In this lavish prequel to her wildly successful Bridgerton series, writer and producer Shonda Rhimes tells the story of young Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and her enduring love story with King George.

The show features an enchanting Main Title sequence designed and directed by Studio AKA’s Manddy Wyckens, who sought to create something suitably stunning to complement the luxurious characteristics familiar to the Bridgerton universe,

Manddy’s beautifully minimalist sequence calls on her signature illustrative style to create a series of elegantly seductive vignettes that follow Queen Charlotte through the palace grounds, each hinting at key moments from the series. The action meanwhile alternates between the young and old Queen Charlotte, using shadows and reflections to move between the two, evoking her journey to becoming a monarch. At the same time, the deliberately slow, cinematic pace, stylized framing and deft match cuts create a cohesive visual narrative that pulls the viewer into the story.

Studio AKA’s talented animation artists helped bring Manddy’s meticulous vision to life, ensuring that the design look retained its coherence as the visual language was refined to reach the desired look to wrap the series in. The team was required to maintain a restrained approach to the action and determine the sensibility and subtlety of the characters’ performances. Maintaining such a beautifully reductive staging was especially rigorous within very slow-moving movements, helping add an essential sense of majesty to the overall sequence.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story — is out now on Netflix.