair and makeup was done for this series is it really embraced — especially the hair design — the idea that these are women of color with the hair needs of women of color,” creator Shonda Rhimes told Netflix. “And we get to see some really astounding hair designs. Queen Charlotte’s wigs are particularly spectacular in this.”

The wigs aren’t solely an aesthetic choice, either. They’re “part of the storytelling,” Rosheuvel told Netflix. As Queen Charlotte grows into becoming the imposing matriarch we know from Bridgerton, fashion helps to create the regal aura around her. Rosheuvel continued: “There are some times when you can see in the costume’s little motifs, little things in the wigs. Sometimes my entourage, the girls, have a little motif of what I have in my wig. There may be different colors, but there are still maybe butterflies or flowers, and it matches and it ties together. I think it’s hugely important for the character, for status, for confidence, but also, hugely important for the series because of the stories that we want to tell.”

Nick Wall/Netflix

Hair and makeup designer Nic Collins is no stranger to creating period looks, having worked on Downton Abbey, Grantchester, Victoria and many other historical productions. For Queen Charlotte, she had to mix historical research with a bold, modern style. “Texture has to be the most important element that we’ve put into all the wigs,” she told Netflix. “We wanted it to be in the 18th-century style, but we also wanted to contemporize the looks. We wanted to give it its own unique vibe, appropriate with the type of curls today. We wanted to put braiding in, and we wanted to include every type of hair texture that exists authentically as well. From the tightest, curliest coil of hair to the straightest, smoothest of hair, we wanted all the textures in there. We wanted them to be represented equally across the board. It was really important that we did that.”

In order to achieve those textures, she and her team used different sizes of wood doweling — “from thin skewers like matches, which create really, really tightly textured hair, to larger 10-centimeter pieces of wood, which create looser curls” — and then baked the hair in the oven (really). “And we’ve built wire cages inside of the wigs to hold the hair’s shape, which is similar to how they built them back in the 18th century,” she said.

By the time production on Queen Charlotte was well underway, Collins and her team were able to execute Amarteifio’s elaborate hair and makeup designs in an hour. First, they’d braid her hair, then put the wig on top. “None of this is my hair, it’s all a wig,” the actor said. “We’re a real team, all of us getting it done together. They’re always checking in to see how I feel about the looks, and if I think Charlotte is being represented correctly with this particular hairstyle.”

Nick Wall/Netflix

Of course, Rosheuvel’s looks are much more elaborate — “two times bigger and bolder,” said Amarteifio — but the throughline between both versions of the character is the wigs. “The royal wedding was the first choice to use a big wig,” Collins recalled. “Again, she went against what society wigs were wearing — the lighter palette, gray wigs. We used her own natural hair tone, infused with an 18th century afro style, which we thought looked amazing on her. And then we continue that journey into the balls, where every time you see her in a wig, it’s getting slightly larger and more in keeping with the Queen Charlotte that we know from our Regency period in Bridgerton.”

Rosheuvel said during production that she couldn’t wait to watch the finished series in order to see how that hair evolution tied both of their Queen Charlottes together. “India will do a scene in the morning, and I’ll do a scene in the afternoon, and we’ll pass each other, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, nice wig, girl!’ So it will be really interesting to see all that happening during the course of the season,” she said.

An Inside Look at the Costumes and Jewelry of ‘Queen Charlotte’How aristocratic aesthetics bring this story to life.