Here's How Old the Bridgerton Characters Are at the End of Season 2
How did the Netflix show adjust the main characters' ages when they adapted Julia Quinn's novels?
Both Shondaland's Bridgerton and its source material, Julia Quinn's series of novels, remain somewhat ambiguous regarding the characters' ages. Only sporadic mentions of facts and details help viewers and readers deduce the birth years of the Bridgerton siblings and their romantic partners.
Thankfully, dedicated fans have sifted through offhand remarks by the show's characters and scrutinised the scripts for Seasons 1 and 2 to pin down the ages of the Bridgerton characters by the end of Season 2 (the 1814 social season), where we last left them.
This is how old the Bridgertons are:
- Anthony - 29
- Benedict - 27
- Colin - 21
- Daphne - 20
- Eloise - 19
- Francesca - 17
- Gregory - 13
- Hyacinth - 11
- Violet - late 40s
Here are the ages of the other major characters:
- Penelope Featherington - 19
- Simon Basset - 29
- Kate Sharma - 26
- Edwina Sharma - 18
- Marina Crane (née Thompson) - 19
- Prudence Featherington - 22
- Philipa Featherington - 20
- Portia Featherington - 40s
- Mary Sharma - 40s
- Agatha Danbury - 70s
If you're an avid reader of Julia Quinn and notice discrepancies in this list, you're right on the money. The Shondaland team tweaked the ages of several main characters from the books for a variety of reasons.
For example, Daphne's age was reduced by two years so she could be hailed as the Season's Incomparable. In Season 1, she made her societal debut at 19. The show's creators designated 18 as the customary age for women of the ton to debut and conclude their formal education. However, Violet permitted her eldest daughters to skip a year to extend their studies.
Portia was less accommodating with Penelope. Hence the protagonist of Season 3 was presented to the Queen in Season 1 at 18. Incidentally, both Penelope and Eloise had their ages increased by a year in the adaptation, as did Kate Sharma, who ended up five years older than her literary counterpart.
At the same time, contemporaries Anthony and Simon each had a year shaved off their ages. Colin's age was decreased by two years. These alterations were made to counteract the disturbing Regency-era tendency of mature men marrying significantly younger women and thus make Bridgerton more relatable for modern audiences.