In up to season 4 there is ongoing talk about the babies we may see, but these discussions often forget about the babies that we won't see (or haven't seen), and of course with the order and timeline changes in the show from the books the babies we may (or may not) see will be different.
Image Credit: Netflix
Daphne and Simon:
In the books Daphne and Simon had a girl first, Amelia, born in 1814, with Belinda, Caroline and David following each year after, finally Edward arrives 20 years after Amelia.
In the show Daphne has a boy first, but they keep the alphabetical naming of the children, with August (Auggie) replacing Amelia as Daphne and Simon's firstborn. We saw the birth of Auggie in season 1, and he made a couple of appearances in season 2, but as Daphne was not in season 3 we have not seen, nor heard about, her children in the main show. However, in Queen Charlotte we saw Violet with 2 small children that were Auggie, and his little sister, showing that Daphne's second child was born in 1814. Following the books Daphne would have had a baby in 1815 (season 3), and should have her fourth by season 4. I doubt that the audience will hear anything about her other babies however.
Image Credit: Netflix
Anthony and Kate:
In the books Anthony and Kate have a boy, Edmund, in 1815, with Miles following a couple of years later. Charlotte arrives 5 years after Miles, and Mary 8 years after Charlotte.
In the show we have yet to see Anthony and Kate's first baby, however, season 3 ended with Kate heavily pregnant and Anthony inexplicably taking her on a six month periolous voyage to India. Will we meet Anthony and Kate's first baby in season 4, and will he be Edmund?
I believe that there is a possibility we will see Edmund in season 4, there have been enough hints suggesting that Jonathan Bailey, and Simone Ashley, filmed with a child, and possibly children, (though whether Jonathan Bailey's slip about 'babies' was related to Anthony and Kate's or just babies on the show in general is unknown). In addition to baby Edmund I would love to see Kate and Anthony with a second child, however, this is where I would be happy for them to deviate from the books and give them a girl second. This would also allow some fleshing out of Kate's character (if Jess Brownell was so inclined) by using a pregnancy/birth or a baby girl to delve into more about her mother, and giving her mother's name to her baby - and I don't mean Mary. After all Kate said in season 2 that her mother had a name, we just don't know it yet.
The question here is not whether we will see a baby or two for Anthony and Kate, but rather if Jess Brownell cares enough about good storytelling to do more than a surface level minute or two appearance of Kate and a baby in the hopes of appeasing fans. I would suggest not, but she might surprise us yet.
Image Credit: Netflix
Colin and Penelope:
Colin and Penelope's arc has had one of the most dramatic changes so far in the series with the shift in order and bringing their story forward by ten years, but that isn't the only big change with Colin and Penelope's story. In the books Colin and Penelope's first child is a girl, Agatha born in 1825 and named for Lady Danbury, then they have Thomas born in 1826, Jane born in 1828 and George born in 1831. In the show this is changed, not only do they have a boy first, he also becomes the new Lord Featherington via a storyline centred on fraud (note that Penelope's father in the book was not a member of the peerage, he was a Mr). The currently unnamed child was shown at the end of season 3, and from early stills we see that he makes at least one appearance in season 4. The question now is whether Penelope will become pregnant in season 4, and will we see a second baby for Colin and Penelope? If there is a second baby will that baby be a girl? What would they name her considering the relationship between Penelope and Lady Danbury in the show is not the same as in the book? My thoughts are that they should call their first girl Charlotte to honour the Queen (yes, I know it is Kate and Anthony's daughter's name, but I want to see their first daughter be named after Kate's biological mother).
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Benedict and Sophie:
I know we haven't seen Benedict and Sophie's season yet, and we don't know if we will see a baby for them in the season, but let's play 'what if' with this idea. Benedict's book comes third, before Colin and Penelope's, however the show has put Benedict fourth. In the book Benedict and Sophie have a boy first, Charles born in 1818 followed by Alexander (1820), William (1822) and Violet (1824). The show has changed both Daphne and Colin's firstborn to a boy, so there is no reason why they can't change Benedict's firstborn to a girl. I would like to see Benedict and Sophie have a girl first, and if season 4 follows season 1 and season 3 by showing the main couple with a baby in their season, I would love baby Violet making an appearance in the epilogue of season 4.
Francesca:
This one is interesting, like Colin Francesca's story has one of the biggest changes with her endgame being genderbent. The questions raised is how they will address her wanting a child as in the boook where she had a miscarriage during her marriage to John but went on to have two children with Michael. If they are going to have Francesca give birth to the next Earl of Kilmartin then I believe that she will have a child while with John before he dies, which indicates that we will most likely see Francesca and John's child in season 4 based on leaks that suggest John dies in the season. Of course they could leave it as Francesca being pregnant and not show the baby like they did with Kate.
So how many babies will we see in season 4? One is confirmed based on the stills released, rumours abound that we will see at least one baby, if not two babies, for Anthony and Kate, and if the show does give us Benedict and Sophie's first baby, and a baby for Francesca, there could be as many as five Bridgerton babies shown in one form or another in season 4.
