Throwback Thursday: Money, Money, Money

First Posted on Tumblr 9 July 2023

A couple of months ago there was some discussion on twitter regarding finances, specifically Bridgerton finances in relation to Anthony, as the eldest, and Colin, the third son, with Benedict getting a brief mention.  

Before discussing Bridgerton specifically lets have a quick history lesson.  The first holder of a title, (in the case of Bridgerton it is Anthony's Gt x 6 Grandfather), may have been granted lands and an estate with the title.  The estate will come with tenants, and land that is not farmed by tenants will have been leased, the income from the estate will be in the form of rents and go to the person who has the title.  Sometimes this income will be supplemented through investments, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The income that the Lord received will be used to bring up his family, feed, clothe, and pay the servants, maintain the properties, maintain the tenants housing and farm buildings, provide the dowries for any daughters (which is why for some sons were preferable).  Into this income comes the dowry of the wife, however, depending on the marriage agreement this dowry may or may not be used for the above, often it would be used to set up a trust for any children (with the exception of the eldest son), or to put aside to be used as the widow's portion should the Lord die before his wife, or to be used as an allowance (pin money) by his wife.  The Lord at the time may work hard to grow the families finances, or he may gamble it all away, or he may just be an absentee landlord who doesn't care and is easily swindled, either way when he dies the next in line (usually the eldest son) will inherit everything, whether it is debt or a healthy financial situation. 

So if the eldest son inherits everything, and has to maintain and manage the estates and any investments, what about other sons?  Usually the younger son would go into the military (especially at a time when England was at war), or they would enter another suitable profession such as the clergy or law.  Often they would get one grand tour (similar to a gap year) before entering their profession. 

But how does this relate to Bridgerton?  The first Viscount Bridgerton, (remembering Anthony is the ninth, so 8 generations before Anthony), will have been granted the estate at Aubrey Hall along with the title, the estate will have formed the basis of the income for the family.  When the first Viscount died the title, the estate and everything connected passed to his son, who will have either worked hard to grow the estate and finances, or squandered it.  This will have happened for seven generations to get to Edmund.  When Edmund inherited the title and the estate, along with all the money he will have worked to keep the finances in the black.  He will have put aside some money in his will for Violet's widow's portion (money for her and any young children to use to live on when he died), though Violet does not seem to have a need for it as Anthony is supporting her and the children, and he may (or may not) have put some aside for the younger sons. 

In the world of Bridgerton Anthony is the Viscount, he inherited not only the title, but also the estates and properties, the money and any debt, from Edmund. 

The below tweet, one of the many that was involved in the discussion, shows a lack of understanding on how the system works.

Edmund was not self made, he inherited his money, and at the very least maintained the fortune he inherited, just as Anthony inherited the money. The money IS Anthony's money, Edmund is no longer alive, and the money, along with the estates, and the responsibilities of managing the estates went to Anthony as the eldest son.

Inherited money does not remain static, the money is used to clothe and feed the family and the servants, it is used to maintain the houses, it is used to maintain the tenants properties, it is used for the dowries of his sisters or at least to increase the dowries if Edmund had already put money aside for the dowries, it is used to provide his brothers an allowance, it is used for Colin's travels.  If Anthony had not worked in order to maintain and grow the families finances since inheriting when he was 18, this would not be possible, the family would have been destitute by now.  It was shown in both season 1 and season 2 that Anthony spends long hours working to maintain the families financial position, and in season 2 it was shown that Anthony is a very hands on manager with the estates and has an understanding of the business he is in.

That is why I find this next tweet quite ignorant.

There are two aspects to this, first Anthony has a job, he is the Viscount and the landowner, his job is to ensure that the estates are run at a profit, as for him being solely entitled to Edmund's money, well that is because of the inheritance as explained above. Anthony is the eldest son, he inherited the title that Edmund had, a title that came with the estate, lands, and money.

This tweet is also implying that Edmund earned all of the money, this is incorrect, Edmund also inherited and none of his siblings did, as with Anthony. Further to imply Anthony has done nothing for the money and inherited based on Edmund's work is also incorrect, Anthony, like the previous Viscounts has worked, and continues to work, to maintain and grow the family finances.  

Now, onto a further point in the discussion, Colin's actions in season 2 of taking the money.  Many defending him are suggesting he had a right to the money, however, legally he didn't, it is Anthony's money.  That Anthony is more progressive than some Lord's and is happy to support and share what is his with the family does not make any of the family entitled to just take what they want without asking Anthony.  I have seen some suggest it was Colin's money, however, this is not what is said in the show, Anthony refers to the money as 'ours', meaning the family's money, meaning it wasn't Colin's personal account, but rather the account attached to the estate and family, which technically, and legally, was Anthony's. 

Was Colin wrong in taking the money without talking to Anthony?  Yes, it was not a small amount of money he took.  Colin took out £1000, which in 2023 would be the equivalent of over £100,000.  This money that Colin took was the money that would be used to keep the household running, to allow Colin the ability to travel where he pleased, it is this money that means neither Colin nor Benedict have to work at this point.  By taking the money and not asking Anthony, Colin not only showed a lack of respect for his brother, but also for his family and those that depend on the family for their livelihoods. Colin acted like an entitled rich kid who has no concept of money or the effort that Anthony, and others, put in to ensure that the money is there. Colin has spent money without ever earning money.

Colin's season is next, so it is natural that discussions like this will focus more on Colin than Benedict. Colin will be getting married, will he expect to remain living in the family home and be supported by Anthony after marriage? Will Colin expect Anthony to support his wife as well as the Viscountess, their mother and their siblings, not to mention Anthony's future children? I would hope not.

I would expect to see Colin mature, and learn more about what is required of someone embarking on a life where he should be no longer dependent on his brother. I want to see this turned into an arc for Colin where he finds his purpose and begins to earn a living where he can support a family of his own, to show how he grows from the entitled rich kid at the end of season 2 into a man able to provide for a family at the end of season 3, otherwise what is the point of season 3 being about Colin and Penelope if they end it where Colin began it, completely dependent on Anthony?

The Succession Crisis of 1817

On 6 November 1817 Princess Charlotte of Wales died whilst giving birth to a stillborn boy, plunging the British monarchy into a succession crisis. This is not the first succession crisis that the British Monarchy faced in its 1000 year history, but it is the most recent that we have seen.  

Princess Charlotte was the only child of HRH The Prince Regent, and the only legitimate grandchild of King George III and Queen Charlotte, and she died giving birth to the next heir to the throne. Her death led to what could have been the extinction of the House of Hanover as at that time only three of King George's sons were married, two living separately from their wives so unlikely to have any children, and the third had yet to have children (and even if he had he had a difficult relationship with his mother), and the youngest of King George's daughters was 40 so likely to be past her best child bearing years.   

Upon the death of Princess Charlotte the country was thrown into deep mourning as she was seen as the hope of the nation after a Hanoverian rule that was unpopular and plagued with scandal, but more so the country was thrown into a constitutional crisis. The nearest heir (after George and Charlotte's children) was a nephew of King George III who himself had no children, thus creating another potential succession crisis. In the wake of this constitutional crisis Parliament forced the sons of King George III to find wives, and thus an absurd competition between the unmarried sons to get married and produce the next heir. The Princes ditched their mistresses and went looking for wives. 

The first of the unmarried sons to get married was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn who married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on 29 May 1818. Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (later King William IV) married Princess Adelaide of Sage-Meiningen on 11 July 1818. The Duke and Duchess of Kent had a daughter on 24 May 1819 christened Alexandrina Victoria, eight months after her birth The Duke of Kent died. 

The Duchess of Clarence had three miscarriages, but did have two pregnancies that went full term, and she gave birth to two daughters (Princess Charlotte of Clarence and Princess Elizabeth of Clarence), however neither survived childhood. On the death of his brother in 1830 The Duke of Clarence became King William IV, but as he had no direct heirs he was succeeded by his brothers daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, who took on the Regnal name Victoria when she inherited the crown at age 18 in 1837. Queen Victoria is the second longest monarch in the United Kingdom, having been surpassed by her Great Great Granddaughter, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2015, almost 200 years after the succession crisis that led to the birth of Victoria. 

Queen Charlotte did not live long enough to see her granddaughter born having died in November 1818, whilst King George III lived until January 1820 never knowing of the death of his eldest grandchild or his wife, nor the birth of his youngest grandchild. 

Throwback Thursday: My hopes for Kate and Anthony in Season 3

First posted on Tumblr 5 July 2023

Following on from my post about my hopes for season 3 side stories, here is a list of what I hope to see for Kate and Anthony in season 3.

Dancing:

Lots and lots of dancing at balls. This is a given, it is book canon that Kate and Anthony always dance one more time than is deemed to be proper, and I would like to see this at least once, and maybe a gossiping woman commenting on how romantic it is.

Kate becoming the Viscountess

We know from some of the interviews with Simone Ashley that part of Kate's story is about her settling into her new role. With this I have seen some suggest there will be conflict, the ton will not accept her or her and Violet will clash, but I don't want to see this as I think Kate had a lot of conflict in her season, it is time for her to have acceptance and happiness. What I do want to see is Kate struggling a bit with her confidence because she wants to be the perfect Viscountess, and she tries to do everything exactly as Violet does. I would like Anthony and Violet to notice this and to reassure her. I think she will brush off Anthony reassuring her and tell him that he is biased, but I would like to see this be a point where her relationship with Violet develops, and Violet helps Kate understand that she can be whatever type of Viscountess she wants to be, and that Kate doesn't have to do everything the same way that Violet did it. I also don't want this to drag out, and be resolved within an episode or two, Kate doesn't need any more drama. Further to that I would like to see a scene with Anthony and Violet where Violet reminds him of his comment in season 2 saying he was looking for perfection and how nice it is that he has changed and chose a wife that he loved, and Anthony responds to her that he did choose perfection, because Kate is perfection.

Bonding with the younger Bridgertons

I would really love to see Kate bonding with the Bridgertons, we saw a little with Eloise in Season 2, and I can see her being another older sister for Francesca, however I really want her to bond with Gregory and Hyacinth as well. I don't want Kate to become a second mother to them, but more a favourite older sister and they gang up to tease Anthony, and maybe go for walks with Newton. I would just love to see some cute scenes with Kate and Anthony, and Gregory and Hyacinth.

Pregnancy and a baby

I know that it has been suggested by a blogger that Kate and Anthony should have an infertility storyline, I think the reasoning was some backhanded 'the actors are too good to not have something meaty'. This isn't me. I would like to see Kate pregnant, and I think we can see it impact more than one storyline.

Whilst I think it would be cute to see Kate tell Anthony she is expecting I think the reaction would be along the lines of what it was when she told him she loved him, so I can forgo that in favour of the pregnancy and maybe the birth in the epilogue with the family around, or late in the season.

I know some have suggested that Kate's pregnancy storyline could play in for Anthony and his trauma around Hyacinth's birth, but for me Anthony wasn't the Bridgerton most traumatised by Hyacinth's birth, Eloise was. I have always thought that Eloise being around Kate full time whilst she is pregnant will touch on her trauma a bit, and I can see this being something to create some wonderful bonding moments and growth for Eloise.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want a pregnancy storyline with Kate to be about Eloise, it will be part of her story, but the whole story shouldn't be about Eloise.

Kate being pregnant can help with the telling of her past. I can see this as being a time when she truly misses her mother, and I would like to see a story weaved into her being pregnant where she finds out more about her mother. In addition to her mother, I can see the anxieties Kate may feel about becoming a new mother and having a child making her more vulnerable, and this could increase her fear and anxiety around storms. In the books Kate's fear of storms is linked directly to her mother's death, so I would like to see elements of this brought into the show, and for Kate to learn more about her mother whilst also dealing with her fears/anxities around storms. In saying that I don't think the fear will be to the extent it is in the books, but I can see it being greater than expressed in season 2.

Doing their 'duty'

As a nice call back to the season 2 epilogue I would love to see them bring in 'duties' as Kate and Anthony's little code for when they are getting the urge to have some sexy times together, or for when they are late for family gatherings/balls etc. I think it would be a nice little fun way to tie the two seasons together for them.

Kathani

I want to see Anthony call Kate Kathani in a number of situations, shouting it through the house when he is vexed at her (maybe over something Newton has done), saying it lovingly in bed, playfully in the drawing room.... just anytime really. I don't want the show to have put that in at the end of season 2 only to ignore it as Kate's name.

These are just some of what I would like to see for Kate and Anthony for season 3, but to be honest what I really would love to see for them can be summed up in one word - Happy.

Both Kate and Anthony have had a difficult, and mostly unhappy, past 8-10 years, so to see them happy, glowing and loving with each other will be perfect.

What would you add to this list for Kate and Anthony for season 3?

The issue with consent in the Bridgerton Universe

 *Trigger Warning: Talk of marital rape and consent issues*

Season two of Bridgerton stands out in the Bridgerton Universe, and it is for a surprising reason, especially in this post #metoo world. Of two seasons of Bridgerton, and one season of Queen Charlotte, season two is the only one that has no dubious consent, in fact this season has a scene where consent is very explicitly stated by both protagonists. 

For a universe that is created by a woman it is not only surprising, but also disappointing, that there is an issue with consent in the show, and further to that it is very disappointing that many in the Bridgerton fandom are not more concerned about it. 

But what are the issues exactly? Essentially the issues focus on marital rape in both season 1, and again in Queen Charlotte. In the former it is treated as a moment for the woman to be taking control, in the latter it is turned into a joke and treated as nothing more than bad sex. 

Addressing Queen Charlotte first, as the most recent - and disappointing - case of marital rape, disappointing because it shows that the producers at Shondaland learnt nothing from season 1, or that perhaps they did learn and try to mitigate the backlash of including the scenes. 

For background, in Queen Charlotte there are multiple scenes showing Lady Danbury with her husband, and whilst there is no physical force involved it is implied that there is coercive force involved. We see Lady Danbury having a scalding bath after each encounter, we see her request salve for her thighs which clearly indicates injury, we see her disassociate during sex, and we see Lord Danbury threaten to make her have sex with him if she refuses. Further we hear her backstory, where we find out that from the age of 3 Lady Danbury was groomed to be the wife of Lord Danbury, she had no choice in the matter. Not only was Lady Danbury groomed to be Lord Danbury's wife, once married she entered a relationship that involved several signs of coercive control, something that is a form of domestic abuse, which includes marital rape through regulating the sexual relationship. 

It is not necessarily the inclusion of this storyline for the show that is the biggest problem (though I do not see a reason for it to be included as it was), but rather how it was dealt with in the show, and subsequently discussed by the creators and fandom. 

Within Queen Charlotte the marital rape of Lady Danbury was played for laughs, to the point that a joke was included during the first sex scene between George and Charlotte, and in each scene the direction made it obvious the audience were meant to find humour in what was happening onscreen, but it is not something to be made light of. However, the worst aspect for me was the reaction to it, many fans on social media played down the scenes by saying that it was just bad sex, or that it was the way of the world then and not every woman enjoyed sex, these fans minimising marital rape also used the lack of a warning by Netflix as a reason why it was not marital rape, despite it clearly being so. 

The fans minimising the marital rape had a reason to think that way though, and that reason comes directly from the writer(s) and creator of the show, Shonda Rhimes (and Julia Quinn). In an interview conducted by Valentina Valentini on the Shondaland website Shonda Rhimes, in discussing the relationship of Lord and Lady Danbury refers to it as 'bad sex'. Julia Quinn backed this narrative by saying "One thing I really appreciated in the script, which you wouldn't see if you haven't read the script, but Shonda was very careful to point out in the script that it's not assault, what's happening. It was just, "She is not into it"". This is very worrying, that two women can write about marital rape of a woman and then downplay it to nothing more than bad sex. What is even more evident with this quote from Julia Quinn is that Shonda Rhimes, was aware that these scenes were rape, or that they would be viewed as rape, and therefore wanted to minimise it as much as possible. 

As mentioned, this is not the first time that the Bridgerton Universe has used marital rape within the show. In season 1 we saw Daphne rape Simon by forcing him to ejaculate inside her so she would get pregnant. In the show the focus was on Daphne's feeling of betrayal when she found out about his duplicity, thus framing this scene as her taking control, rather than on Simon's trauma at having been sexually assaulted. Simon showed clear distress at being held down and forced to ejaculate inside Daphne, and despite not verbalising his withdrawal of consent in that moment of distress, it is obvious that he was withdrawing his consent with the shaking of his head, and that Daphne did not acknowledge this. 

Theresa J Conway, in an article on Medium, puts the case forward that this scene does not depict marital rape, her basis for this is that Simon never said no, that he was a willing participant in the beginning of the act, and that he did climax, so that to her indicates consent. I take issue with this view, and I wonder if the same view would be taken if it were a woman, not man. Imagine if a woman was a willing participant at the instigation of sex, but then was forcibly held down and showed signs of distress but was unable to verbalise her withdrawal of consent, and then climaxed, but it was claimed she was not raped because she climaxed and willingly took part at the beginning. As women we are told that consent can be withdrawn at any point, men are told that a woman can withdraw consent at any point and that to continue if a woman withdraws consent or shows distress constitutes sexual assault or rape, so why is it different when the victim is a man? 

In both of these cases within the Bridgerton universe there is an overlaying perception regarding race, and the fact that these actions were both visited upon people of colour, (and in the case of Lady Danbury perpetuated by a dark skinned man), this is an issue to be raised within a wider discussion of Bridgerton and the treatment of their characters that are played by people of colour, it goes further than that of Lady Danbury and Simon. 

These scenes in season one and in Queen Charlotte illustrate why season two is an anomaly in the Bridgerton Universe, not only was there explicit consent between the protagonists, it did not touch on the instances of dubious consent in the books at all. Anthony and Kate came together as equals, complete with Anthony showing his willingness to stop, and Kate explicitly telling Anthony 'don't stop', an addition to the scene by the actors Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley which shows an understanding of these issues in today's world, and something these actors should receive more praise for. To many, seeing the explicit consent in season two brought about the belief that the producers, and writers, in the Bridgerton Universe had taken on board the criticisms from season 1, and learned from it, but the Queen Charlotte scenes made the season two explicit consent stand out within this universe they are building.  

What is the Regency Period?

The Regency period is a specific period in British history, that covers a period of incapacitation of the monarch and the presence of the Price Regent. Historically and politically, the Regency period was during the time 1811-1820. 

In popular culture the Regency period is often identified through the fashion of the Empire Dress, however, this is not the defining feature of the Regency period. In the United Kingdom the Regency period forms the beginning of the period between the Georgian period and the Victorian period (which began in 1837). 

This post is not designed to be an in depth history lesson, but rather a short and brief overview of the regency period, and what a regent is. 

What is a Regent? 

A Regent is defined as a person who is appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, absent or incapacitated. 

In 1811 HRH Prince George, The Prince of Wales, was appointed as the Regent via an act of Parliament due to the incapacitation of King George III. Under this act The Prince of Wales undertook all of the duties of the monarch, and was essentially the monarch in all but name. 

The Regency Act:

Prior to 1937 there was no one Regency Act in the United Kingdom, and legislation was passed on an ad hoc basis as required, the Regency period came into being after one such act was passed, the Care of the King During His Illness Etc Act 1811, commonly referred to as the Regency Act 1811. 

The act states that "His Royal Highness George Augustus Frederick Prince of Wales shall have full Power and Authority, in the Name and on the Behalf of His Majesty, and under the Stile and Title of "Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," to exercise and administer the Royal Power and Authority to the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland belonging, and to use, execute and perform all Authorities, Prerogatives, Acts of Government and Administration of the same, which lawfully belong to the King of the said United Kingdom"

This legislation passed in Parliament, thus suspending the King from his duties as Head of State with The Prince of Wales assuming the Regency on 5 February 1811. 

The Regency ended with the death of King George III on 29 January 1820 when The Prince of Wales ascended the throne as King George IV. 

Throwback Thursday: How did Anthony know Kate's Government Name

First Posted on Tumblr 18 May 2023

In the book 'The Viscount Who Loved Me' Kate's christian name is Katherine, but in the show Kate is not English, she is not from Somerset, she is Indian and from what we know of her spent most, or all, of her life in India, so calling her Katherine made no sense in that context, why would Indian parents name their child with such an English name?

We find out towards the end of episode 8 that Kate's name is Kathani, but the way we find out is the most surprising. It is not from her family - Mary and Edwina - that we find out what her name is, but from Anthony himself as he says the line 'Is that a promise Kathani Sharma?'. But how did Anthony know what Kate's Government name was?

There are many theories as to how Anthony knew Kate's name, some suggest that he tried to find out when she said she was going back to India, others think he had her investigated (rather stalkerish behaviour I think), and some think she told him during their night in the gazebo before they fell asleep, however, I think there is a clue in episode 3 as to how Anthony found out, and I think he has known for most of the season.

In episode 3 we see the beginning of a one on one conversation between Edwina and Anthony, and after that we see Edwina and Kate talking about the conversation. Edwina tells Kate that Anthony didn't just talk about himself, but that he asked her about her family, and I think this is where Anthony found out what Kate's name was. In asking about Edwina's family I think Anthony was either consciously or subconsciously trying to learn more about Kate. He spoke to Edwina about their parents where he learned that they were half sisters, and this in the conversation he posed the question as to why Kate had an English name when both her parents were Indian, and Edwina told him that Kate's name was Kathani.

What are your theories on how Anthony knew what Kate's name was?

• I have used the term 'Government name' rather than christian name for two reasons, first Christian name references the Christian religion and it is likely that Kate was not christian but rather Hindu, and second because some people I know from India refer to their name as their Government name. If this is incorrect please do let me know

The Case of the missing Trailer.....

On 9 March 2022 the full season 2 trailer was released and uploaded to the Netflix account on YouTube as well as being posted on the Bridgerton official social media accounts, but just over six months later Netflix made the trailer private, on 12 September 2022, and it has since been removed from the official Instagram account, but interestingly remains on the official Bridgerton Twitter account in full.

At the time of the season 2 trailer being made private it had 5,522,841 views with 116,000 likes and it was the second most viewed video on the Bridgerton playlist on Netflix's official YouTube channel, and today it retains that spot despite having been removed over 10 months ago. So why would Netflix make a video with over 5 million views private? By making it private Netflix have made it impossible to be viewed, and as it stands it is the only Bridgerton video from both seasons to be made private and hidden from view.

It is a mystery as to why Netflix decided to make this video private, especially considering it was a highly viewed and shared video, and this has led to a number of conspiracy theories around the potential reasons. One thing I have noticed in life is that when there is secrecy around some things it leads to some conspiracy theories (some crazy, others believable), in saying that though conspiracy theories should not be written off as entirely false as there are times when they turn out to be true, or at least partially true. So, leading on from that, we can only speculate if there is any truth in the conspiracies surrounding the missing season 2 trailer.