Characters / Bridgerton

Characters from the 2020 series Bridgerton, as well as characterization tropes for characters who appear in the spinoff Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. For tropes specific to the books, see The Bridgerton Series.

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The Bridgertons

General

A well-respected and tight-knit clan, comprised of the widow and eight children of the deceased Viscount Edmund Bridgerton.

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• Alphabetical Theme Naming: The Bridgerton siblings are named down the alphabet (Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth), which Lady Whistledown finds tacky.
• Animal Motif: Bee. As it turns out it's the animal that stung and killed the previous patriarch, Edmund Bridgerton.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: No matter whether they're fighting or not, at the end of the day the Bridgertons are a very close knit family that adores each other.
• The Beautiful Elite: They are respected and wealthy members of the peerage. The opening narration notes them as "a shockingly prolific family, noted for its bounty of perfectly handsome sons and perfectly beautiful daughters." Daphne is so impressive when she makes her debut that Queen Charlotte singles her out, resulting in her being called the “diamond of the first water.”
• Big Fancy House: Among their properties are Bridgerton House, a large and elegantly-decorated Mayfair townhouse with room enough for the entire brood, and Aubrey Hall, their country estate in Kent.
• Blue Blood: Anthony is the 9th Viscount Bridgerton, a title he inherited from his father, and the siblings live lives of luxury thanks to this aristocratic ancestry^note The other siblings are not titled "lord" or "lady", however; as the children of a viscount they get the honorific "The Honourable". Daphne is at one point referred by a member of the royal court as a "commoner" — and is correct, as she doesn't hold a title in her own right until she marries.
• Color Motif: The Bridgertons wear a lot of blue, symbolizing their good natures and highly respected family standing.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The Bridgerton home and clothing is all done in pastel shades of blue, showing their calmer less flashy nature in comparison to the Featheringtons, who favor bright and bold colors with flower print.
• Family Honor: The Bridgerton's take this quite seriously, a fact that Lord Berbrooke attempts to use to force Daphne into marriage. As an old, respected family that also happens to care about each other, they do try to maintain good behavior, more or less, and avoid scandal.
• Flower Motifs: They're always associated with purple wisterias. The season 1 promotional materials have the cast framed in purple wisterias, and they're the flowers decorating the outside of their home in London.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: They are a brood of eight who love each other dearly.
• Practically Different Generations: Oldest sibling Anthony was about twenty at the time youngest sibling Hyacinth was born.

Anthony

Anthony Bridgerton, Viscount Bridgerton

"Love is the last thing I desire. But if my children are to be of good stock, then their mother must be of impeccable quality."

Played By: Jonathan Bailey

"You have me protecting you too. I will always protect you."

The oldest of the Bridgerton siblings. Anthony has inherited his late father’s title and responsibilities as head of the family. Nonetheless, he's not eager to wed, struggling between doing his duties and following his own desires.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: Book-Anthony has toxic masculinity as he's controlling toward Kate. Show-Anthony is a bit nicer (although still snarky and short-tempered) and cares about Kate's comfort and consent when going intimate.
• Anger Born of Worry: His frequent method of showing concern to anyone he cares about; both his family and his love interest.
• Beard of Sorrow: In the fallout of the failed wedding, Anthony is sporting stubble. Benedict lampshades that he hasn't bothered to shave (nor has he enlisted someone else to do it for him).
• Berserk Button: A reliable trigger for Anthony's temper is to compare him to his father. This is enough to make him snap at his own mother and get into an actual brawl with Simon at White's.
• Big Brother Instinct: He's fiercely protective of his siblings, to where he's literally willing to die for their honor. When he finds out Nigel, whom he originally arranged to marry Daphne, attempted to force himself on her, he instantly calls off the arrangement and warns Nigel that if he so much as looks at his sister — he's a dead man.
• Birds of a Feather: Why he and Kate connect to one another. They were both forced to be the dutiful head of their family after their fathers' sudden death and had to ensure their younger siblings' futures. During an emotionally tense moment, Anthony specifically points out the sacrifices they've made due to their family headships and how they deserve to do what they want for once.
• Break-Up Bonfire: In season 2 episode 1, upon receiving the program advertising his former mistress, Siena's, next performance, he immediately burns it to the fireplace; indicating that he has moved on and ready for a fresh start.
• Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: He initially found Kate elusive and a nuisance as she constantly blocked his ways in courting Edwina. But, when she tells him about her plan to return to India once Edwina is married, he is visibly startled. After a constant denial of his feelings all along, he eventually acknowledges that he can't imagine his life without her.
• The Chains of Commanding: He carries quite a burden, one that none of his siblings carry or relate to. Promotion to Parent complicated these dynamics as he struggles between being their brother and being their father and authority figure. He struggles with self doubt, and with his (often misguided) sense of duty versus what he really feels deep down.
  Anthony: I am nearly certain every last one of my brothers and sisters secretly despise me — my own mother, at that — despite the fact that I have lived the better part of my life for them.
• Character Development: Anthony goes from questioning the parentage of Daphne's suitors in season 1 to standing up for the Sharmas in season 2. He kicks the Sheffields out of Danbury House for insulting them — more specifically Kate, who is not Lady Mary's daughter by birth. He never sees her differently for it.
• Competition Freak: He even goes mask off early on in his courtship with Edwina, revealing to his brothers as they fence that his rivalry with Kate and need to win is fueling his motivation to continue his pursuit.
  Colin: Perhaps your life might be easier if you pursued someone with a less disagreeable sister.
  Anthony: Why should I be the one to admit defeat?
• Distracted by the Sexy: Reacts this way when Kate lifts her dress to get over the fence while hunting after rebuffing his offer to help.
• The Dutiful Son: Anthony assumed the position of Viscount and head of his family at only 18. He cares for his family, even if he doesn't always get it right and is not always sure if he's meant to be a brother or father figure. He makes sure they are provided for, appears at every function necessary, and protects his sister to the point of being willing to literally die for her honor.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: He is heartbroken after his longtime mistress, Siena, unexpectedly dumped him for another man in the last episode of season 1 and thus he vows not to Marry for Love in order to avoid another heartbreak... until he meets and falls in love with Kate in season 2.
• Freudian Excuse: Anthony's reasoning for not pursuing a love match. After his father died tragically, his mother was so distraught at his loss that she was initially inconsolable and became catatonically depressed for months to the point of suicidal ideation. This forced Anthony to run the family estate years before it was actually expected of him to pick up the responsibility. Not only did he never get to process his own feelings regarding the traumatic loss, but it also left him with the lasting impression that love can only lead to ruin.
• Hands-On Approach: In season 2 episode 4, when going on hunting together, he insists on "teaching" Kate how to hold a gun correctly in British way by wrapping his hands over hers. He also uses this opportunity to inhale her lilies scent.
• Happily Married: With Kate, once they finally tie the knot. Previews of season 3 show he's still besotted, including kissing her mid-dance despite how scandalous that would be.
• Hard-Work Montage: In the first episode of season 2, there are montages between the scenes of Anthony's attempts to search for a wife and the ones where he is seen stressed out from doing his tasks as a viscount.
• Heel Realization: It doesn't take long for Anthony to regret his impulsive proposal to Edwina as the implications of marrying the sister of the woman he loves, dawn on him. He realizes that he could never bury his feelings (for Kate) as he planned to. Unfortunately, just as he comes to his senses and tries to use the Sheffield scheme as an excuse to back out, Kate won't let him.
• Heir Club for Men: Subverted. While Violet and Simon in particular pointedly raise the topic with him, Anthony initially relies on the fact that he has younger brothers to put off marrying. Notably, he devotes more of the season to fussing over Daphne's prospects than bothering to court any respectable women (instead wandering off for sexy times with his mistress), despite the fact that a handsome, young, wealthy viscount like him would be a hot prospect.
• Horrible Judge of Character: It seems Anthony is the only one who can’t see that Nigel Berbrooke is not husband material, until he is told flat-out that Berbrooke assaulted his sister.
• Hypocrite:
  • Talks about having to protect his sister from rakes and anything that might tarnish her reputation... to his mistress, Siena. When she tries to point out the hypocrisy to him, he doesn't pick up on it at all. He also believes that Daphne should readily accept any suitor he deems acceptable for her — even the odious Lord Berbrooke. He even outright dismisses Daphne's feelings, including her valid reasoning for refusing Lord Berbrooke because she doesn't even like him. But at the same time, he himself is unwilling to marry any woman who does not interest him.
  • He's appalled that Kate fends off the many suitors for her younger sister, despite him doing the exact same thing for Daphne the season prior. When he recounts this to Daphne, her facial reactions (as well as that of their other siblings) say it all.
    Daphne: Fear not, Anthony. Seeing as though you were such a help to me last season, it would only be fair of me to return the favor.
    Anthony: Is that a promise or a threat?
    Daphne: Hmm.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: In season 2, Anthony falls in love with Kate, because she's the only woman (he's ever met) who constantly disagrees with him, aggravatingly defiant and is certainly no fool to his charm.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: Anthony has a habit of saying "I am a gentleman" everytime he does or says something ungentlemanly.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Despite he frowns upon the idea of marrying for love, it is shown so obvious that deep down he longs for someone to love; judging by his reluctance to let Siena go in Season 1 and his jealousy upon seeing Kate with someone else^note Thomas Dorset in Season 2. In addition, the basic reason of it is also because, when he dies, he just doesn't want his future own family to go through the ''very'' same pain he and his mother had, following his father's passing; him became deeply traumatized and his mom fell into a great depression.
• Jealous Romantic Witness: In season 2 episode 5, Anthony glares jealously at Thomas Dorset and Kate for having fun on a boat (which he inadvertently set up earlier in episode 2 in order to court Edwina). He walks over and attempts to outshine Dorset by insisting on tying the boat and helping Kate. It doesn’t end well.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Anthony, clearly in a grumpy mood due to anxiety over Kate's accident, snaps at Colin for taking out a large sum of money from the family finances without asking. The other siblings jump to Colin's defence and act coldly towards Anthony as if he is being unreasonable. But... Anthony is absolutely right to be upset, not to mention Colin was about to give that money to a scam. Benedict defends him saying he's only 21, as if Anthony wasn't 19 when he took over the family finances.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Anthony can be arrogant, stubborn, temperamental, and overly picky (both with Daphne's suitors and later his own). He even gets called out by other characters for it. But it is shown time and time again that he genuinely loves his family and has good intentions. In season 2, though his relationship with Kate is laced with Snark-to-Snark Combat, he shows utmost concern when she is stung by a bee and unable to sleep in the midnight due to a thunderstorm until he eventually falls deeply in love with her.
• Kick the Dog: When he breaks things off with his mistress, Siena, he kicks her out of the house he's renting for her on the same day, rendering her homeless and desperately needing to find a new patron. When he's outraged to see her with a new man, she fires him back for expecting her to wait around for a nobleman who threw her out.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Absolutely no one is good enough for his sister Daphne. This scares away all sorts of interesting marriage prospects, leaving her in a difficult situation. When he catches her making out with Simon Basset, he calls for a duel between them in a misguided attempt to protect Daphne's honor. He even gets into a bloody fight with Simon upon sensing the trouble in his sister's marriage.
• Ladykiller in Love: In season 2, Anthony goes through a string of women in casual hook-ups as he tries to find a "suitable" match for his wife-to-be. Then he meets Kate, falls deeply in love with her and eventually admits to very much want a full life and future with her.
• Longing Look: He often steal glances at Kate, despite having to court Edwina.
• Love at First Sight: He is obviously smitten with Kate from the very first meeting. In the final episode of season 2, he finally admits it — "...from the moment we raced each other in that park" — and has loved her ever since.
• Love Hurts: Implied as one of the reasons why he initially refused to marry for love; because he witnessed how painfully devastated his mother was, upon losing her beloved husband tragically and by sudden. Later, his longtime mistress, Siena, unexpectedly dumped him for another man just as he was ready to go public with her. That's why, when Daphne confronts him about his true feelings (for Kate), he immediately fights it by impulsively proposing Edwina.
• Marry for Love: Averted in the beginning. Though he's rich enough to not care about dowries and marry a woman he genuinely loves, Anthony initially has no intention of doing so, openly stating his intent to choose a bride who meets his "list" of must-haves that he deems acceptable. He courts the seasons' diamond Edwina, who ticks all his boxes and whom he has no feelings for, making her "perfect" on paper. However, he unexpectedly finds himself drawn to her older sister, Kate, instead. And he ends up marrying Kate for love.
• Mortality Phobia: In the book, he believes he will die in his 30s like his father did. This is somewhat altered in the show – he has more of a general fear of love, loss, and leaving his loved ones behind. Still, there are allusions to his sense of mortality, such as the pocket watch he keeps and constantly checks.
  Anthony: I could never be the cause of such pain.
• Mr. Fanservice: The first season establishes Anthony as something of a rake, but focuses only on the sex scenes of him with his mistress, Siena. In the second season, where he is the romantic lead, his handsomeness and physique are given much more attention — he has several nude scenes and even the notable Sexy Soaked Shirt scene that made The Sharma sisters can't stop themselves from Eating the Eye Candy.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Anthony has high standards for his sister and shoots down every man she shows the faintest interest in. He's less than pleased when Daphne and his old friend Simon, whom he knows to be a rake, start taking a liking to each other.
• Not So Stoic: Anthony, who usually bottles up his emotions or saves them for when he thinks his family and peers aren't looking, can't help but burst into tears when his mother tells him Kate has woken up from her coma.
• Promotion to Parent: Because they are so much younger than him, Anthony is the only paternal figure his youngest siblings have ever known. Violet laments that Hyacinth (who was born after Edmund's death) never got to know her father, and second-youngest-child, Gregory, admits he does not remember him. In the final episode of season two, Anthony admits to Gregory that he has been lacking in this department.
• Race for Your Love: After the gazebo scene^note post-coital, Anthony rushes to propose to Kate upon waking up alone. He chases after her as she immediately rides on horse through the heavy rainstorm, but she falls and hits her head before he has a chance to talk to her.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Benedict's red.
• Rejected Marriage Proposal: Upon visiting Kate after she's awaken from coma, Anthony apologizes and immediately proposes to her, but she turns him down, thinking he does it out of obligation. Later, in the near-end, when he sincerely confesses his true feelings for her, she eventually accepts it.
• Starcrossed Lovers: In season 1, he thinks this is the case for himself and Siena, as despite being pressured to give her up, he could hardly let her go. Siena is far more sensible and realistic about their relationship that when she's finally had enough, she breaks up with him.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: His propensity for rash decision making might just be his Fatal Flaw. A lot of problems could be avoided if only he thought things through before rushing into them.
• Trauma Button: Since his father died from a bee sting, seeing a bee on Kate's shoulder and it stinging her is enough to give him an anxiety attack. Fortunately, she realizes what's happening and is able to calm him down.
• Trauma Conga Line: In a short time span when he was only 18/19, Anthony watched his father die, was parentified and thrust into the position of viscount with no time or space to grieve, nearly had to choose between his mother and baby sister's lives, all while taking on the baggage of his mother's human though no less upsetting reaction to loss.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: Season 2 episode 3 shows flashbacks of Anthony and his father hunting, his father's sudden death, and the aftermath, providing context for how it all shaped Anthony.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: As his father died by a bee sting (of which he was the primary witness too), he has a very strong fear/anxiety of bees.

Benedict

Benedict Bridgerton

"Is our dear sister still not ready?"

Played By: Luke Thompson

"Things may seem bleak now, Brother. But if I'm learning anything from my art studies, it's that it is almost always a matter of... perspective. I look at my art, and if I do not like what I see, I may always alter the color palette, but I certainly do not toss the entire design aside. Perhaps you, too, could do the same in your own life."

The second oldest of the Bridgerton siblings. He has a fondness for art and is trying to find his way.

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• Adaptational Personality Change: Benedict is a far more comedic and fun-loving thus far in the show than his book iteration. He also isn't as concerned with societal expectations.
• Big Brother Instinct: Shares a particularly close bond with his sister Eloise, who, like him, chafes at the expectations of their lives in society.
• Bourgeois Bohemian: He's a rich viscount's brother who increasingly embraces his time spent in the company of freewheeling bohemian artists who range from titled nobility to the working class.
• Idle Rich: Has very little to do in life, as a second son, and eventually takes up art as a hobby.
• Mr. Fanservice: In the near-end of episode 5 season 2, he is seen fully-nude when about to have sex with his art model, Tessa.
• Nice Guy: More easy-going and sensitive than his prickly older brother, and quietly provides support to Anthony, Eloise and Colin.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: In his first interaction with Henry, Benedict rags on a painting they're looking at, not realizing that Henry painted it. He's mortified when he realizes, but Henry thinks it's Actually Pretty Funny.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The emotional, artistic red to his brother Anthony's businesslike blue.
• Spare to the Throne: As Anthony points out, he can afford to slack on wife-choosing and heir-siring because he has three brothers who can inherit the title of Lord Bridgerton. Second son Benedict is feeling a little lost and turns to art, so he's a little taken aback when Anthony challenges Simon to a duel, because Anthony will either die or be forced to flee the country, meaning Benedict have to step up to the plate.
  • In season 2 after the failed wedding, Anthony toys with abdicating, suggesting his brothers could pass on the title instead. He visits Benedict to discuss this, but gives up when he finds him partying and intoxicated.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Receives this from Anthony after dropping out of art school upon learning a donation helped secure his place.
  Benedict: I know about your donation, brother. You were trying to help in your own misguided way, perhaps because you sensed the truth, which is that I am simply not good enough.
  Anthony: Stop, you're beginning to sound like me. If you want to paint, paint! It is one of your many talents. Chief among them, your natural gift for seeing what others need, even when they cannot see it themselves. It is a gift that has taken me far too long to recognise, but I would not have done if it were not for you.

Colin

Colin Bridgerton

Played By: Luke Newton

"I know you must think me a fool, but my heart pays no heed to mere logic."

The third oldest of the Bridgerton siblings, a kind and naive young man oblivious to the affections of Penelope Featherington.

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• Adaptational Dumbass: Book Colin is socially aware, a matchmaker of sorts, and gives his siblings sound advice — he is only lost and clueless when it comes to his own life. However in the show, he is more generally oblivious, plus he nearly falls for at least two scams.
• Adaptational Personality Change: In the books, Colin has a cheeky and charming persona to hide his insecurities and feelings of being lost. In the show, he doesn't have this persona, especially not in season 2, making him seem more dour than his book counterpart. In addition, his comment about never wanting to court Penelope doesn't come across as badly in the books as he only says it to get his brothers off his back rather than a group of young bachelors.
• Big Brother Instinct: He views his actions towards Penelope as this. As shown when he asks her to dance and defending her from the snobby girls.
• The Casanova: Is said to have flirted with "half the girls in London". This is why his mother doesn't believe it at first when he proposes to Marina.
• Hidden Depths: Is quite a talented singer, as the final episode of the first season shows.
• Horrible Judge of Character:
  • He's first blind to Marina's manipulative behavior, but once the truth is out, he breaks it off with her.
  • Then he trusts Lord Featherington in season 2 enough to almost invest in his ruby mines. He only investigates and finds the rubies to be fake by shattering them when told outright by Will Mondrich that this man cannot be trusted.
• Idle Rich: He spends a lot of time traveling and trying to find himself.
  Colin: Anthony is to be married. Benedict has his artistic pursuits. And well, here I am... feeding the ducks.
• I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: This is why he doesn't want to marry Penelope, as season 2 reveals. He says that Penelope's friendship is too valuable for him, because she inspires him to do better every day. She believes he is a great person, and that means he must behave as the gentleman she envisions. If she became a Bridgerton, he's worried that the duties of being a wife and mother would strain the special bond they have. This would be fine if it were the twentieth century, but in this time period? Penelope treats it as a rejection.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Right as Penelope is about to confess her love for him, he proudly tells her he's going on tour, unintentionally breaking her heart.
  • He tells her in season 2 that she doesn't count as a woman to him because she is his friend, which is not as complimentary as he might have thought it would sound.
• Like Brother and Sister: He views Penelope similarly to how he does his actual little sister Eloise, which is lampshaded by Marina.
• Money Dumb: He almost invests a large sum of money he took from the family finances without asking in the Featheringtons' ruby scam, before being warned about it by Mondrich.
• Nice Guy: He's the sweetest guy you could ever hope to meet. Marina grows to genuinely like him because of this.
• Oblivious to Love: Penelope Featherington is madly in love with him. He has absolutely no idea.

Daphne

Daphne Basset (née Bridgerton), Duchess of Hastings

"You have no idea what it is to have one's entire life reduced to a single moment."

Played By: Phoebe Dynevor

"You can choose to be happy. To follow the desires of your heart instead of pushing away any feeling that comes to the surface. It should not be a luxury, but a right to choose, to fight for the family that you want."

The fourth oldest of the Bridgerton siblings, and the oldest daughter, Daphne is a proper Regency lady in training. At the start of the show, she has just debuted in society and is looking to find a good match.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Book Daphne is far from ugly — none of the Bridgertons are — but Simon initially describes her as an unconventional beauty. This Daphne is the very image of the Regency belle, and is acknowledged as such by everyone around her.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: In the books, all of the Bridgerton siblings have brown hair. In the show, Daphne's hair is redder and lighter, more of a strawberry blonde.
• Affectionate Nickname: Her siblings occasionally call her "Daph".
• Age Lift: Daphne is on her third season in The Duke and I, making her 21. In the show, she's a debutante, which, unless she was held back, would imply she's about 18 in season 1.
• Betty and Veronica: Daphne is the Archie to Friedrich's Betty and Simon's Veronica. Also strawberry blonde, for good measure.
• City Mouse: She's a Sheltered Aristocrat who is used to high society. She unintentionally offends the duchy villagers when she first arrives, although she manages to fix it.
• Cool Big Sis: She tries to be the wiser older confidante to her younger sister Eloise.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: More like “dating what brother hates,” as her eldest brother Anthony has had to take on the formal "paternal" role when it comes to negotiating Daphne’s future marriage, so he's not happy when the rakish Simon seems to have captivated her attentions.
• The Determinator: She remains professional and in good control of her emotions, even when her wedded life is in jeopardy. As she's about to give up on her marriage, her mother advises her to just forgive her husband by bringing up the ups and downs of her marriage with Daphne's late father. Later, she complies to her mother and tries her best convincing her husband, Simon, that she loves every part of him, including his flaws and scars. Then, her determination's got paid off with him finally comes back to her and decides to spend the rest of his life with her.
• Did You Think I Can't Feel?: She calls Eloise out on this when the latter tells her that her problems aren't valid.
• Dude Magnet: Almost immediately after formally entering society, she’s overwhelmed with an onslaught of suitors - although her brother chases most of them off.
• English Rose: Beautiful and proper English girl, with a sweet personality and impeccable manners. She is even declared the "Incomparable" of the season.
• Fallen Princess: Fears becoming this after Cressida reveals that she saw Daphne and Simon kissing alone in the gardens, so she maneuvers a marriage to save her reputation.
• Flower Motif: White rose. Simon gives her a white rose when discussing about intimacy. When she and Simon make out in the garden, they're surrounded by white rose bushes. In the near end of the final episode, when she and Simon dance and their ball is interrupted by the rain, there's a brief shot of rain pouring onto the white roses decorations in their estate.
• Gorgeous Period Dress: As with all the women of the show, Daphne’s gowns and jewels are exquisitely detailed and beautiful.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Daphne is a strawberry blonde and a very nice person.
• Happily Married: By the end of Season 1, Daphne and Simon work through their issues and have settled into a happy and loving marriage. Although Simon remains offscreen for season 2, Daphne mentions their continued married life and how they're still very much in love and happy together.
• Informed Attractiveness: She is specifically stated to be one of the season's most beautiful young ladies.
• The Ingenue: Daphne is a beautiful and innocent young woman who has just debuted in society. She knows very little about romance and sex — to where it actually causes the bulk of her marital issues during season 1.
• Marry for Love: The rich and beautiful Daphne has no shortage of suitors but forgoes accepting a proposal for a while because she has seen her parents' successful match and wants to marry someone she has a genuine connection with. Besides Simon, that is.
• Ms. Fanservice: Not as frontal as her husband, Simon, but she's visibly fully nude in some of their sex scenes.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Despite not being the physical type, the slender Daphne punches Nigel in the face so hard that he is knocked unconscious. Justified, being part of a Massive Numbered Siblings and having older brothers. Anyone part of such a rowdy environment will end up learning to throw a mean punch or land a good kick.
• Miss Conception: The fact that she knows absolutely nothing about sex and conception becomes an important plot point.
• Naïve Newcomer: While she has been prepared for the season, she has absolutely no knowledge of sex and the like.
• Nice Girl: She's always nice to everyone, and tries to help Marina after her pregnancy becomes common knowledge.
• Proper Lady: Daphne is the daughter of a viscount and is elegant, well-dressed, polite, and accomplished in typical upper-class pursuits. She wholeheartedly embraces the Regency ideal of being a wife and mother and works to this end, although she doesn't appreciate other people deciding her fate for her.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to her sister, Eloise's, as well as to her husband, Simon's, red.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: The daughter of a viscount. She has not engaged much with the lower echelons of society and is woefully naive about sex. She and Anthony even get an extended scene where they try and fail to light a stove.
• Shipper on Deck: Lady Danbury and Violet also suspect attraction between Kate and Anthony at the country estate, but Daphne is the only married woman to go to bat for the pairing: she notices that Anthony isn't as enthused by Edwina as he should be, and that Kate's wit is a match for his, and tries multiple times to make her brother acknowledge this. Her speech to Anthony about the feelings love and marriage should evoke implies that she sees what she and Simon have in Kate and Anthony.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Daphne may exhibit all the traits of a proper young lady, but she also doesn’t hesitate to punch an unwanted suitor when he makes unwanted advances and stands firm in her insistence on marrying as she chooses, not according to her brother’s demands.
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: According to Eloise, Daphne will draw the ire of all the other young ladies after being declared the Incomparable. Indeed, Cressida Cowper is eager to see Daphne fail.
  Daphne: Trust I was astonished Her Majesty offered me, out of two hundred young ladies present, a most gracious remark.
  Eloise: Yes, it was quite a distinction. And now two hundred young ladies have a common adversary. I wish you luck, Sister.
• True Blue Femininity: Daphne wears quite a lot of blue, mostly in pale pastel shades. She works hard to be the ideal Regency lady.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After feeling justifiably betrayed by Simon taking advantage of her ignorance of the details of reproduction to keep up his refusal to have children, she deliberately stops him from pulling out the next time they have sex, which Simon rightfully calls her out for.

Eloise

Eloise Bridgerton

Played By: Claudia Jessie

"Why would a woman want to draw more notice to the fact she's like a bird squawking for a man's attention in some bizarre ritual?"

The fifth of the Bridgerton siblings, an inquisitive girl who is not interested in being a lady.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Her siblings sometimes call her "El".
• Big Brother Worship: She tells Benedict that he is her favorite brother.
• Broken Pedestal: Unbeknownst to Eloise, who believes Lady Whistledown to be the accomplished and independent writer she dreams of being, Whistledown is actually her friend and fellow lady of the ton, Penelope. When she finds out the truth, she ends her friendship with Pen over the exposés she published about her and Marina.
• Childish Bangs: In season 1, to emphasize her awkwardness and inexperience in society compared to Daphne, and also to make Claudia Jessie look younger. They have grown out to a more flattering length by the time she debuts in season 2.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: Benedict finds her smoking, and they bond about their similar aspirations in life.
• Deadpan Snarker: She often communicates in snark, reaching Snark Knight levels at times.
• Endearingly Dorky: Charlotte finds Eloise endearing for this reason. Eloise simply is not comfortable in social situations where she has to present her best self, running to find Penelope and lying that her dance card is full. She's amused when a nervous Eloise makes a remark about preferring emeralds to diamonds and saying the previous season was "Diamond-y". While she suspects that Eloise may be Lady Whistledown, she seems relieved on finding out it wasn't true after Penelope publishes a potential scandal to get the heat off Eloise.
• Freudian Excuse: It's implied that a major cause of her fear of marriage and parenthood is that she was traumatised by her mother nearly dying giving birth to Hyacinth, mere months after the death of her father.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: More or less by 1813 standards, she definitely qualifies as this, having aspirations to be more than just a housewife and proper lady, which was taboo for the time.
• Goal in Life: She dreams of going to university, and doesn't wish to become a housewife.
• The Ingenue: As is typical for a high-society girl in Regency England, Eloise is completely and utterly naive about sex and pregnancy other than the fact that the latter happens as a result of marriage. When Penelope informs her that she knows of a woman who is pregnant but not married, Eloise becomes terrified of it striking her out of the blue like a common cold.
• Innocently Insensitive: While she has understandable frustrations with the limits placed on her due to her gender, Eloise is still from a very wealthy family and more privileged than she realizes. Her dreams of attending university ^note Although, in real-life 1813, there were no British universities that accepted female students. and having a career as a writer are themselves already beyond what most of her family's servants could ever aspire to. She rummages through the housemaid's room and demands to know if she is Lady Whistledown; the maid laughs at Eloise's entitlement and assumption that working-class people would have the time or resources for such an activity.
• Interclass Friendship: Bonds with working-class printer's assistant Theo in Season 2.
• It's All About Me: One of her flaws in addition to her lack of awareness of her own privilege. Eloise shows little care for what's going on in her family and friend's lives, between never asking Penelope about herself and sneaking off during her brother's non-wedding to meet a boy.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eloise disparages her older sister for caring so much about her season and desperately wanting to find marriage from an eligible bachelor. But, when Lord Berbrooke nearly blackmails Daphne into marriage, Eloise is visibly horrified and in near tears for her. She later comes to her after Berbrooke's blackmail is resolved and admits, in her gruff way, that she's glad the problem worked out as she wants her sister to be happy.
• Kid Detective: She's a teenager who tasks herself with uncovering Lady Whistledown's identity. Deconstructed: no matter how spunky and driven, a sheltered teenager with delusions of being a detective is hardly going to get any results. She is largely unsuccessful, so the Queen resorts to the Bow Street Runners (London's proto-police force).
• Maternally Challenged: Mildly. Eloise has absolutely no interest in her baby nephew Augie; when Violet passes her the baby, Eloise holds him under his armpits, keeping him at arm's length with a look of utter terror on her face. Much to her relief, Colin quickly takes the baby from her when it, predictably, starts to wail.
• Middle Child Syndrome: The fifth of eight kids and the second of four daughters. Eloise is the most rebellious of the siblings; she wants to go to university instead of getting married, and hates the expectations put on her.
• Not Like Other Girls: Not being like the ton's other marriage-minded young misses is a point of pride for her: she doesn't want to get married and prefers studying. While it makes her progressive to the modern viewer, it also makes her unable to relate to other women her age (besides her best friend Penelope) and puts her at a disadvantage in a patriarchal society. It's also a wedge in her relationship with Penelope, who has a young man she wants to marry and enjoys high society in a way Eloise does not, despite being a wallflower.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Daphne's blue.
• Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: Eloise is a rich viscount's daughter who grew up rebellious. In the second season, she becomes interested in women's rights and even attends an underground gathering. Throughout the season, she derides the lack of agency women have in her social class. Penelope later lambasts her for only talking about change and failing to take real action, while hating Penelope herself for triggering changes (albeit negative or positive) as Lady Whistledown.
• She's All Grown Up: Subverted. While Violet certainly thinks that Eloise looks stunning when it's her season, her siblings try not to laugh when she has to wear a large feathered headdress as all the debutantes are ordered to wear in the queen's presence. Eloise herself thinks she looks ridiculous and wonders if she can find a way to get out of it. Her later outfits are nicer, but she still looks more like a kid than a Proper Lady — and Eloise is well-aware of it.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: She's rather unaware about her privilege as a rich viscount's sister. She assumes the servants have time to be Lady Whistledown and is blissfully naive about the potential consequences of continuing to visit Theo at a print shop in the poor part of town, which even Penelope tries to dissuade her from doing. He comments that if London thinks they're having an affair, Eloise is at least protected by her social class. However, due to being low class, he isn't.
• Soapbox Sadie: A Reconstruction as between the seasons, she confronts this about herself. She spends much of her time criticising the system from the comfort of the sofa, and she has a tendency to interject any situation with her snarky commentary. But through Theo, she decides to engage in feminist reading from the likes of Mary Wollstonecraft and attends a meeting, to expand her mind and understand the world beyond her privilege. It's one of the reasons why she's mad at Penelope for exposing her — Theo challenged her worldview and encouraged her interests.
• Spirited Young Lady: She's a young woman from a wealthy family who dislikes societal functions. She's not interested in marrying; she prefers reading books, dreaming of attending university, writing in her diary, and investigating the identity of the mysterious Lady Whistledown as opposed to doing more proper things.
• Successful Sibling Syndrome: After Daphne marries Simon, who's a duke, the pressure is on for Eloise to come out. She hates high society events and dodges any attempts to find a husband. But she also admits this is partially due to how deeply uncomfortable she is knowing everyone is comparing her to her "perfect" sister. She also admits she feels like a disappointment to her mother.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Bless her heart, but Eloise thinks she's the Spirited Young Lady that is bound to find more purpose in life by either finding Lady Whistledown's identity, writing, or breaking convention and going to university — like the heroes in the books she reads. She doesn't know she's a in a romance series (and will end up married, assuming the show sticks to the books). There are some hints that she uses this as a coping mechanism to deal with her sheer terror about childbirth and how Hyacinth's delivery nearly killed their mother, as she admits to Daphne in private. Season 2 has her deal with the Surprisingly Realistic Outcome that she can't get out of her season and must adapt to the life she's been forced into.

Francesca

Francesca Bridgerton

^{Click here to see young Francesca}

Played By: Ruby Stokes (seasons 1–2), Hannah Dodd (season 3–)

The sixth of the Bridgerton siblings. She only appears in a couple of episodes in the first two seasons.

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• Living Prop: Appears very sparingly in the first two seasons, and does so only to fill out the family.
• Mellow Fellow: Despite her reserved nature, she is described as pragmatic and goes with the flow when it comes to societal functions.

Gregory

Gregory Bridgerton

Played By: Will Tilston

The seventh of the Bridgerton siblings, a young boy.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: Particularly to his sisters, especially Hyacinth. At one point he even steals a piece of cake off of Anthony's plate while the Viscount is reading the newspaper.
• The Baby of the Bunch: He's a child and treated as such. He and Hyacinth often act as a pair, doing childlike things like playing with marbles.

Hyacinth

Hyacinth Bridgerton

Played By: Florence Hunt

"I feel like a princess. Do I look like one?"

The eighth and youngest of the Bridgerton siblings, a young girl.

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• The Baby of the Bunch: A child and treated as such. She and Gregory often act in tandem as the two youngest of the family.
• Big Little Sister: Is taller than her older brother Gregory, which she lords over him.
• Gender-Blender Name: The name Hyacinth is a traditional male name (at least in the original Greek), but here it is a girl’s name even though it has a feminine counterpart Hyacintha.
• Meaningful Name: She is named Hyacinth after the flowers her father was picking when he died. It just happened to fit with the Alphabetical Theme Naming of her family.
• Someone to Remember Him By: Played With, in that she has seven older siblings and her mother didn't need any more to remind her of her husband, but Hyacinth was born after her father had already died. Season two reveals that Violet was deeply shaken by her husband's sudden death, even wishing that she had died in childbirth so she could be with Edmund instead of having to parent a new baby.

Violet

Violet Bridgerton (née Ledger), Lady Bridgerton (Regency Era)

Played By: Ruth Gemmell

"You must simply marry the man who feels like your dearest friend."

The Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton, and matriarch of the Bridgerton family.

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• Calling the Old Man Out:
  • Daphne calls her out in season one over not actually explaining how sex works and not properly preparing her for married life or giving her a realistic idea about conception.
  • Anthony calls her out in the second season over how she behaved after Edmund's death. Her near catatonic depression left Anthony, who had also just watched his father die and then had all the duties of being head of household immediately pushed onto him, completely alone to deal with it all, leading to his current attitudes toward love and familial duty. Not to mention she dumped her emotional baggage on him, forcing him to push aside his own grief.
• Heroic BSoD: Her reaction to losing her husband.
• The Lost Lenore: Her husband Edmund was her great love, and he died a few years before the start of the series.
• Mama Bear: As much as she can be, given that she knows full well she will have to marry off her daughters at some point. However, in her limited scope of authority and influence, she is quite cunning and surprisingly ruthless.
• The Mourning After: Violet was deeply in love with the late Lord Bridgerton and never fully recovered from his death. However, in Queen Charlotte, she confesses her desire to find love again.
• Nice to the Waiter: She treats her household servants very well and the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson, is as much a friend and confidant as their societal differences will allow. This also has pragmatic undertones; Violet is keenly aware of how omnipresent servants are and how they hear, see and know everything whilst going completely unnoticed, so if they're treated well then they'll have little reason to spread their employer's secrets. She exploits this ruthlessly to get rid of Lord Berbrooke by inviting his mother over for tea, then has her servants pump the woman's ladies maid for information.
• Parents as People: No doubt she loves her children and wants the best for them. There's nothing to suggest she would willingly hurt them, but some of her actions (or lack thereof) cause harm. Her flaws as a mother are especially apparent with Daphne, Anthony, and Eloise. However, she does try to improve and make amends once they finally open up to her.
• Proper Lady: She is the perfect picture of a high society mother. She wisely presides over her large brood and estate and is well-versed in the feminine arts. Her eldest daughter Daphne takes after her in this regard; Violet notes she's trained Daphne well for husband-hunting and becoming a wife and mother.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Lady Danbury's red.
• Shipper on Deck: She is very excited at the prospect of Daphne marrying Simon and works to make it happen.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Don't mistake her impeccable manners and kind nature for weakness. It's her shrewd understanding of London social life (namely that if you want to know someone's deepest secrets, you ask the help) that allows her to send Lord Berbrooke scuttling away forever in a day.

Violet Bridgerton (Young)

Played By: Connie Jenkins-Greig

"What is unnatural about our society?"

At the time of Queen Charlotte's coronation, Violet was the precocious young daughter of Lord and Lady Ledger, not yet out in society.

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• Adorably Precocious Child: When her mother snippily says that the newly elevated members of the ton may have money but they aren't the same as the original aristocracy, Violet innocently points out that they received their titles and land from the king, just as all the old aristocratic families did back in the day. She also says that the new male nobles are gentlemen, since her father defines a gentleman as 'a well-educated man of good family', and several of them went to excellent schools and universities!
• Daddy's Girl: It's clear that she adored her father and he doted on her in turn.
• Nice Girl: Preteen Violet was sweet, polite, and progressive for a Georgian noblewoman, blithely asking why her mother was so against people of color becoming societal equals.

Edmund

Edmund Bridgerton, Viscount Bridgerton

Played By: Rupert Evans

The previous viscount, a good husband and father deeply missed by his family. He died suddenly about a decade prior to the start of the show.

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• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Edmund Bridgerton died from being stung by a bee as he and Anthony were collecting flowers, suffering an allergic reaction. He went into anaphylactic shock, as his wife and son were powerless to help him. The only thing a distraught Violet could do was hold her beloved husband as he died.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: His cause of death is the same (bee sting), but in the show continuity it's Anthony, not Eloise, who witnesses it. This adds further context to Anthony's trauma and his business-like attitude to finding a wife.
• Family Man: He was a loving husband and father that his wife and children remember him fondly.
• Good Parents: By all accounts a good father and lord, and a caring and loving husband to Violet. Before his death he had taken Anthony hunting.
• One True Love: He is the love of Violet's life, so much so that Violet claims that he is the air that she breathes.

Other Families

The Bassets

Simon

Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings

Played By: Regé-Jean Page

"If I were truly courting you, I would not need flowers, only five minutes alone with you in a drawing room."

The dashing Duke of Hastings, an eligible bachelor with a dark past. He's an old friend of Anthony's and strikes up a fake courtship with Daphne.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: Show-Simon is more approachable and social, despite still snarky, while book-Simon is more mysterious, aloof and closed-off. When his wife, Daphne, decides to no longer sleep with him after discovering his lies about his ability to have children, show-Simon just complies while book-Simon threatens her with sexual assault claiming that he "owns" her.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: With Daphne. She turns down the pleasant, angst-free Prince for him.
• Berserk Button: When Nigel taunts him by bringing up his father, he punches Nigel until he's heavily wounded.
• Best Friends-in-Law: With Anthony, although it was a rocky start. They start out as best friends, Anthony disapproves of his relationship with Daphne, Simon and Daphne marry, and Anthony and Simon reconcile by the season's end.
• Betty and Veronica: He's the Tall, Dark, and Snarky, Byronic Veronica to Friedrich's Betty for Daphne's Archie.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: With Daphne. He's the Tall, Dark, and Handsome duke with daddy issues and no desire to marry; she's the kind, sweet, and naive young lady who proves more than a match for him.
• Cannot Spit It Out: In the fourth episode, when he approaches the overwhelmed Daphne after Prince Friedrich talks about marriage while dancing with her, he tells her that he's leaving London (it's obvious that he is reluctant as he's already head over heels with her). When Daphne tells him to just leave, he gets tongue-tied. Having enough of his seemingly ignorance, she storms off to the garden. Despite initially hesitant, he decides to chase after her. When he finally catches her hand and she complies to stop walking, instead of confessing his feelings for her, he immediately kisses her.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His mother died shortly after giving birth to him and his father was emotionally abusive. He grew up alone in their country castle.
• Deconfirmed Bachelor: Despite being a highly desirable bachelor, Simon is determined not to marry as he wants his abusive father's line to end with him. Nevertheless, he falls for Daphne and they end up married.
• Defrosting Ice King: After Daphne finds out the main reason that made him vow to never have children, she tries her best convincing him that she loves all of him, including his scars. Touched by her determination, he eventually comes to his senses followed by admitting that he wants to be with her.
• Disproportionate Retribution: He vows to never have children not only to his father, but throwing it as well to his clueless wife. Later, he takes it back.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Refuses to answer to "Hastings," his title, since it reminds him of his father.
• Doting Parent: Daphne reveals that he has been spoiling the Hastings baby rotten and doting on them so Daphne can visit her family. Not bad for a man that vowed to never have children.
• Friend to All Children: He is very good with kids, and both Gregory and Hyacinth like him.
• Gentleman Snarker:
  Berbrooke: [to Anthony] I have long admired [Daphne] for her beauty, for her grace -
  Hastings: - for her powerful right hook?
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Practices boxing (pre-Queensberry rules) with his working-class friend Will.
• Happily Married: Once they get through their issues he and Daphne are very happy together. They still are in season two, though he remains (offscreen) at Clyvedon with their son while she goes to London to help deal with Anthony's courting problems.
• Hates Their Parent: He loathed his father so much so that it affects his wedded life badly.
• I Gave My Word: He refuses to go back on his vow to end his line even though it costs him happiness with his beloved wife. It gets better.
• It's Not You, It's Me: Simon initially refused to marry Daphne, because he knew she must’ve wanted children of her own. Later he "confesses" to her to be unable to give her children that she assumes he’s sterile (when in fact he does NOT want to). And because he is still torn between his spiteful vow to his father and his love for her. He eventually gets over it by choosing the latter.
• Jealous Romantic Witness: In the ending of season 1 episode 3, as he watches Daphne courted by and dancing with Prince Friedrich, he glares jealously at them so much that he immediately leaves as he couldn’t take it. On the next episode, while cheering for Mondrich in a boxing match, he couldn't help but staring at Daphne sitting and courting Prince Friedrich.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Judging by Daphne's talk about him in season 2, he is proven to be far better than his abusive deceased father.
• Mr. Fanservice: The show gives a lot of focus to his good looks and toned physique. It's obvious in most of the sex scenes, particularly the honeymoon ones.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: He is the roguish to Prince Friedrich's noble for Daphne.
• Parental Abandonment: Simon grew up alone in the country castle, after his father chased him away, ashamed of having an imperfect child/heir.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Normally, taunting a man on his death bed is not particularly gentlemanly and is quite a Kick the Dog moment...but Simon had every right to gleefully lord to his dying and disgustingly abusive father the fact that everything he did was All for Nothing. When his father (who horribly abused and disowned him for his stutter) is on his deathbed, Simon visits to tell him that he plans to never marry, and the Hastings line will end with him, essentially completely and gleefully ruining all his plans. When his father moans, too weak to speak or protest, Simon taunts him with "Speak up, you fucking monster!"
• Put on a Bus: In the second season, Daphne is visiting London for her family's courtship dilemmas, and explains that Simon is taking care of their estate and child back home.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to his wife, Daphne's, blue.
• Reformed Rake: Has a reputation as a rake and is seen with other women, but once he sets his eyes on Daphne there's only her.
• Sex with the Ex: His and Daphne's brief estrangement doesn't stop them from getting hot and heavy in between the awkward moments.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: He seems to be composed and aloof as if emotionless, but as Daphne gets to know more about him, he turns out to be a fragile person who is still struggling to deal with his bitter childhood trauma.
• Speech Impediment: Simon couldn't speak until he was four years old and he had a stutter, which his father disowned him for. He was subsequently raised by Lady Danbury, who helped him overcome his stutter.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: An archetypal example. The actor, Regé-Jean Page, is black and almost six feet tall; and his character, Simon, is a rich, handsome, and brooding duke. He is the love interest for the first season's heroine, Daphne.
• Troubled, but Cute: Simon is a rich and handsome young noble who is hiding serious daddy issues that impact his ability to be a good husband.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He was this when younger, trying to make his abusive and distant father proud of him. By the time the old man was in his deathbed, he had completely grown out of it.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Daphne tells him this after the final ball of the season once she finds out why he doesn't want to have children. It worked.

The Duke and Duchess of Hastings

The Duke and Duchess of Hastings

Played By: Richard Pepple (Duke) and Daphne Di Cinto (Duchess)

Simon's deceased parents.

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• Abusive Parents: Simon's father was a perfectionist who was obsessed with his legacy and continuing the Hastings name. He disowned Simon for having a speech impediment as a child, causing Simon a lifetime of emotional issues. Daphne surmises that Simon doesn't think he deserves love unless he's perfect.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Simon's mother was by all accounts a lovely woman and an excellent duchess. Naturally, she died in childbirth and Simon was left to be raised by his abusive father. While he is also dead, it happened a short time before the start of the story and is why Simon is back in town.
• Death by Childbirth: Simon's mother died after giving birth to him, as shown in a flashback at the beginning of the second episode.
• Gone Horribly Right: The Duke's horrible treatment of his son did inadvertently give Simon the resolve to overcome his speech impediment; but by the time the Duke's on his deathbed Simon hates his father so much he swears he'll never marry or have children, and the Hastings line will end with him.
• Hate Sink: There is absolutely nothing redeeming about Simon's father. From dismissing his wife's death in childbirth so long as he gains an heir, to cruelly disowning him over a speech impediment, to later telling him he is nothing but a "mistake" like his mother was. As much trouble as it causes for him later in life, you can't help but smile as Simon makes sure the last thing the "fucking monster" hears is that his lifelong cruelty and obsession with his legacy will be for nothing, since his son will never sire an heir.
• Missing Mom: His mother, due to her Death by Childbirth.

The Featheringtons

General

• Alliterative Family: The Featherington sisters, Prudence, Philippa, and Penelope. Their mother is Portia.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The Featherington's wear bright saturated colours in shades of orange, yellow, green and pink, showing their bolder more flashy personalities in comparison to the Bridgertons.
• Consistent Clothing Style: The Featherington women's aforementioned dresses of bright floral patterns in pink, green, orange and yellow.
• Dowry Dilemma: The Featheringtons have no money for a dowry for any of the daughters, or Marina, because of Lord Featherington's gambling.
• Flower Motifs: All of the Featherington women wear brightly colored flower print dresses. They don't have a single signature flower, rather favoring pink, yellows and greens like pink lilies, peony and chrysanthemums.
• Impoverished Patrician: They're a baronial family but are in deep debt due to Lord Featherington's gambling.
• Redheads Are Uncool: They are treated as uncouth pariahs for most of Season 1, and all the women have dark red hair.

Archibald

Archibald, Baron Featherington

Played By: Ben Miller

The aloof and disinterested patriarch of the Featheringtons. He's unusually unconcerned with his daughters' formal coming out into society.

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• The Gambling Addict: Lord Featherington's gambling habit puts his family in dire financial straits.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: His blatant behaviour during the boxing match clues the bookies that he's rigged the fight, and leads to his death.
• Inelegant Blubbering: When confronted by his wife about his gambling debts, he collapses into sobbing and blubbering.
• Mock Millionaire: Episode 4 reveals that Archibald is heavily into gambling, including with the girls' dowries, and that, beneath their veneer of grand success, the family is teetering on the brink of absolute financial ruin.
• Too Dumb to Live: He might as well be waving a sign saying "I Have Fixed This Fight" when he makes a huge wager on Will's opponent... to men who will clearly kill him if they think he's conned them.

Portia

Lady Portia Featherington

Played By: Polly Walker

"Now, remember to be kind, ladies, and charitable. The poor are our burden."

The controlling and somewhat unscrupulous matriarch of the Featheringtons. Insists on her daughters' theme clothing, and is highly protective against threats and proactive during their debut.

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• Anti-Education Mama: She is utterly opposed to her daughters putting effort into anything that does not directly relate to attracting suitors. She outright tells Penelope to stop reading lest it "confuse your thoughts". But, at the same time, her girls are considerably less polished than the Bridgerton daughters, implying that she has not put as much emphasis on formal deportment training either.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Though she's incredibly angry at Marina once her pregnancy is revealed (locking her in her room, yelling at her) most of her actions regarding marrying her off to anyone of standing come across as this considering otherwise she and her child would be dishonored, destitute, and all alone in the world, not to mention the fact that their association with her would ruin her own daughters' reputations.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be stern, demanding and even occasionally a little cruel with her daughters but she does love them and engineers "Cousin" Jack's downfall to protect them.
• Mama Bear: She orchestrated Jack to be the Fall Guy in their scheme and send him packing because his presence and actions threatened her daughters, and she would not have that.
• The Matchmaker: She's attempting to be one to her daughters, and far more urgently and specifically to Marina.
• My Beloved Smother: Insists on her daughters wearing floral dresses and even color coding them. She's extremely stern when it comes to husband-hunting and very proactive in getting Marina a marriage.
• Pet the Dog: When asked by Marina how she could stand 22 years of a loveless marriage, she explains she took the little joys, and the big ones, and found a way to make it enough. She also compliments Marina for being strong, and says she thinks she'll be alright.
• Villainous Parental Instinct: Portia was gladly scamming people, including her apparently closest friends. But, when she found out that Jack had no genuine feelings for her daughters whatsoever, she backstabs and frames him in order to ensure her daughters' security.

Penelope

Penelope Featherington

"You merely believed yourself in love. One should never apologize for that. One finds oneself in such an incredible position, and well, one should declare it, assuredly, fervently, loudly."

Played By: Nicola Coughlan

"When you are invisible, you have all the amusement you want without any of the expectations popularity brings. It frees you."

The ignored Featherington, fast friends with Eloise, and holds a deep abiding crush on Colin. She's far smarter and more observant than given credit for, and willing to put her values over seeming propriety.

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• Adaptational Villainy: In the books, Lady Whistledown is treated as basically harmless, and several characters are gleeful at the prospect of appearing in her column; however, her actions in the show (particularly regarding Marina) prove that a professional gossip columnist can cause serious harm. Her book version mostly comments on fashion and gossip she's overheard, rather than leaking personal information she was trusted with.
• The Baby of the Bunch: She's the youngest Featherington, and even she thinks she's a bit young to be out in society, especially since her older sisters are as of yet unmarried. (The similarly-aged Eloise is not expected to be out until Daphne is married.) While at the park, she asks her mother if she can "go play with Eloise," only amending it to "promenade for suitors with Eloise" when her mother berates her.
• Big Beautiful Woman: While notably chunkier than her older sisters, Penelope is nonetheless the prettiest of them. She also tends to manage to carry off the gaudy fashions her mother forces her to wear better than her sisters do.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She is definitely comes across as the nicest of the Featheringtons and is at least initially and outwardly sweet to Marina. It could be argued she has good intentions and only acts out when cornered, but her actions as Lady Whistledown cause a lot of trouble, and could've ruined Marina's life as well as her own. She also causes a lot of trouble for Daphne, which does not happen in the books. She even throws Eloise, her best friend, under the bus.
• The Chessmaster: Lady Whistledown gives Penelope a great deal of power over over the ton as she can (and does) alter people's reputations at the stroke of a pen, for better or worse. She can use this power without facing direct repercussions so long as she does not get caught.
• Didn't Think This Through: Unlike her mother, who understands the social ramifications of Marina's pregnancy being outed, Penelope is only concerned with saving Colin from a deceitful marriage for his sake and Secretly Selfish motives. She realizes belatedly that throwing your own family and new ward-sister under the bus means that Marina would do anything to abort the baby, including drinking poisonous tea, and she nearly dies as a result.
• The Dog Bites Back: After hearing her mother and Marina's plan to marry Marina to Colin under false pretenses, she's horrified and finds proof that Marina's original love didn't break up with her. When Marina then uses Brutal Honesty to lay out why she's not going to stop, and how Penelope's unrequited love is foolish, she's heartbroken. The "bite back" comes in the form of Lady Whistledown exposing the entire scheme, ending the engagement and shaming her entire family, all to save Colin.
• Dramatic Irony: Penelope, who is The Un-Favourite has made a huge amount of money as Lady Whistledown and as such could solve all her family's finanical problems without her mother having to resort to conning several families. However, since her mother tries to conceal how badly damaged the family finances are over the course of season 2, Penelope also never realizes that her family might need her money in order to keep their standing in society.
• False Friend: In season 2, Marina is seemingly unaware of Pen's betrayal and speaks highly of her, even giving Colin a nudge in her direction.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: With a dash of Cannot Spit It Out, towards Colin. When she finally works up the courage to tell him, he interrupts and credits her with inspiring him to follow his dream to travel the world. With him going out of her reach, she decides not to tell him.
• Jealous Romantic Witness: Along Season 1, she often gets jealous whenever she sees Colin courting Marina. In the final episode of Season 2, she gets jealous again when seeing Colin waltzing with Cressida.
• Kick Them While They're Down: To throw the Queen off Eloise's scent, Pen publishes a Lady Whistledown exposé on Eloise fraternising with "political radicals"... right in the middle of the Bridgertons trying to rebuild their reputation after the wedding scandal. Alas, they get the news at what was meant to be their recovery ball no one attended.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • She doesn't say it outright, but she's clearly horrified when Marina passes out after attempting a forced miscarriage, which happened in large part because "Lady Whistledown" outed her. Penelope didn't want her to trick Colin into marrying her, but she didn't want her to be hurt, and she could've died had she not been found. And when Marina sets off, stone-faced, to marry Sir Philip Crane, Penelope looks intensely remorseful at what her actions have caused.
  • Has this moment again when she publishes a scandalous piece about Eloise in order to save her from being accused of being Lady Whistledown by the Queen and its potential consequences. While she does prevent her best friend from this, she does so in a that way utterly ruins her and her family name that's far worse, leaving Eloise and her family as social pariahs. When Eloise figures out her actions, Penelope tries to defend her actions as being well-intended, but Eloise refuses to hear it. She chews her out for nonetheless having caused extreme damage to her family and others, such as Marina and Colin, all for power and greed — not once thinking of the consequences was bringing on others. When Eloise declares she never wants to see her again, Penelope is a sobbing wreck at losing her best friend.
• New Friend Envy: Downplayed. While concern for Eloise's reputation is Pen's stated reason to discourage her from seeing Theo, she is so insistent, it reads as possessive.
• Spirited Young Lady: Like Eloise, she wants more to life than to just marry, such as being an author. But unlike Eloise, she does want to someday marry and find love.
• Shrinking Violet: Compared to other girls and her sisters, she's a rather shy wallflower. In person. In writing, on the other hand...
• Silk Hiding Steel: On the surface Penelope is shy, soft spoken, and kind hearted to a fault, but as her alter ego Lady Whistledown she demonstrates not only an uncanny knack for sussing out the secrets of others, but also an suprising degree of cunning in her ability to carry out her enterprise without ever giving herself away: disguising herself as an Irish lady's maid to deal with the printers, correctly piecing together the Queen's scheme to lay false rumors in order to entrap her, and recruiting a powerful ally in the Modiste, by showing how they can mutually help one another. Ironically, despite being The Un-Favourite to her mother, she is the daughter who seems to have inherited her mother's savy and grit.
• The Un-Favourite: Lady Featherington quite openly treats Penelope as an afterthought as compared to Prudence and Phillipa.
• Unrequited Love: She loves Colin, who is oblivious to it and just views her as a friend. Granted, Colin says that Penelope is his only friend, the one person that he can trust, when they talk in season 2. In the books, they do get married.

Prudence and Philippa

Prudence and Philippa Featherington

Played By: Bessie Carter (Prudence) and Harriet Cains (Philippa)

Penelope's two older sisters, who are both vain and somewhat callous. Philippa is the first to find a marriage match.

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• Ascended Extra: Prudence gets a larger role in season two.
• Demoted to Extra: Philippa appears only briefly in season two once she marries and moves out.
• Dreadful Musician: Prudence's attempts to sing are so bad that Colin comments that the farther away they are from her singing, the more it feels like a party.
• Spoiled Brat: Both of them are mean and at times callous towards Marina and others.
• Those Two Guys: In season one, they are rarely apart. Averted in season two when Philippa moves out.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After spending a season stuck in Marina's shadow, one of the Featherington girls finally manages to find a match when Philippa attracts Mr. Finch and they appear to be well-suited to one another. Philippa is absolutely beaming around him.
• Upper-Class Twit: Encouraged by their mother. In particular in season two, with her husband dead and Jack as the new Baron Featherington, Portia notes to Mrs. Varley that their only chance of not being tossed out on the streets is for Jack to marry someone who has absolutely no skills at managing a household. Prudence enters the room right on cue.

Marina

Marina Crane (née Thompson)

Played By: Ruby Barker

"We are not all guaranteed to have a fairytale ending."

A cousin of the Featheringtons, come to visit to debut in society in search of a husband. At first the most popular girl in the household (much to Portia's jealousy), it's revealed she's actually carrying a scandalous secret.

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• Abled in the Adaptation: Thus far. In the books, Eloise remembers Marina had symptoms of what readers can identify as clinical depression when they were children. Time will tell whether she shows symptoms in later seasons.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the books, she is a distant Bridgerton cousin, but in the series she is a distant Featherington cousin.
• Adaptational Villainy: Her attempt to trick Colin into marriage does not occur in the books.
• Ascended Extra: In the books, she's only mentioned postmortem at the beginning of the fifth book. Here she's retooled into a Featherington cousin with her own subplot.
• Brutal Honesty: Once she realizes Penelope is in love with Colin, she quite plainly lays out that even though the final letter from Sir Crane was a forgery and he hadn't actually broken up with her, and she doesn't love Colin, she's still going to go ahead with tricking him into marrying her because she has to be pragmatic to ensure her and her child's future and safety. To further salt the wound, she breaks it to Penelope that Colin thinks of her as a sister and her love for him is unrequited. She lays it all out there even if it means breaking Penelope's heart.
• Character Development: In season 2, she's a married woman and a mother to twins, a boy and a girl. While she's not romantically in love with Phillip and grows bored of his endless fascination with nature, she states he's a good man who provides for them, takes care of her children, and treats her well. She has focused on making the best of her new married life, providing the best for her children, and has moved past the "delusions" she fantasized about before. She says the life she wanted with Colin was a mere "fantasy" and she's grateful they never married as the life she has now is far more practical and realistic for herself. She tells Colin to forget about her as their relationship is in the past and she has no intention of looking back. She also takes the moment to tell him he has everything he needs right in front of him; his family. She advises him to truly appreciate what he may not realize he has.
• Country Cousin: To the Featheringtons. They are members of high society while she is a poor relative who grew up on a farm. Lady Featherington sees her as a charity case and is unhappy when she gets more attention from potential suitors than her own daughters.
• Country Mouse: She's a farm girl who is thrust into high society. Although she is awkward at first, she adjusts fairly easily.
• Defiled Forever: Once her pregnancy comes to light she is treated as an outcast and a ruined woman by the patriarchal Regency society. She is only saved by her lover's brother making an Honorable Marriage Proposal.
• Demoted to Extra: She is one of the focal characters of season one but only appears for a couple of scenes in season two.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Played with. Marina's not exactly a "good girl," but she is portrayed sympathetically and having understandable reasons for her actions. Also, her unborn baby was conceived "in love" and someone she genuinely wanted a future with. When she runs out of options for marriage and the chance to legitimize her baby, she attempts to force a miscarriage with tea ingredients. She does pass out and has to be looked at by a doctor, but since she doesn't actually know anything about medicine, the attempt doesn't work—and, fortunately, doesn't kill her. The doctor actually laughs at the ingredients she used, saying that herbal tea can in no way end a pregnancy. Also, a case of Truth in Television since there was nothing available in the Regency Era that could reliably induce an abortion.
• I Did What I Had to Do: She acknowledges she's manipulating Colin for her own ends, but she holds that it's out of necessity, not malice; if it gets out she's pregnant before she's married, her and her child's life will be ruined. Given the circumstances, she feels she must do what she must.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Her Brutal Honesty speech to Penelope isn't outright cruel, but it does severely hurt Pen's feelings—not least because it's not entirely inaccurate.
  • She's definitely manipulating Colin, but she's not wrong when she points out that she has very few options; if the baby is born out of wedlock, she and the child will be shunned from polite society and she'll never be able to get married, which is her only hope at providing for them ("Regency gentlewoman" is not a job with transferable skills). Even if she gave the child up for adoption, she herself would still be ruined, and she doesn't exactly have access to a safe way to abort the pregnancy. Marriage is really her only option, and she didn't know Colin well enough to realize that he would've married her had she just been honest with him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's prickly, blunt, and hot-tempered, but she's a decent person at heart, and her primary motivation is protecting the future of her unborn child.
• Seeking the Missing, Finding the Dead: She assumes Sir George is ignoring her letters but later learns he stopped responding because he died in battle.
• Settle for Sibling: Marina eventually marries her dead lover's brother so that she and her child can be provided for.
• Someone to Remember Him By: George Crane died during the war before their baby was born. His brother offers to marry her, which she accepts.
• Spared by the Adaptation: First appears as Sir Phillip's dead wife in the fifth book. Is a main character in the first season of the show and we see she's doing alright for herself in season 2. Whether that lasts has yet to be seen.
• Teen Pregnancy: She met and fell in love with Sir George Crane, resulting in an affair while they were unmarried. She admits that, some time after he left for war, her menstrual courses stopped, which she quickly went into denial about. She starts the series pregnant with his child.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: As the first season progresses, Marina becomes progressively more manipulative in her pursuit of finding a father to her child on her own terms as her desperation grows.

Jack

Jack Featherington

Played By: Rupert Young

The new Featherington heir.

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• Canon Foreigner: He is a character original for the show adaptation to expand the Featherington plot.
• Gold Digger: He pursues Cressida Cowper so he can use her dowry to support himself and the Featheringtons.
• Likes Older Women: Jack pursues Cressida for her money and is willing to marry Prudence to avoid scandal, but the only woman he's shown sincerely attracted to is Portia. He seems genuinely hurt when she stabs him in the back to protect her daughters.
• Mock Millionaire: He kept up appearances of a man who made a fortune off gemstone mines in America, but the mines he had invested in were empty. He planned on marrying Cressida to bring money into the family, but Portia's scheming put a stop to that.

Varley

Mrs. Varley

Played By: Lorraine Ashbourne

The Featherington housekeeper.

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• Servile Snarker: When the women complain about potatoes, Varley comments that she has to be maid, cook, and footman now and can't be bothered to whip up anything better.
• Undying Loyalty: To Portia. Even after nearly all the servants have left, Varley stays with Portia and acts as her partner-in-crime, even committing multiple forgeries to serve Portia's ends.

The Sharmas

Kate

Kathani "Kate" Bridgerton (née Sharma), Viscountess Bridgerton

"I am not here to find a husband for myself, only for my sister, who, indeed, stands quite tall and smiles rather exquisitely."

Played By: Simone Ashley

"It is not a man's appearance or title that will woo you. It is his mind and spirit that will court yours."

The older Sharma sister. She aims to find a good husband for her sister, Edwina.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Book Kate is not considered to be as beautiful as Edwina and is insecure about her appearance. The show does not try to pretend Simone Ashley isn't beautiful. Instead, she is styled in the early episodes to reflect her stoic nature, and her age, lower birth, and refusal to put herself out there are what make her less desirable.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Show Kate is famously bold, outspoken and snarky, while book Kate is more passive and insecure. Despite show Kate still having insecurities, they're more about feeling worthy of love rather than her physical appearance — a necessary change given that her actress, Simone Ashley, is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and therefore Kate worrying about her appearance would be patently ridiculous.
• Adaptation Name Change: Like the rest of her family her surname goes from Sheffield to Sharma. The Sheffields in the show are Mary's parents. Unlike Mary and Edwina, Kate's first name also changes; "Kate" is now short for Kathani instead of Katharine.
• Age Lift: Already considered a difficult marriage prospect in the book at age 21, Kate is explicitly 26 in the show. Not only does this make her seem more of a spinster-in-training to the ton, it also puts her age close to Anthony (who is about 30).
• Asians Love Tea: Indian-born Kate arrives in London and expresses distaste for flavorless British tea compared to Indian chai and insists that she makes her tea herself.
• Big Sister Instinct: She is fiercely protective of her little sister Edwina and works to secure her happiness, which makes it awfully inconvenient when she develops feelings for the lord Edwina likes.
• Competition Freak: A trait she shares with Anthony (they even turn their first meeting into a race!), making them both butt heads and team up at the end of the day.
  Kate: And admit defeat? Never.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Unlike the first season's heroine Daphne, who was the proper daughter of a rich peer and wanted to find a good husband, Kate is a penniless yet independent woman with prickly standards. And instead of wanting to marry for herself, she wants her more ingenue-like sister to find a good match.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: In the early episodes, she has a "prickly" exterior and shoots down the possibility of marriage for herself. Her arc is about those walls coming down. She does have feelings and does want love after all.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Several times with Anthony throughout season 2, but most noticeably when he falls in the lake and emerges soaking wet. Particularly funny as she has just told Edwina that it's not polite to stare.
• Fatal Flaw: Kate's near automatic self abnegation for her sister's sake hits a wall and becomes irrational and destructive, ultimately causing more harm than good.
• Fear of Thunder: In the book, she is afraid of thunderstorms as it always recalls of her biological mother's death. In the show, she finds them unsettling as they remind her of how her father would read to her during the monsoons.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She is very feminine — it's mentioned that Edwina learned everything that helped her become the season's incomparable from Kate — but in addition to her spirited personality, Kate also loves hunting as she learned it from her father. The young lords at Aubrey Hall are rather shocked when they learn this since it's not a ladylike hobby.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Most of her dresses are varying shades of purple, making her look elegant and feminine, but also mature. It also draws a visual parallel between herself and Lady Danbury.
• Half-Sibling Angst: Kate is Mr Sharma's older daughter from before he met Mary, and thus she has no English high-society blood in her. However, she and Edwina love each other wholeheartedly, and Mary is never referred to as her stepmother except by those familiar with the situation. So it's very telling when an angry Edwina states that they are only half-sisters after she runs away from Anthony at the altar, finding out Kate has been lying to her about her true feelings for Anthony.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite having sacrificed her own desires in order to make her family happy as she willingly took over her father's role (following his death) since young age, she still feels it's never enough to be worthy of love. Until her stepmother reassures her and her reformed sister, Edwina, convinces her about her right to be happy.
• Hollywood Old: By Regency societal standards, Kate is considered an "old maid" at 26.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: As Kate tells Lady Danbury when the latter presses her for the truth about the dowry deal, she doesn't care about her own happiness. Her step-grandparents, the Sheffields, have never considered her as a granddaughter or an heir, thus she will work her own way up in the world if necessary. Edwina, however, is another story; if she must marry nobility, Kate wants to ensure that Edwina is with a man she loves who is worthy of her. She tries to convince Anthony to keep his promise to marry Edwina, when he intended to call it off, despite her growing feelings for him. It becomes clear over the course of the season that Kate is used to always putting Edwina first at the expense of her own needs and feelings.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Although she appears to be bold and confident, deep down she's struggling with self-doubts and insecurities. And despite feeling unworthy of love, she is strongly against loveless marriage.
• Irony: Not only does she end up married (before her younger sister, whom she adamantly set up to) after being just fine to remain a spinster. But, she also ends up marrying Anthony, the man she used to hate.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: (Initially) to Anthony, with shades of Sour Outside, Sad Inside. Anthony was initially annoyed by her headstrong and outspoken personality, but when she calms him down during a panic attack in episode 3, Anthony sees her gentle side. Especially in episode 7 after her stepmom, Lady Mary, reveals to him about Kate's longtime sacrifices toward her family since young age, Anthony realizes how selfless and caring she basically is, and how similar she is to him.
• Love Hurts: Anthony isn't really at the apex of the love triangle as he obviously never truly loved Edwina. Really, Kate is the one who is torn between her love for as well as duty to her sister and her growing feelings for Anthony.
• Ms. Fanservice: Near the end of the final episode of season 2, she is seen fully-nude when enjoying an intimate morning with her new husband, Anthony.
• My God, What Have I Done?: At the end of episode 7, it could be read that she feels remorse and ashamed for letting herself "giving in" to Anthony, who immediately chases after her through the rainstorms before she falls off her horse.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: She is very protective of Edwina and scrutinizes her potential prospects carefully — especially once Anthony starts courting her.
• Not Like Other Girls: Unlike most ladies of the ton, she is not marriage-minded and is certainly no fool to any men, including Anthony. It's apparently what intrigues Anthony into winning her heart, despite initially with a platonic intention before turning into romantic.
• Oblivious to Love: Although Anthony is obviously besotted with Kate, it's apparently not obvious enough to her as she sees him as the Master of the Mixed Message, compounded by her self doubt. She mistakes his feelings for mere lust and his first proposal for one done out of obligation. It is not until he spells out how much he loves her in his final Anguished Declaration of Love that she finally believes him.
• Old Maid: Lady Danbury comments that she would make a difficult marriage prospect due to being "old" at twenty-six. Kate also notes that her single status has resulted in her having a tainted social image in society, as many consider her to be a spinster. So, if she has to work her way up in society just to gain respect, so be it.
• Passionate Sports Girl: It becomes clear during the pall-mall game, which Kate gets very into, facing Anthony in the final round while Edwina flakes out early on, that Kate is not only more compatible with him but with the competitive and high energy Bridgerton family at large.
• Penny Among Diamonds: She is the only main character in both seasons to not be born into (or at least descended from, like her half-sister) English aristocracy. As she tells Lady Danbury, her family doesn't have any money and are counting on Edwina making a good match. Nevertheless, she is relatively at ease in high society because her father worked for royalty (despite he was a commoner), and because she has been taken in by a noblewoman, Mary.
• Promotion to Parent: She and Anthony are Birds of a Feather this way and it's how they gain an understanding of one another. After her father's sudden death, she was forced to take on a parental role for Edwina when she herself was still a teenager. Mary admits she failed to pick up the responsibility she should have in the wake of her husband's death, which Kate did instead. Kate sacrificed her entire life to care for her sister, teaching her everything she knew about being a Proper Lady to ensure she could be matched with a noble husband and have a secured future. Kate was so thoroughly dedicated to taking care of Edwina that she openly declared she didn't care to make herself happy — if Edwina was happy, that was all that mattered to her.
• Rags to Riches: Kate goes from a penniless and untitled nobody to the wife of a wealthy viscount by the end of the second season.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Edwina's red.
• Second Love: To Anthony. After he manages to get over his first one^note mistress, Siena, he eventually found love again in her.
• Show Some Leg: In the hunting scene, she rebuffs Anthony's offer to help her get over the fence and lifts her dress to do so herself. Needless to say, he's distracted.
• Smells Sexy / Signature Scent: Anthony is infatuated with her lilies scent and often inhales it whenever she is near.
• Spirited Young Lady: Raised at court and the stepdaughter of a noblewoman, she is well-educated and knows how to be a lady of society. Yet, she has a wild streak and does unladylike activities such as hunting. She is competitive, sharp-tongued, fiery, and quickly established as a rule breaker with little regard for propriety — she is first introduced riding astride unchaperoned with her leg exposed. She also doesn't mind being considered a spinster as she is aware of her status as a commoner and she never intended to marry.
  Anthony: From the moment I saw you riding alone in that park, it was obvious that rules are meaningless to you.
  Kate: Oh, you and your rules.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She is so devoted to her family and quickly fits in with the Bridgerton family but Anthony. Despite spending the early episodes dissenting him, upon seeing Anthony in trouble when she's stung by a bee, she instinctively calms him down.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Downplayed. Kate is already considered an Old Maid by London standards, and the child of a scandal by being Mary Sharma's stepdaughter, not her biological child. Her step-grandparents see her as a disgrace due to her lineage, and strictly demand Edwina to marry a fellow noble. As a result, since Kate feels that everyone sees her as a walking blight, she may as well play the part.
• True Blue Femininity: She is the heroine of a period romance who, though not seeking a marriage herself, taught her younger sister everything she knows to become a Proper Lady. In contrast to the previous heroine Daphne's pastels, Kate prefers deeper shades like royal blue, dark teal and purple to reflect her more assertive personality.

Edwina

Edwina Sharma

Played By: Charithra Chandran

"Love moves swiftly, does it not?"

The younger Sharma sister, a genteel young lady immediately dubbed the diamond of the season.

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• Adaptational Dumbass: In the book, she claims to have always known Anthony and Kate would end up together. In the show, she's completely oblivious until the last minute.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Having been raised to be a Proper Lady since she was a child, she's a friendly and sweet young woman. However, when pressed to her breaking point, she's fully capable of a scathing "The Reason You Suck" Speech and leaving the person who wronged her burned with shame. Anthony and Kate realize this when Edwina realizes their suppressed feelings for one another on her wedding day at the altar and how they've been lying to her. Anthony remarks how Edwina proved "harsher" than he thought her capable of.
• Blame the Paramour: After the aborted wedding, she displays far more anger towards Kate than she ever does to Anthony beyond some general coldness. Justified: she is much closer to Kate and trusts her while she barely knows Anthony, thus she feels the betrayal from Kate more deeply.
• Character Development: She goes from being almost totally dependent on her sister and mother to realizing she wants to become her own woman who has her own thoughts, opinions, and is capable of independence.
• Generation Xerox: Like her mother, Edwina was considered the Incomparable of her season.
• Holier Than Thou: When Kate convinces her to go home together to give space for the Bridgerton family in facing their new scandal, she refuses while declaring Kate cruel and herself kinder-hearted.
• The Ingenue:
  • Physically, she's younger, shorter, and has softer features than Kate, making her look more child-like. Her more world-weary sister Kate notes that she and Lady Mary did their best to shelter Edwina from the worst of their family's financial troubles, choosing to focus on teaching Edwina to being an accomplished and well-mannered lady. As a result, Edwina has a rosier view of the world and implicitly trusts Kate's judgment on men and marriage for most of the season.
  • Deconstructed as the second season goes on. Having been raised as naive and a romantic, she has never had to think or make decisions for herself. Realizing this, she admonishes Kate for making her dependent on her. She states she's a grown woman and wants to become independent.
• It's All About Me: She can be rather self absorbed as she is used to being the centre of attention. For example: when the Bridgertons learn of Eloise's scandal at the Harmony ball, Kate tries to usher the Sharmas out to give them some space, but Edwina instead takes the opportunity to berate Kate again, showing zero concern for the Bridgertons' predicament.
• Jerkass Ball: She spends the entire episode 7 lashing out at Kate and refuses to give her any sort of reprieve. Towards the end, she once again rather suddenly lashes out at Kate for dancing with Anthony at the Harmony ball, prompting the latter to storm out to the gazebo and do something for herself for once.
• Loving a Shadow: Edwina becomes infatuated with an idealised version of Anthony; it's clear she doesn't know him at all beyond the carefully constructed façade he presents. Daphne Lampshades this, but Edwina ignores the warning and jumps to a rather naive conclusion:
  Edwina: I should like to be with someone kind and gentle. Someone like your brother. He is so even-tempered.
  Daphne: Anthony? Even-tempered?
  Edwina: You would not describe him as such?
  Daphne: Well, not exactly.
  Edwina: Well, perhaps I bring out the very best in him!
• Marry for Love: Played with. Kate wants Edwina to find a love match, though Lady Danbury reminds them that most aristocratic marriages are treated as business agreements. Her noble grandparents have a condition for her trust fund: she has to marry a nobleman to access their money. Kate tries to compromise the two by arranging meetings with blue-blooded suitors whom she thinks Edwina will like. However, Edwina gets wrapped up in the idea of becoming viscountess. Despite initially accepting that Anthony would give her duty but not love, she seems to change her mind and decide she does in fact want love in her marriage after all.
• Never My Fault: Edwina ignores all the warnings, red flags, and everyone around her including Kate, Lady Danbury, and Anthony himself telling her he would not give her love and was only looking to fulfill his duty. She grows attached to the idea of being viscountess but is too busy to notice that she in no way fits with the Bridgertons' lifestyle. She lashes out at Kate and blames her for everything, failing to acknowledge that Kate was simply trying to look out for her little sister, even if her self sacrifice was misguided. That said, Edwina does ditch this attitude after she calms down and has had time to get over the shock. She encourages Kate to stop sacrificing her future, and live the life that she wants.
• Nice Girl: She's a perfectly friendly person. Her kindness even impresses the Queen when Edwina calms down a senile King George during one of his confused episodes and gets him to return to his room in peace.
• Oblivious to Love: A variation in that it's not someone being in love with her that she fails to notice: Edwina is one of the last (if not the last) person to realize that Anthony and Kate love each other, long after everyone else. Once she's in the loop, she's stunned that she didn't notice sooner.
  Edwina: Was I truly that blind?!
• Oblivious Younger Sibling: She is initially very excited to meet her grandparents the Sheffields, ignorant of her mother's unease with them.
• Pink Means Feminine: The young, romantic, traditionally feminine Edwina wears peaches and pinks nearly exclusively. This also emphasizes her relatively immaturity compared to her sister, who wears purple.
• Proper Lady: An accomplished and polite Regency debutante.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Kate's blue.
• Runaway Bride: Runs away from the altar after noticing her fiancé and her sister sharing a Longing Look with each other. Horrified and angry, she eventually calls off the wedding upon realized Anthony actually loves Kate instead of her.
• Selective Obliviousness: She only wakes up to the reality of the situation at the very last, most inconvenient minute conceivable.
• Ship Tease: In the finale it is implied that the Queen will attempt to set her nephew, Prince Friedrich, up with her current incomparable as she had tried to do with Daphne.
• Social Climber: Downplayed. While Kate tries to push her towards a love match and advises her to pick a suitor based on his mind and heart rather than title, Edwina is excited by the prospect of marrying a duke or prince. She becomes fixated on Anthony, but mostly raves about his title and lifestyle rather than the man himself, whom she does not know beyond his gentlemanly exterior. She gushes over the Queen's offer to host the wedding despite Anthony's wishes for a small countryside affair. She accepts Anthony's plan to marry for duty rather than love at first, only to realise she would not be happy in a loveless marriage (and certainly not to a man who is obviously in love with her sister).
• Theory Tunnel Vision: Despite having lots of options due to being the diamond, she becomes absolutely determined to marry Anthony, breezing past any setback or red flag in order to do so and accepting his plan to keep the marriage distant without question. She has a rude awakening at the altar.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She hides it behind her calm demeanor, but she becomes displeased if she feels that Kate and her mother are being overly protective of her or violating personal boundaries. In the climax of season 2, she becomes outraged with Kate for lying to her about her true feelings and lashes out, even bitterly saying Kate's only her half-sister. Eventually, she calms down and explains the real reason for her anger. She was more upset that Kate didn't appear to trust her enough to have told her the truth of her true feelings for Anthony. She genuinely asks Kate why she didn't just simply tell her the truth.

Mary

Lady Mary Sharma (née Sheffield)

Played By: Shelley Conn

"It is a very powerful thing to meet someone and feel that you know them. In a way unlike any other."

Edwina's mother and Kate's stepmother, a former noblewoman whose marriage to a clerk caused a scandal in the town.

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• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason why Kate willingly took over her late dad's role at the expense of her own desires and happiness, was because Kate owes so much to Mary for taking her in.
• Good Stepmother: She considers her stepdaughter Kate her own and states this when her parents say they have only one grandchild from her; immediately correcting that she has two daughters. Mary feels guilty to not be able to give a season to Kate, but accepts Kate's content with the latter's life choice. Spells it out to Kate in the finale when Kate confesses to owe her so much for taking her in, letting her know that she never had to earn her love, because the moment they met, she already had considered Kate her own.
  Lady Sheffield: She simply sailed away from all of us with that man, robbing us of our grandchild!
  Mary: Grandchildren. I have two daughters, with whom you have had every opportunity to form a connection with, but the choice to shun us was yours alone.
• Impoverished Patrician: She was born a nobleman's daughter, but married a working-class man. The money dried up after he died and she's now come to London hoping that her daughter can marry well.
• Marry for Love: Prior to the events, despite she was a season's Incomparable and desired by many noble suitors, nevertheless she adamantly chose to marry a working-class royal clerk, Mr. Sharma, out of genuine love, much to her parents' fury and cue the scandal.
• Parental Obliviousness: She loves her daughters but is mentally checked out from what is happening with them until after the Sheffield dinner and wedding fall apart, having been overly reliant on Kate to be the de facto head of the household without question.
• Proper Lady: Mary is an Earl's daughter and retained her affluent and noble mien after years away in India.
• Uptown Girl: Lady Mary has high-ranking nobles for parents and was her season's Incomparable. It proved absolutely scandalous when she married a working-class clerk as well as widower with a child (Kate) and moved to India to have a life with him. Her parents never got over the shame this choice caused them. They make it clear that they don't consider Kate their grandchild, and demand their granddaughter Edwina marry a nobleman to bring her back into high society. Even Queen Charlotte sees her departure and sudden return as a slight.

Royalty and Other Nobility

Queen Charlotte

Queen Charlotte (Regency Era)

Played By: Golda Rosheuvel

"I wish to be entertained."

The judgmental queen of England, whose marriage to King George III opened the doors to racial equality in the setting. She presides over the ton every season.

She is also the protagonist of the spinoff Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Her husband, George, calls her Lottie whenever he is in normal state.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: As a young woman, she was headstrong and rebellious, actively resenting her Arranged Marriage with George (at least until she met him), her position as Queen and her duty as a Baby Factory. By the time she enters her twilight years, she has become the very apex of English high society and forces several of her children into arranged marriages of their own to produce a legitimate child that can succeed the crown.
• Beneath the Mask: She's very haughty in public, but her private life is pointedly not perfect, as her husband is senile. Especially poignant because she clearly does love George dearly, and it breaks her heart to see his mind disintegrate before her.
• Canon Foreigner: She was not originally in the books, but plays a large part in the show.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her daughter died due to health complications, and she has in a sense lost her beloved husband due to his mental illness.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Lady Whistledown at one point writes that "no other event of note" happened in one of her gossip papers. The queen takes it as a direct, scathing attack as she had hosted a luncheon just prior, and then plans to unmask and arrest "Lady Whistledown".
• Happily Married: Famous for it, until King George's encroaching madness ruined their relationship. In the handful of moments his senility clears up, it's clear she adores her husband, and he's equally devoted to her.
• Historical Domain Character: She's the show's version of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
• Jerkass: Charlotte is quite harsh and unsympathetic towards her children, who are admittedly rather sheltered on the part of the princesses and dissolute on the part of the princes, but still chafe under her acid tongue. Especially since the lack of marriages and children on the princesses' side wasn't due to reticence but not wanting to leave their mother alone in her grief, so Charlotte continuously insulting them and calling them spinsters is particularly harsh.
• Love Freak: A downplayed version. While the Queen's passion for gossip and drama stems mainly from a sense of boredom, it's been shown repeatedly that Charlotte has a soft spot for genuine, passionate, love— likely a result of her famously happy marriage. Upon seeing how much Anthony and Kate adore each other, Queen Charlotte instantly sweeps the scandal away.
• Middle Name Basis: Her first name is actually Sophia.
• Mister Muffykins: The haughty Queen Charlotte has a fleet of fluffy Pomeranian dogs by her side.
• No Sympathy: She does a terrible job of comforting her son, the Prince Regent, when his daughter dies in childbirth, saying "Sorrows, prayers," with more and more exasperation every time he starts crying; and when Princess Elizabeth protests that she's married after Charlotte insults her daughters for being virgins, the queen bluntly retorts "And where are your babies?" This comes back to haunt her when Prince George and Elizabeth confront her and point out that George is still grieving and Elizabeth has had several miscarriages.
• Pet the Dog: She's a haughty and temperamental woman who looms over English high society. Though the Bridgertons have her favor for much of the show, offending her by calling off the match between Edwina and Anthony nearly tanks their reputation, and Charlotte is more than happy to keep up the assault by threatening Eloise to 'admit' that she is Lady Whistledown. However, she develops a genuine soft spot for Edwina (especially after the latter's gracious handling of the senile George), and so Charlotte eventually decides to rescue the families from scandal by verbally supporting Kate and Anthony.
• Proud Beauty: Well aware that she's beautiful and fashionable, and will not stop reminding others of this.
• Race Lift: The real woman was white, though possibly with some Mozarabic ancestry. This version is played by a black actress. It actually ends up dramatically effecting the timeline since it enabled racial equality to become prevalant at a much earlier point then our world.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • She starts out strongly approving of the relationship between Daphne, her favourite of the debutantes, and Simon, the most eligible peer in England. She changes her mind once her own nephew, Prince Friedrich, takes an interest in Daphne, and is quite ticked when Daphne marries Simon anyway.
  • The next year, she heartily endorses the match between Edwina, her hand-picked diamond, and Anthony, a rich and well-connected nobleman. She even offers to sponsor their wedding and is furious when it doesn't go through at the last moment.
  • However, going for the hat trick, unable to resist a true love match when she spots it between Anthony and Kate, she reverses her stance, verbally supporting the couple. Then suggests Edwina might like to meet her handsome nephew Prince Friedrich...
• Virgin-Shaming: In contrast to her sons, Charlotte constantly insults her daughters for being dried up old spinsters. Brimsley has to gently point out that the reason most of the princesses never got married is because they didn't feel they could leave her alone to deal with the grief of her absent husband.

Queen Charlotte (Young)

Played By: India Amarteifio

"If what we have is half, then we shall make it the very best half."

The young Charlotte is brought from her family's minor German duchy to become Queen of England.

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• Audience Surrogate: She is introduced to English high society as the Queen Charlotte viewer is.
• Declaration of Protection: George. She refuses to leave him, even when he commands and then begs her, and spends her life protecting him and his legacy.
• The Determinator: Despite her husband, George, often pushes her away out of protecting her, she insists to stand by him, believing that her love can overcome or at least slowly reduce his madness.
• Runaway Bride: Charlotte attempts to flee before her wedding to King George, whom she hasn't met yet but doesn't like the sound of. As she struggles to climb the garden wall, the king timely interrupts her.
• The High Queen: She grows into a gracious young queen at the end of her focal miniseries.
• Silk Hiding Steel: To protect George, Charlotte decides to step into her role and be The Queen, as Dr. Monro, Princess Augusta and Lady Danbury all discover.
• Smart People Play Chess: George covertly watches her playing chess with herself during their honeymoon, and her intelligence is one of the reasons he adores her.
• Spirited Young Lady: Young Queen Charlotte chafed at painful dresses and stiff English customs. She's more ungraceful and nonconformist than her older self, though no less blunt.
• Understanding Boyfriend: Gender-Inverted: She's an understanding wife to her mentally-ill husband, George. Despite the palace try their best to cover up George’s hidden mental illness in order to maintain the kingdom and country’s stability, in addition George himself often shut her out and she later learns that he did it out of protecting her, Charlotte insistently convinces him —including his closest confidants; Princess Augusta, Reynolds and Dr Monro— that she loves him so much that she’d let him be mad if necessary, as long as he’s happy and comfortable.
• Undying Loyalty: She declares her intention to stick with George through the highs and lows of his rule and his personal tribulations because she loves him.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Charlotte's love of George and her acceptance of all of him, in sickness and in health, shows great wisdom and maturity beyond her ten and seven years. Best illustrated in the quote above.

Lady Danbury

Lady Agatha Danbury (Regency Era)

Played By: Adjoa Andoh

"The young man I have always taken pride in raising, well, I would have expected more. More discernment, more understanding, more appreciation."

An established lady in the Ton with a quick wit, discerning eye and cantankerous personality. She is Duke Simon Basset's surrogate mother, having been a dear friend to his real mother. She sponsors the Sharma family in season two.

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• Classy Cane: She's a Grand Dame who uses a cane due to necessity, as her advanced age also has weakened her knees. She's also not above using it as a whacking stick when the need arises...
• Cool Old Lady: Oh my, yes. She's acerbic and snarky, but while not exactly warm, clearly cares deeply for Simon, Daphne, and the Sharmas. She's also a mischievous so-and-so who delights in pranking people. She also throws a boisterous party for the married women only and tells Daphne, "Welcome to my den of iniquity."
• Dare to Be Badass: She basically said this to a young Simon, telling him she'd help him reach his full potential, but it's ultimately up to him. He rose to the challenge, tenfold.
• Deadpan Snarker: Famed for this in-universe. She's eliminated as a suspected Lady Whistledown because she's famous for snarking at people to their faces rather than hiding behind a pseudonym.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Most of her gowns are dark, plum shades of purple, befitting her status as a respected and regal older noblewoman.
• Grand Dame: Though she doesn't have a henpecked husband anymore, she's an older and wealthy noble lady who's confident enough to not only have the Queen's ear, but dares to talk back to her. When the Queen asks Lady Danbury "is that as low as you will curtsy?", she quips back "With these knees, yes."
• Hidden Depths: You'd never guess it now, but she reveals she was once a very shy and insecure girl.
• Honest Advisor:
  • To Simon, whom she tries to help and cuts through his prideful facade.
  • She's very frank about the risks and rules of the ton to Kate and Edwina.
• Parental Substitute: Lady Danbury to Simon. She was his mother's best friend, and takes up the job of raising him as a boy when it was obvious his father wanted nothing to do with him.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Lady Violet's blue.
• Shipper on Deck: Getting Simon and Daphne together was her idea, and she steps in more than once to encourage Simon to commit himself to Daphne.
• Took a Level in Badass: Part of her backstory. She used to be a wallflower and incredibly meek, until one day she resolved to stop being frightened of everything and instead be frightening. She succeeded.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: She will be the first in line to tell Simon when he's being a douchebag, but she does truly care for him, which is why she is first in line to tell him he's being a douchebag!

Agatha Danbury (Young)

Played By: Arsema Thomas

"We've given them hope. A taste of rare air. Equality."

In her youth, Agatha Danbury was an unhappily married but savvy woman aware of the implications of her new status.

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• Best Friend: To Charlotte since their youth. Charlotte often seeked her for comfort whenever the former was not on good terms with her husband, George. Even she doesn't seem to be afraid to speak her mind, although she's not Charlotte's official advisor.
• Cool Big Sis: She's a few years older than Queen Charlotte and has been married for longer, so she gives Charlotte advice on both the marriage bed and their positions in society.
• Dude Magnet: Hoo boy! After her husband's death, her two friends' male relatives; Violet's dad, Lord Ledger, and Charlotte's brother, Duke Adolphus, are after her at the same time.
• Lady-In-Waiting: Lady Agatha Danbury is elevated to noblewoman so she can be a suitable companion for Queen Charlotte, and is brought on to be one of her ladies. She discusses the weight of Charlotte's position with her in a later scene. It is clear that this is the reason for their familiarity in the main series.
• Lie Back and Think of England: Young Lady Danbury very much does not enjoy sexual relations with her elderly husband, and generally lies back and endures until he's finished. She tells Charlotte she considers sex with him a chore, not a pleasure.
• Mal Mariée: Agatha started out married to a clingy and geriatric gentleman. Though she supported his attempts to make the most of their new high status, she dreaded sex with him and considered him of subpar character, and was overjoyed when he finally bit it.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Underneath her cover of a meek, powerless and obedient young wife is a subtly sharp and cunning young woman, not above manipulating her connections with persons in power to achieve better ranking for herself or further her own goals.
• So What Do We Do Now?: She admits that she had wanted nothing more than for her husband to die, but when he finally does, she's not sure what to do anymore.
  Agatha: And as many times as I dreamed, and imagined, and hoped, and planned. I never thought what it would actually be like to have him be gone. Wiped from this earth. I was raised for him, and now I am new. I am brand-new. And I do not even know how to breathe air he does not exhale.
• Widow's Weeds: She spends episode 5 in a black gown with a stately veil, as her husband has just passed.

Lord Berbrooke

Lord Nigel Berbrooke

Played By: Jamie Beamish

An unattractive suitor who hopes to gain Daphne's hand.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: He's initially an acceptable suitor by Anthony's standards, but Daphne is appalled by him and emphatically declares she will never marry him. She's even less enchanted when he tries to force himself onto her.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the books he is portrayed as a bumbling fool, not a villain.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Berbrooke is the embodiment of the Regency Era attitude that women were little more than trade goods, to be bought and sold between families for financial and (essentially) breeding purposes. He even compares her to a horse. Admittedly, he's such a heartless example of this that even other lords and nobility find his opinions odious.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Is set up to be the main obstacle to Daphne's marriage prospects, being the "safe" but reprehensible marriage choice compared to Simon the rake, but he's eliminated after the second episode. Afterwards, the obstacles become more abstract.
• Entitled to Have You: Lord Berbrooke doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to Daphne, culminating in blackmailing her family with the threat of scandal in order to force a marriage.
• Hopeless Suitor: Daphne has approximately zero interest in him despite his persistence. He only gets close to marrying her because of the patriarchal system of the time.
• Jerkass: Berbrooke is a thoroughly unpleasant man and deadbeat dad who forces himself on Daphne in several ways despite her resistance.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He tries first to force himself upon Daphne, and then threatens to blackmail both her and her family with the threat of scandal. His almost inevitable sexual coercion of one of his maids, and his refusal to provide for their child, gives the Bridgertons plenty of ammunition (via Lady Whistledown) to publicly humiliate him.

Cressida

Cressida Cowper

Played By: Jessica Madsen

"I enjoy keeping people alert."

An ill-mannered debutante.

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• Bullying a Dragon: Continues to antagonize Daphne even after her marriage, apparently oblivious to the risks of making an enemy out of a duchess.
• Fake Faint: Shamelessly tries this on Prince Friedrich, while Simon and Daphne joke about it from the sidelines. It does not accomplish very much.
• Improbable Hairstyle: She famously has a weirdly complicated hairstyle.
• Revenge Before Reason: Cressida threatens Daphne with the knowledge of the latter’s heated moment with Simon, even though she has nothing to gain from it other than petty vindication over Daphne stealing Prince Friedrich. Even though it does succeed in breaking up her courtship with the prince, it does not drive Friedrich back to Cressida, or gain her another suitor. At the end of the season, Cressida has gained nothing from her actions, still unmarried and untitled, while Daphne is now a Happily Married duchess.
• Rich Bitch: According to her mother, while Daphne is the most beautiful debutante of the season, Cressida has a large fortune. Fittingly, she's very catty and mean. Not only does she try to undercut Daphne, but she makes fun of Penelope as well. Tellingly, she is unmarried after two seasons.
• The Rival: She positions herself as Daphne's nemesis throughout the season and is openly envious of Daphne's connections with Simon and Friedrich.

Friedrich

Prince Friedrich

Played By: Freddie Stroma

A Prussian prince and the Queen's nephew, who comes to London looking for a bride.

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• Betty and Veronica: He's the nice, charming, good-husband-material Betty to Simon's Veronica for Daphne's Archie.
• Historical Domain Character: The show's version of Prince Frederick Wilhelm Ludwig.
• Graceful Loser: Refuses to "fight" for Daphne as his aunt encourages, knowing that she's clearly happy with Simon and it's not his place to ruin that.
• I Kiss Your Hand: Prince Friedrich kisses Cressida Cowper's hand at one event. Daphne and Simon muse about how it's a calculated flirtation strategy.
• Nice Guy: He's a kind and well-mannered gentleman. Knowing that Daphne loves her family dearly, he makes sure to let her know that he would be willing to stay in England and raise a family there. Even when Daphne rejects him, he handles it with grace and wishes her well.
• Nice Guys Finish Last: Friedrich is perfectly pleasant, but Daphne goes for the less upfront and Troubled, but Cute Simon.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: He is the noble to Simon's roguish for Daphne.
• Prince Charming: Friedrich is never anything but polite and charming.
• Romantic False Lead: Daphne entertains his affections for a while, but events eventually lead her back to Simon.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Poor Prince Friedrich is a genuine Nice Guy, and Daphne probably could have had a content, if not exactly passionate, marriage with him — but she is head over heels in love with Simon already and eventually marries the latter.
• Ship Tease: In the finale of season 2, the Queen, who has grown quite fond of Edwina Sharma, implies she will set her up with a still single Prince Friedrich.

Lord and Lady Sheffield

Lord and Lady Sheffield

Played By: Anthony Head and Shobu Kapoor

An Earl and his wife, and the parents of Mary Sharma.

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• Gruesome Grandparent: They effectively disowned their daughter Mary after the shame brought about by her Interclass Romance, and are cold to Edwina (Mary's biological daughter) and (especially) Kate (Edwina's stepsister). Because of their classism, they refuse to acknowledge Kate as a member of the family and will only formally acknowledge and support Edwina if she makes a suitably high society marriage. Anthony reasonably acknowledges their toxicity and tells them to eat dirt.
• I Have No Daughter!: They immediately disowned their daughter, Mary, for going against them by marrying a commoner out of love, instead of their chosen nobleman.
• Small Role, Big Impact: They only have one scene — a Meet the In-Laws dinner after Anthony and Edwina become engaged — but the conditions they have secretly imposed on Edwina's marriage drive the Sharmas' plot.

Other Characters

Lady Whistledown

Lady Whistledown

Voiced by: Julie Andrews

"You do not know me, but I know you."

A mysterious figure who exposes gossip and scandals through her society papers.

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• Beneath Suspicion: Eloise figures that Whistledown must somehow be privy to important gossip and events but isn't important enough to be noticed.
• Character Narrator: Lady Whistledown narrates the show through voiceovers describing events. However, she also exists as a figure within the show, and Eloise and the Queen strive to uncover her identity.
• Snub by Omission: At one point, she writes that there were "no other events of note" in one of her gossip papers. The Queen takes it as an insult since she'd had a luncheon just before. This was accidental. Since at that point the Featheringtons had been shunned from high society events due to the fallout of Marina lying to Colin to get him to marry her, she likely chose not to comment since she had no chance to gather gossip from the luncheon and the biggest story that she did know about was her own family's expulsion from the event.
• Voiceover Letter: Ostensibly, the voice we hear narrating is printed text on the society papers.

Brimsley

Brimsley (Regency Era)

Played By: Hugh Sachs

"What a wonderful tradition with which you have blessed all of England, Your Majesty."

Queen Charlotte's unflappable butler and right-hand man.

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• The Confidant: Privy to more information than most courtiers will hear in a lifetime.
• Consummate Professional: Treats his duties with utmost seriousness even when it's just investigating court gossip.
• Haughty Help: He has no qualms about putting Eloise in her place, despite her far outranking him.
• The Jeeves: The unflappable and devoted valet to the English queen.
• Married to the Job: He's served the crown and Charlotte his whole working life.
• Old Retainer: He is now middle-aged and has been serving Charlotte since he was a young man.
• Undying Loyalty: He's permanently by the Queen's side.

Brimsley (Young)

Played By: Sam Clemmett

"Your Majesty, I am the one person who will never tell you what you want to do. I will, however, always tell you how best to do the things you are not allowed to do."

A young Brimsley is tasked with fulfilling the new queen's every need.

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• Ascended Extra: He's only a background servant in the main Bridgerton series but a main character in Queen Charlotte.
• Forbidden Love: Is in a secret relationship with Reynold's (George's valet) which is obviously illegal and deeply dangerous. In the final episode the two of them hope that with Charlotte and George reconciled, they'll also be able to stay together for the rest of their lives.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: In the early months of Charlotte's queenship, he's often the one holding everything together as she's still coming to understand the English court.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Young Brimsley is surprisingly attractive in contrast to his plump and balding appearance in the Regency era.
• Nice Guy: Sweet, eager to please, and comes to care deeply about his new mistress.
• Only Sane Man: Between the headstrong Charlotte, Reynold's refusal to talk about anything, and George's literal madness, Brimsley is often the sole voice of reason.
• Secret-Keeper: He and Reynolds are the only characters who know the details of the royal couple's issues and full extent of George's madness.
• Silent Snarker: His only option when stuck observing all the shenanigans Charlotte gets up to.

Siena

Siena Rosso

Played By: Sabrina Bartlett

"I thought about coming with you tonight. I envisioned myself on your arm, dancing the night away.

An opera singer who had a long-term affair with Anthony.

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• Ascended Extra: Anthony only ever alludes to a previous relationship with an opera singer in The Viscount who Loved Me. The show gives this relationship screentime throughout the first season.
• First Love: To Anthony, especially in the show, given how Anthony seems quite deeply affected after their break-up in season 1. In the book, Anthony had a brief fling with her, but in the show, she and Anthony had been in a (secret) relationship for quite a long time.
• Meaningful Name: Her surname means red in Italian, so it matches her signature outfit color.
• The Mistress: It's a rather open secret that Anthony would rather fool around with her than getting married.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She's eventually tired of waiting due to Anthony seemed to never want to make them official. Thus, she immediately finds a new patron.
• This Is Reality: After Anthony breaks off their relationship and basically throws her out on the street, she finds a new patron as soon as possible. When he is outraged upon finding out, she points out that he shouldn't be SURPRISED when a common woman didn't wait around for the nobleman who clearly got tired of her.

Mme. Delacroix

Genevieve Delacroix

Played By: Kathryn Drysdale

A London dressmaker whom the other characters frequent. She's also a friend of Siena's.

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• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Has a very unconvincing French accent.
• Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Implied to be the reason she fakes being French — her aristocratic clients are drawn in by the prestige of having a French-accented dressmaker make their clothes.^note French-style fashions were very in style in 1810s England.
• Fauxreigner: The audience learns early in the first season that Madam Delacroix is only pretending to be French. She puts on a French accent in front of customers, but drops it around friends like Siena.
• Secret-Keeper: She begins suspecting that Penelope is Lady Whistledown after a chance encounter in the "poor" part of town[[/note]] but chooses to be discreet about it. Penelope gets ahead of the risk by releasing a pamphlet hyping up the modiste and recruiting her as an ally.
• Self-Made Woman: Very proud of the fact that she "makes her own way in the world", and though that involves hard work and long hours, she owns her own business and is not at the mercy of any man looking to marry her.

Mondrich

William Mondrich

Played By: Martins Imhangbe

Simon's old friend, a boxer.

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• Bromantic Foil: One of Simon's best friends, and a source of advice and contrast. Unlike the rich, single Simon, Will is a working-class family man.
• Family Man: Unlike Simon, he's got a wife and kids to worry about, and they prove to be his motivation throughout the show.
• Happily Married: He and Alice seem to be happily married as they're seen to always support each other.
• Honor Before Reason: Despite knowing doing so would ruin his reputation, Will cannot stand by and allow the new Lord Featherington to con his customers, and exposes him. Fortunately, Benedict and Colin ensure his clientele is not just secured, but expanded, as a reward for his honesty.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: William Mondrich is a thinly-veiled reference to Bill Richmond, a black 19th-century British boxer.
• No Social Skills: Downplayed. Will is a personable and snarky fellow, but clearly dislikes having to embark on the frivolous socializing that are hallmarks of "the ton", and struggles with small talk.
• Self-Made Man: He made his money through boxing and starts a gentleman's club with said money, becoming a businessman in his own right. Though he did make most of the seed money by throwing his last fight, and feels obvious guilt when praised for his "honest success".
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Simon barely exchange anything but snarky quips.

Theo

Theo Sharpe

Played By: Calam Lynch

A printer's assistant who Eloise meets during her search for Lady Whistledown.

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• Birds of a Feather: He and Eloise are both bookish, opinionated, and interested in social reform.
• Canon Foreigner: He doesn't exist in the books.
• Deadpan Snarker: Frequently sarcastic, especially concerning high society.
• Interclass Friendship: He's a working-class man who befriends and later falls for lady of the ton Eloise despite their massive difference in status.
• Pair the Smart Ones: He and Eloise bond at a political rally, and he confesses his feelings by giving her a pile of books.
  Theo: "I set them aside for you - I thought you might...share your thoughts on them."