Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: TV And Film, Bridgerton
Isobel Pankhurst
One big question fans have been asking since watching Bridgerton is what exactly it is that Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) keeps sniffing.
The Queen is regularly shown in her elegant wigs, either partaking in scandalous gossip, or sniffing the mystery powder - and often both at the same time.
There has been some confusion among viewers over what the powder is, with some suggesting it could be cocaine.
Taking to Twitter one viewer asked: "What is the queen in bridgerton sniffing????? It looks like cinnamon!!!!!!"
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Another posted: "Is it brown Coke the queen keeps snorting or heroin?"
While a third wrote: "Why is the queen in Bridgerton sniffing coke???"
However, as it turns out Queen Charlotte does not have an extreme cocaine addiction. She's actually snorting snuff.
Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from finely ground or pulverised tobacco leaves, which is then inhaled or snorted into the nose, delivering a swift hit of nicotine. Sometimes flavouring is added to leave a burst of scent or taste.
So no she's not constantly inhaling cocaine, heroin, or even cinnamon, she's actually just snorting tobacco.
In Regency England it was considered improper to use smoking pipes or cigars in public, so snuff became a fashionable alternative.
Like the character in the show, the real Queen Charlotte is also said to have had a snuff addiction. She reportedly became known as "Snuffy Charlotte" due to snorting it so much.
Her son, George IV also reportedly partook in this habit, changing his snuff according to the time of day. He apparently even had a snuff store room in each of his palaces.
Snuff first became popular in England after Charles II returned from exile in France, bringing with him something of a snuff habit.
Other historical figures also used this substance, with both Lord Nelson and Napoleon consuming large quantities.
No actual snuff would be found on the set of Bridgerton though.
Actress Golda Rosheuvel says that she used a form of sugar while filming:
"I think it’s like glucose stuff. At the end of the day I’m like, yeah, wild sugar rush. It's harmless, it's fine. Absolutely harmless."
So there you have it, the Queen is snorting tobacco - perhaps if the show took place in the modern day Queen Charlotte would be Bridgerton's counterpart to Euphoria's Vape Girl.