Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season 3.
The Big Picture
- Queen Charlotte's £5,000 reward is worth over half a million pounds today.
- Cressida Cowper attempted to extort over £1.1 million from Penelope Bridgerton.
- Penelope's Lady Whistledown enterprise made her a millionaire, overshadowing the queen's reward.
Dearest gentle reader, the third season of Bridgerton has given audiences quite a stir as the hit Netflix series spotlights the love story between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Although the two friends turned lovers get their happily ever after together, their future is initially threatened by Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) in her pursuit of Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julie Andrews. As we wait for Season 4 and the future of Lady Whistledown's role in the ton, now is a good time to look at the financial stakes that were at play in the third season and break down what Queen Charlotte’s £5,000 reward is really worth in today’s economy. As it turns out, Penelope's writing enterprise has been making her a lot more money than we all initially thought.
Bridgerton
TV-MA
Drama
Romance
Set in the glamorous world of Regency London, the Bridgerton family maneuvers through the opulent and treacherous landscape of high society. Daphne Bridgerton, the family's eldest daughter, enters the marriage market, sparking a whirlwind romance with the enigmatic Duke of Hastings.
- Release Date
- December 25, 2020
- Creator
- Chris Van Dusen
- Cast
- Rege-Jean Page , Julie Andrews , Jonathan Bailey , Ruth Gemmell , Polly Walker , Golda Rosheuvel , Phoebe Dynevor , Simone Ashley , Luke Newton , Nicola Coughlan
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Netflix
- Creator(s)
- Chris Van Dusen
Queen Charlotte’s Reward Is Worth Over Half a Million Pounds in Today's Economy
Penelope does not initially step into the light and reveal herself to the ton willingly, as Queen Charlotte forces her hand by offering a £5,000 reward to whoever will reveal information regarding Lady Whistledown’s identity. Queen Charlotte has been obsessed with discovering Lady Whistledown’s identity since Season 1, and finally, in the third season, she begins to use royal funds to speed up the process. By today’s standards, £5,000 (or roughly $6,340) is a low, and frankly insulting, amount to pay for the identity of London’s premier gossip queen. Well, it turns out that £5,000 during this time period is nothing to scoff at. Adjusting for inflation, £5,000 in 1815, the year Season 3 took place, is worth about £558,000 today; in U.S. dollars, that’s almost $708,000, well more than half a million dollars.
This kind of sum could change a person’s life, which is why Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) jumped at the chance to declare herself as Lady Whistledown and claim the reward for herself. When Penelope comes out of hiding to publish another Lady Whistledown pamphlet, it proves Cressida is a liar. However, once she discovers Lady Whistledown’s true identity, Cressida blackmails Penelope for double the queen’s reward in order to start her new life away from Mayfair. With today’s economy in mind, that means Cressida attempted to extort over £1.1 million, which is about $1.4 million. With that type of money, Cressida could leave the continent and still live a comfortable lifestyle. With today’s economy in mind, £5,000 and £10,000 is nothing to turn your nose at.
Lady Whistledown Made Penelope a Regency Mogul in 'Bridgerton'
Adjusting Queen Charlotte’s reward for its worth today not only changes the audience's perception of the stir it causes in the ton but also the audience's perception of Penelope herself. Once you put these numbers into perspective, the figures reveal that Penelope has turned her gossip column into a gold mine.
After Penelope tells both her husband, Colin, and her best friend, Eloise (Claudia Jessie), about Cressida’s threat, they begin to fret about how they’ll go about paying her off. The Bridgerton family is wealthy and could have paid Cressida, but not without permission from Benedict (Luke Thompson), who has been looking over the books while Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) has been away. However, Penelope surprises them, as well as her mother, Portia Featherington (Polly Walker), that she can pay Cressida’s demand with no problem. That’s right — with a little over three years in business, Lady Whistledown made Penelope a millionaire. When compared to Queen Charlotte’s £5,000 reward, the Lady Whistledown enterprise completely dwarfs the queen’s financial incentives.
Despite the ransom for its riches, Lady Whistledown’s financial portfolio couldn’t be brought down by blackmail, nor could its influence. Even though Penelope diffuses Cressida’s threats by revealing Lady Whistledown on her own terms, Penelope still uses her Lady Whistledown fortune as an alibi for Portia’s financial discrepancies with the royal solicitor. Penelope gets to keep her well-earned money and ensure that her family will always be supported financially for the rest of their days. The Lady Whistledown business has been a source of influence and power in Queen Charlotte’s dominion. The net profit of Lady Whistledown is a testament to Penelope’s achievements as her own mogul, able to succeed in a society that teaches women that they can have husbands, not dreams.
Bridgerton Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
