My Bridgerton Season 5 Predictions Based on History: Could the Ladies of Llangollen Inspire Francesca & Michaela?
The Rt. Honble. Lady Eleanor Butler & Miss Ponsonby "The Ladies of Llangollen". [Facsimile signatures below.]
Drawn on Stone by J.H. Lynch. Day & Haghe Lithrs. to the Queen.
Entd. at Stationer's Hall. [n.d., c.1835.]
Tinted lithograph. Sheet: 375 x 275mm (15 x 11"). Laid on album sheet with decorative border.
Touching
portraits of Sarah Ponsonby (1755 - 1831), daughter of Chambre
Brabazon Ponsonby, cousin of the Earl of Bessborough, and Lady Eleanor
Charlotte Butler (1739 - 1829). They resolved to live together in
complete isolation from society in a cottage at Plasnewydd in the vale
of Llangollen, Denbighshire, north Wales. Their names were not known in
the neighbourhood, and they were called 'the ladies of the vale.' They
lived in complete seclusion for some fifty years, and neither left the
cottage for a single night until their deaths. Their devotion to each
other and their eccentric manners gave them wide notoriety. All tourists
in Wales sought introduction to them, and many made the journey to
Llangollen for the special purpose of visiting them. With their servant,
Mary Caryll, who died before either of them, they lie buried in
Plasnewydd churchyard under a triangular pyramid inscribed with their
names. An Italian greyhound runs on the path in front of the two
ladies; it has been noted that a succession of their pet dogs were named
'Sappho'.
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Season 5 will follow the love story of Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling. In Julia Quinn's novels, Francesca's husband, John Stirling, dies unexpectedly and, after an appropriate period of mourning, she eventually falls in love with his cousin Michael, who inherits the Earldom of Kilmartin. The television series has now reimagined Michael as Michaela, leaving many fans wondering how the writers will give the couple a satisfying ending within the social conventions of Regency Britain.
Scheduled to premiere on Netflix in 2027, Season 5 is still shrouded in mystery. However, while Bridgerton often takes creative liberties with history, it also draws inspiration from the real Regency world. One historical relationship that could offer clues to Francesca and Michaela's future is that of Lady Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Miss Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831), better known as the Ladies of Llangollen.
Born into affluent Irish aristocratic families, Butler and Ponsonby met in 1768. After Ponsonby resisted the unwanted advances of her older guardian and Butler was threatened with being sent to a convent, the pair decided to flee together. In 1778, they attempted to elope while disguised as men. Although their families foiled this first escape, the two women were eventually permitted to leave Ireland and, in 1780, settled into a self-described "retirement" in the Welsh countryside.
Drawn on Stone by W. Walton from a picture by Edwin W. Jacques.
Published by T. Catherall, Bookseller, Chester [n.d., c.1840].
Tinted lithograph. Sheet 285 x 380mm (11¼ x 15") very large margins. Some abrasion in title and publication line.
The 'Ladies of Llangollen' were Sarah Ponsonby (1755 - 1831), daughter of Chambre Brabazon Ponsonby, cousin of the Earl of Bessborough, and Lady Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739 - 1829). For fifty years they lived together in complete isolation from society in a cottage at Plasnewydd in the vale of Llangollen, Denbighshire, north Wales. Neither left the cottage for a single night until their deaths. Their devotion to each other and their eccentric manners gave them wide notoriety, becoming a tourist attraction. They lie buried in Plasnewydd churchyard under a triangular pyramid inscribed with their names.
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They made their home in a modest cottage in Llangollen, which they gradually transformed into the eccentric Gothic retreat known as Plas Newydd. Over the years, the house was enlarged with intricately carved oak panelling, an impressive library and beautifully maintained gardens that reflected their distinctive tastes. The women adopted an unconventional lifestyle, often wearing masculine-inspired riding habits with high-collared shirts, waistcoats and tall beaver hats.
Because their home lay on the main route between London and Ireland, it became a fashionable destination for travellers. They developed a reputation as celebrated intellectuals and hostesses, welcoming distinguished visitors including the Duke of Wellington, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley..
Butler and Ponsonby lived together in devoted companionship for fifty years. After their deaths, they were buried alongside their faithful servant, Mary Carryl, beneath a triangular monument at St Collen's Church in Llangollen. Today, they are celebrated as pioneers of LGBTQ+ history, and their remarkable partnership continues to fascinate historians and visitors alike.
Their story demonstrates that lifelong romantic partnerships between women, while highly unconventional, did exist during the Georgian and Regency eras. That makes them an intriguing historical precedent for imagining how Bridgerton might resolve Francesca and Michaela's romance.
My Season 5 predictions
Theory One: Michaela becomes the Countess of Kilmartin
My first—and probably least likely—theory is that the writers simply rewrite the inheritance rules. Bridgerton has never claimed to be historically accurate, and the series has already established an alternate version of Regency Britain. Some Scottish peerages historically allowed succession through the female line, so the show could plausibly allow Michaela to inherit the Earldom of Kilmartin in her own right. If that happened, Francesca and Michaela could remain together as the estate's ruling couple without needing a husband to inherit the title.
Theory Two: Francesca is already pregnant
This is the theory I think is most likely. The doctor may simply have missed Francesca's pregnancy during Season 4. If she is carrying John's child, the baby would inherit the Earldom of Kilmartin, allowing Francesca and Michaela to manage the estate together until the child came of age. Living under the same roof while navigating grief, responsibility and raising John's heir would provide exactly the kind of slow-burning romance, longing glances and emotional tension that Bridgerton does so well.
Theory Three: History repeats itself
My favourite prediction is also the one most inspired by the Ladies of Llangollen.
Traditionally, a previously unintroduced male relative of the Stirling family could inherit the Earldom. Michaela and Francesca would suddenly find themselves dependent on a distant cousin who now controlled the estate. Hoping to remove Michaela from his household, he might attempt to marry her off, much to the horror of both women.
Faced with losing one another, Francesca and Michaela would finally confront their feelings and choose love over convention. Like Butler and Ponsonby before them, they could leave aristocratic society behind and create a home together in the countryside. Rather than settling in Wales, however, I imagine the writers would keep them in the beautiful Scottish Highlands they have both grown to love.
If Bridgerton chooses this route, Francesca and Michaela would become the show's own version of the Ladies of Llangollen: two aristocratic women who rejected convention to build a life together on their own terms. It wouldn't be an exact retelling of history, but it would be a fitting tribute to one of the Regency era's most remarkable real-life love stories.
The R.t Hon.ble Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby. "The Ladies
of Llangollen." S. Ponsonby [facsimile signature]. Died Dec.r 8th 1831.
Aged 74. Eleanor Butler [facsimile signature]. Died June 2nd 1829. Aged
90.
From a Drawing by LADY LEIGHTON carefully taken from life. Drawn of Stone by R. J. LANE, A.R.A.
Printed by J. Graf. Proof.
Lithograph on chine colle. 290 x 225mm (11½ x 8¾") very
large margins. Tears to edges of paper repaired with tape. Some surface
dirt in margins.
Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby,
known affectionately and famously as 'the Ladies of Llangollen', seated
at a table in their library, with their cat similarly seated in the
foreground. The ladies moved to Llangollen, North Wales, and moved into
Plas Newydd with their servant Mary Caryll in order to avoid the
inevatibility of unwanted forced marriages back in their home County
Kilkenny. Their home became an epicentre for eccentric contemporaries
and they eventually became a popular attraction. All three ladies are
buried together in Llangollen.
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As Pride Month comes to a close, we hope everyone had a wonderful celebration. Stories like those of the Ladies of Llangollen remind us that LGBTQ+ history has always been part of our shared past.
