I was preparing a post on the latest season 3 clip that we saw during the Valentine's Day event, when a line from Colin caught my attention, and I realised that this post was no longer going to be about the clip, but rather making sense of one of those mysteries in the Bridgerton fandom - Bridgerton Time, and specifically the timing from the season 2 epilogue to the beginning of season 3.
For many trying to reconcile the timelines from the season 2 epilogue to Queen Charlotte to the expected beginning of season 3 has become a bit of a 'big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff', (yes that is a Dr Who reference). However, if we don't think too much about Daphne's children (that is something that will never be fully reconciled) the timelines do make sense in terms of what we have been shown about season 3.
Image Credit: HowesImages-Dean-Click News and Media via New York Post
We know that the epilogue of season 2 happened after Kate and Anthony returned from 6 months of travelling, but before the beginning of the social season in season 3. Bridgerton's first two seasons had the social season beginning in Spring, which made the costuming for the epilogue seem out of place if it was meant to be late winter / early spring as Kate and Daphne, specifically, were wearing summery dresses. Pictures from early season 3 filming shows what appears to be Colin returning from travelling but before Francesca is presented, the pictures also suggest that he has been absent for some time based on how he is being greeted by his family. This is again confusing for the timeline, as we saw Colin in the epilogue for season 2, and surely that would have only been a few weeks earlier if Kate and Anthony returned right before the social season began in Spring.
Image Credit: HowesImages-Dean-Click News and Media via New York Post
But, what if the season 2 epilogue didn't happen in early Spring (ie: April), but rather early Summer (late May / early June)? I can hear some denials of this theory, with some noting that the social season begins in April, and that we see Francesca dressed for a presentation which has always happened at the beginning of the social season in Bridgerton. Yes, all of these points are correct, until we take into account the beginning of Queen Charlotte.
In the first episode of Queen Charlotte we see the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales and her baby, and it is in this episode that we are told that Anthony is on his honeymoon. This reference to Anthony being on honeymoon gives us a time and place of late 1814, and though Princess Charlotte actually died in 1817, it does appear that the makers of Queen Charlotte kept the month of November the same. Add into this mix contemporary reports that suggested there was deep public mourning for Princess Charlotte due to her popularity, and this forms the beginning of the theory to explain this Bridgerton timeline mystery.
Image Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix
In the clip we saw at the Valentine's Day event for Bridgerton season 3 Colin says to Penelope 'I wrote to you this summer', and that helps us set the time and place for the beginning of the social season in Bridgerton season 3. Colin telling Penelope he wrote to her 'last summer' suggests that Colin was travelling last summer, and that this takes place after summer, so likely Autumn. Of course this could be the following Spring (1816), but the next clue in the clip suggests that this season is indeed in 1815. Penelope refers to Colin's words at the Featherington Ball 'last season', so if this was indeed 1816 then she would not be referring to the words as being said in the previous season. The final clue in this clip that suggests it is at the beginning of the social season is that this scene looks to be at the front of Lady Danbury's house, and as we know from both season 2 and Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury hosts the first ball of every season.
Also, it is worth noting that during Tudum in 2022 when we saw Nicola Coughlan read the first words of Lady Whistledown from the script for episode 1 it starts with 'Dearest Gentle Reader, we have been apart for far too long...'. At the time it may not have meant anything, but considering that Lady Whistledown as prominent in Queen Charlotte, which took place over the winter period, if it was Spring the new season was to begin then this would not really make much sense as Lady Whistledown would not have been gone for long. However, if the new social season was to be in Autumn, and there had been no Lady Whistledown for Spring and Summer, this makes more sense.
But why would Bridgerton change the social season from Spring to Autumn? I think this is where Queen Charlotte plays a part, specifically the beginning of Queen Charlotte with the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, and her son. It is highly likely that we could see a narrative where the social season is delayed to later in the year due to Queen Charlotte mourning the loss of her granddaughter and great grandson, thus pushing the social season, and therefore the Bridgerton season, to the Autumn / Winter, as opposed to Spring / Summer.
But I am sure you are wondering how this fits with the season 2 epilogue, well it then makes sense for Kate and Anthony to have returned from their travels in late April / early May, which would fit with the costumes being more for summer than late winter. This leads to the theory that Kate and Anthony likely left between October and early November for their honeymoon, which places their marriage as possibly taking place after the Harvest at the end of September. In this scenario what we would see is Kate and Anthony having a public courting and engagement period of approximately 2 months after the Featherington Ball, which would have been in the first few days of August (based on the fact that the Harmony Ball was 25 July). A delay to the start of the social season would also have allowed Colin to have remained home whilst Kate and Anthony were travelling, and to have been there for the Pall Mall in late April / early May, leaving soon after to travel for several months over summer before returning for the beginning of the social season.
What I think this tells us is that the changing of the real historical timeline in Queen Charlotte, specifically around the death of Princess Charlotte, was a deliberate choice to set up season 3 to be later in the year.
