Can true love bloom with something as simple as an extended hand? The newest photos of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story hint that the answer is yes. If you weren’t already swooning over the upcoming romance from Shonda Rhimes, prepare the fainting couch. You’re about to need it. 

Premiering May 4, the Bridgerton prequel centers around the fictional love story of its titular royal (played as a young woman by Sex Education’s India Amarteifio) and her enigmatic king, George (Corey Mylchreest). Bridgerton — which takes place decades after the events of Queen Charlotte — has long intimated that this romance is both complicated and powerful, but it’s only in the prequel that we get the full story. 

In one of the new first look photos, which features Queen Charlotte and King George together, the couple is clearly starting to figure each other out. As Rhimes told Netflix, the complexities of love are what inspired her to make Queen Charlotte in the first place. Check out the new images below — and watch the teaser above. 

“I want people to feel like this is what happens with real love. Love is hard. Love is difficult. Love has many layers,” Rhimes explains. “The idea that the happy ending that we always talk about for characters doesn’t have to be the obvious one.” 

The new photos also offer us a sumptuous look at the rest of Queen Charlotte’s world. You can see young Brimsley (Sam Clemmett) dutifully trailing his queen and meet yet another imposing royal, Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley), who is flanked by multiple political power players. As for Queen Charlotte’s, young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) appears to be witnessing something quite enrapturing in another photo. But what — or who — could it be? 

Fittingly, Bridgerton-era Lady Agatha Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) also seems to have her interest piqued in an image. Although Queen Charlotte is dedicated to unveiling the past, it also pops into the future to check up on some beloved Bridgerton faces including Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), Bridgerton matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and Lady Danbury. 

 Start practicing your finest curtsy now, because in one photo, Queen Charlotte looks to be her iciest yet. Watch Queen Charlotte later this year to find out what — if anything — will warm her heart.