'Bridgerton' and 'Queen Charlotte' author Julia Quinn reveals a key detail about Reynolds' backstory that was cut from the show

• Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for "Queen Charlotte" season one and its tie-in novel.
• In Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes' novel, Reynolds reveals that he knew King Charles III as a child.

Julia Quinn, the author of the "Bridgerton" book series that inspired the Netflix franchise, is revealing all about a key detail from Reynolds' past that you won't see in the new "Queen Charlotte" spinoff.

In the new series, Reynolds (Freddie Dennis) is introduced as the secretary to King George III (Corey Mylchreest), and we later learn that he is gay and in a romantic relationship with Queen Charlotte's assigned secretary, Brimsley (Sam Clemmett).

However, fans learn even more about Reynolds in the new "Queen Charlotte" novel co-written by Quinn and show creator Shonda Rhimes.

In the book, which is available now, there is a key scene in which Reynolds reveals to Brimsley that he was originally assigned as a playmate to Charles when they were both children and thus has a closer relationship with the monarch than we might realize.

In an interview with Insider, Quinn said the scene was inspired by Rhimes' script for "Queen Charlotte," because the tie-in book was written after the show was scripted.

However, the scene didn't make it into the final cut of the Netflix series.

"I embellished it a little bit but it really comes from the script," Quinn said. "And when I watched the show, I remember finishing being like, 'Where was that conversation?' I'm looking at the script. I'm like, 'I know that was here.'"

The "Bridgerton" author added that she's not sure why the conversation was cut out or whether Rhimes even filmed the scene.

"I'd be excited to see whether it was filmed because I think it's a beautiful moment. I wish I'd made that all up. I love that backstory," Quinn said.

Quinn also shared with Insider her theory on Reynolds' fate, after fans spotted that he mysteriously disappears when the timeline switches to the older "Bridgerton" characters in "Queen Charlotte." (The show is set in both 1761 and 1817, but Reynolds only appears in the former timeline.)

"I want Reynolds to be a secret duke," Quinn said. "He is so dukey. Especially the way Freddie plays him. I had read the scripts and then I went to the set and I heard Freddie talk. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. He's got such a voice.'"

Quinn said that she even spoke to Rhimes about the character's fate.

"Literally, I've said that to Shonda so many times. I'm like, 'Secret duke, secret duke,' because I didn't create him so I don't get to decide this character as much," Quinn said.

The author added that she's not "too optimistic" that Rhimes will take her up on her suggestion.

Hugh Sachs, who plays the older Brimsley, told Vulture that another scene that would have hinted at what happened to Reynolds in the 1817 timeline was also cut.

"There was a scene that we didn't film because it was cut, where I was going to meet the older Reynolds," Sachs said.

"He was the love of his life, and for whatever reason, they could not stay together. So when they would pass each other in the passageway in the deleted scene, it wasn't a toxic moment. Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offense to be gay, and it was just not possible."

"Queen Charlotte," written by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes, is available to buy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is available to stream on Netflix.