you can use a cast to __FlashStringHelper to invoke the right constructor of the String class. It is the constructor which copies the char array from PROGMEM. __FlashStringHelper is intended as return type for the F() macro.
const char charArray[] PROGMEM = "Some text";
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
String s((const __FlashStringHelper*) charArray);
Serial.println(s);
}
void loop() {
}