Gentle Reader: The Story Behind the Photo: I Was Presented to the Queen
- Marcia Crayton
- Feb 26
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Calling All Bridgerton Fans!
Welcome, Gentle Reader
The Queen's Ball: An Immersive Bridgerton Experience
New York
Imagine that you're Daphne, Eloise, or even Penelope. Or maybe you fancy yourself as Lady Danbury or Violet. You can't be Queen Charlotte, though. That's because she is the one that you will see. So practice your curtsey and get ready to be presented to the Queen at the Bridgerton Immersive Experience.
What does this have to do with our travel journal? Plenty. The Bridgerton Experience was on a tour through the United States and it did not stop in every major city. So people had to travel to the nearest place or perhaps one that they wanted to see. And New York was one of them. This meant that not only did we become part of the aristocracy for one evening, we made new friends.
Everyone there was probably a fan of the television series. As we chatted with other attendees, we were able to figure out who was also a fan of the book series, leading to great discussions about the changes in the plot as the book was made into the television adaptation. No one there was very judgmental about the changes because it was the on air series that got us to the ball in the first place.
Like all of these new friends, I’m also a fan of other Regency period literature and films, such as those by Jane Austen, who actually lived in that time as opposed to the modern authors who are writing about that era using historical research to make their novels be as authentic as possible.
Among people who live in countries where the distinction of the classes is based on something different, there can be a sort of fascination with royalty, nobility, aristocracy and the landed gentry classes: we might have liked to be part of the rich world but at the same time, because they were such a lower percentage of the population, it was probably not likely. Most of us would have probably have been the servants who were below stairs or the working class that provided the goods and services that the upper class needed. Of course there are many societal and historical reasons why the majority of us would not even “qualify” but we’re not here to discuss history. The object of immersive experiences is fantasy: what if? And the object was to have fun.
But remember, the aristocracy, for the most part, did not quite survive fully into the 21st century in the same way that it had been for hundreds of years. And the ones that did are hanging on, playing their roles, so to speak, trying to to pass it on to the next generation. Hence immersive experiences (and cosplay for that matter). It’s a chance to live the life for a short while, learn a little something and to connect with your favorite film, tv series, play, music group or even artist.
I was part of the Queen's Court at The Bridgerton Experience in New York City. And yes, it was fun and I did learn something that I didn’t catch while watching Bridgerton.
Now, was in the past real life, being part of the aristocracy came with a price, in this case, the price of a ticket. There were different packages but we will get to that in a minute. Part of the fun of being at an immersive experience is to dress the part. And that meant me searching online for something suitable to wear. Now, I wasn't sure if what I found would be 100% authentic, but I wanted my costume to be representative of the show, if not the era. Some people came dressed in period costume, some came like me, dressed in clothing that was representative of the era and others arrived just simply dressed up, all shiny and glittery.
Now, I had an outfit (with a hat as if I were Lady Danbury but, alas, no cane). And I had a ticket. And now it was time to get to the ball.
So what is a Bridgerton immersive experience, especially in New York? If you arrive early, you might have queued up outside. There was more than one session and we chose the early session, so we did not have to wait until the venue was cleared out. Security checked our bags and the the staff scanned our tickets (a little modern technology, we had them on our phones instead of the traditional 19th century engraved invitations).
The staff played their parts well, trying to speak in English accents, greeting us in the vocabulary of the day. Since we were being presented to the Queen and since the Queen only comes to the nobility's residences sometime, we were greeted by the palace staff. By the way, King George III was not feeling well, so he did not put in an appearance.
The palace staff's job was to take care of you and to help you participate. If you did not have time to learn the latest regency-era dance, you were invited to learn one there. The music was similar to the score you would hear on the show: typical classical as well as classical style covers of today's pop music.
The ball would only last a couple of hours, so a full dinner was not served. Instead, you could partake of refreshments to tide you over until you got home. And there were libations (both with and without alcohol).
Whether you were dancing or not, you could always do what ball goers did: watch a romance unfold on the ballroom dance floor. The actors who danced the story: complete with the drama of meeting each other for the first time, falling in love, having a conflict and reconciling. The dancers did not resemble any of the characters, so the drama could have been anyone in the era in the Bridgerton universe.
The ballet was one of the highlights of the evening, besides learning how to dance as a Regency era aristocrat. The main highlight was being presented to the Queen herself. At one point, before the staged dance, Queen Charlotte made her entrance, complete with announcement. Wait, who was attending her? Oh, good, it was not someone who looked like Lady Danbury, so I was spared from being exposed for the imposter that I was.
After those who were presented made their formal curtseys, the music shifted and then it was time to party until the end of the session. You're a participant, not just an observer, hence the immersive experience.
Since the theme is from the Bridgerton novels and television series, knowing about the topic helps, but it's not required to have fun!
The Bridgerton immersive experience sessions in New York were about 2 hours long, purchased by reserving your time and date and type of ticket. You could have pre-purchased your drink, souvenirs, and/or snack box or you could have bought those items and other Bridgerton inspired souvenirs when you get there. I got carried away buying tea because the cast of Bridgerton was on the tea canisters.
You had to have been 16 to attend (with an adult), 18+ to attend without an accompanying adult and, of course, 21 and over to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.
The costumes are not mandatory but they did help create the ambience and added to the fun. After all, we were part of the cast of the Bridgerton Experience that day and dressing the part helped. As one participant said, "it's like a costume prom for adults." But, you certainly won't be turned away if you don't have a Regency era-like outfit.
Want to see me at the Ball?
There are several selfie stations for us to document our own Immersive Experience, but tripods, selfie sticks (and probably gimbals) and professional cameras were not allowed. I brought just my phone, it more than did the job. However, flash wasn't allowed either, so the lighting at the ball caused the photos and videos to have an eerie color filter-like appearance until you correct it in your photo editor. No matter, it makes for an interesting video.
You could have had your portrait taken professionally in the form of a digital painting (remember, photography was really invented by then, but pop up photo stations wouldn't make appearances at parties for almost a century). Anyway, after your photo was taken by the house photographer, you were guided to the computer, pulled up your photo and saw it painted before your eyes. You signed your masterpiece and scanned the QR code to download it to your phone. I was unable to see if prints could be purchased for some reason.
At the party, you could still interact with actors (staff), who were a lot of fun and of course, stayed in character, even to the person escorting us out at the end. After all, that's what being immersive is all about. You'll find yourself in character until they tell you the session is over.
So, gentle reader (and YouTube viewers), feel free to see how our immersive Bridgerton Experience was and feel free to comment on the video with how your experience was.
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