What does seven and ten mean in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story?

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story has finally arrived and fans have wasted no time diving into the Bridgerton prequel series.

As one of the most beloved characters in Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte has always been shrouded in mystery. In this new prequel, we will finally get to see the woman behind the crown and learn how her love story with King George helped shape the society we see in Bridgerton.

Our journey back through time begins on Charlotte and George’s wedding day, but it’s not until after the wedding we truly start to get to know Charlotte better. In fact, it’s in the second episode of the season we learn a key piece of information about Charlotte.

During a fight with George about some questionable choices he’s made after their wedding — namely ghosting Charlotte — Charlotte comments that while he has been groomed his whole life for the role of King, she’s only seven and ten and this is an entirely new world to her.

So what exactly does Charlotte mean when telling George she’s seven and ten? Well, seven and ten is an archaic way of saying 17 — which is how old Charlotte is during the flashback timeline. While it’s not exactly how most would say their age today, during the Regency era, it was common for individuals to say their age using phrasing such as the one Charlotte uses in the show.

In fact, we’ve seen this terminology used in the past in Bridgerton as Kate used similar phrasing in the second season of Bridgerton when she told Lady Danbury she was six and twenty.

Charlotte’s age in the show reflects the age of the real Queen Charlotte was married to King George III, which seems crazy but was not unusual for the time.