This post was originally published on Audible.com.
It's hard not to fall in love with the Bridgerton family, which explains why there's a whole series of books all about, well, people falling in love with them. Even if you've only seen the Netflix show and have yet to dive into Julia Quinn's fun, fast-paced, and swoon-worthy romance series, you're probably still intrigued by the Bridgertons and want to know more about them already.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Bridgertons series.
Each Bridgerton novel follows a different one of the Bridgerton siblings as they flirtatiously exchange witty banter with potential matches, make mistakes, and sometimes find themselves in trouble but always find themselves in love by the story’s end. And if you can't get enough of the Bridgertons, you're in luck, because there are eight siblings total—that means eight different love stories to follow!
But how to keep all those romantic entanglements and family relationships straight? We’re here to help. This Bridgerton family tree breakdown will help you figure out everything you need to know about the Regency era's most romantic family.
Edmund Bridgerton
• Edmund was the patriarch of the Bridgerton family.
• Edmund married Violet Ledger when he was only 20 years old.
• Unfortunately, Edmund died at the age of 38, due to a bee sting. At the time of his death, his wife was pregnant with their eighth child.
Violet Bridgerton, née Ledger
• Lady Bridgerton is the matriarch of the Bridgerton family.
• As Edmund died when the majority of their offspring were still children, Violet is the head of the family and has raised her four sons and four daughters on her own.
• Violet was truly and deeply in love with her husband, so she hopes for her children to find equally strong matches.
• Violet and Edmund have eight children together: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. (And yes, they were all named in alphabetical order.)
Viscount Anthony Bridgerton
• Anthony is the eldest of the Bridgerton siblings. He’s also the main character in the second book in the Bridgerton series, The Viscount Who Loved Me.
• Edmund Bridgerton tragically died when Anthony was only 18 years old, which meant Anthony became the Viscount at a very young age.
• In the 1814 season, Anthony decided he would take a wife and initially set his sights on Edwina Sheffield, who was named the “Diamond of the First Water” for her beauty.
• To win Edwina’s favor, Anthony first had to impress Edwina’s sister, Kate Sheffield.
• Ultimately, Anthony fell for Kate and ended up marrying her instead of Edwina.
Benedict Bridgerton
• Benedict is the second eldest Bridgerton sibling and the main character in the third Bridgerton novel, An Offer from a Gentleman.
• During the 1815 season, Lady Bridgerton hosts a masquerade ball, where Benedict encounters an alluring mystery woman dressed in silver. He fails to get her name before the clock strikes midnight, when she disappears—all he's left with is a silver glove.
• Two years later, during the 1817 season, Benedict comes upon a young maid being handled inappropriately by a group of men. In an attempt to rescue her, he offers her a job with his mother.
• He learns her name is Sophie Beckett. After the two share an intimate moment, Benedict asks her to be his mistress. Sophie denies him.
• Later, when Sophie is playing a game with Benedict's cousins, she puts on a blindfold. Benedict immediately recognizes her as the masked stranger in silver at the ball. He then marries her.
Colin Bridgerton
• Colin Bridgerton is the third eldest Bridgerton sibling. He is the male lead in the fourth Bridgerton novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, alongside Penelope Featherington. (The Featheringtons are also essential to the Bridgerton storyline and will be discussed more later!)
• Colin and Penelope's romance is a slow burn over several seasons. As early as the 1813 season—in the first Bridgerton novel—Penelope pines after Colin, though he fails to notice.
• For many marriage seasons, Colin sees Penelope as just a friend; during the 1815 marriage mart, he announces that he will never marry her. Penelope overhears this and is heartbroken.
• It isn't until the 1824 season that Colin finally realizes that Penelope is his true love match.
Daphne Bridgerton, the Duchess of Hastings
• Daphne is the fourth of eight siblings and the eldest Bridgerton daughter. She is the main character in the first book in the Bridgerton series, The Duke and I.
• During the 1813 season, Daphne makes an arrangement with Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. She believes men will be more attracted to her if she appears to be taken, and he wants to be left alone during the marriage mart. So, for their mutual benefit, they agree to pretend to be courting each other.
• Eventually, Daphne genuinely falls for the Duke. The two kiss in a garden during the ball.
• Daphne's older brother Anthony witnesses the kiss and demands Simon marry his sister. At first, Simon refuses because he knows Daphne wants to be a mother, and he does not want to be a father.
• Eventually, the two marry and have five children together.
Eloise Bridgerton
• Eloise is fifth of eight Bridgerton siblings and the main character of To Sir Phillip, with Love, the fifth book in the Bridgerton series.
• Eloise is the same age as Penelope Featherington, and the two are close friends.
• In 1823, Eloise hears of the untimely passing of her fourth cousin, Marina Thompson, and sends a letter of condolences to Marina's widower, Sir Phillip Cane.
• Sir Phillip writes back to Eloise, and eventually the two begin writing back and forth to one another.
• When Sir Phillip surprises Eloise with a marriage proposal, she arranges to meet him in person.
• After Eloise's three older brothers discover that she met with a man unchaperoned, they demand the two marry to preserve her honor. And so, Phillip and Eloise do marry.
Francesca Bridgerton
• Francesca is the sixth Bridgerton sibling and the main character in the sixth Bridgerton novel, When He Was Wicked.
• Francesca first marries John Sterling, the Earl of Kilmartin, but then he dies suddenly.
• Michael Sterling, John's cousin, is completely enthralled by Francesca, but Francesca is hesitant to get involved with him, especially because Michael and John were such close friends.
• Eventually, four years after John's death, Michael and Francesca marry.
Gregory Bridgerton
• Gregory is the seventh Bridgerton sibling and the main character in On the Way to the Wedding, the eighth Bridgerton novel.
• Gregory falls for Hermione Watson, but unfortunately, she has her eyes on someone else.
• Hermione's friend Lady Lucinda "Lucy" Abernathy believes that Gregory would be a better match for Hermione, and so she agrees to help him win her over.
• While planning and scheming, Gregory and Lucy inevitably fall for each other. And yes, they do eventually marry, but not before Lucy has to break off another engagement. The drama!
Hyacinth Bridgerton
• Hyacinth is the eighth and youngest Bridgerton sibling and the heroine in the seventh Bridgerton novel, It's in His Kiss.
• Hyacinth is perhaps the sharpest and the wittiest of all the Bridgerton siblings. In fact, she's so smart that many men are too intimidated to approach her.
• Enter Gareth St. Clair, the grandson of Lady Danbury. The key to Gareth's future all lies in a diary he can't read because it's written in Italian. Luckily, the ever-so-intelligent Hyacinth can read Italian.
• As Gareth and Hyacinth uncover the secrets of his past (and the promise of his future), they also fall in love. Of course, they too get married.
Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings
• Simon marries Daphne Bridgerton.
• Simon is the only son of the Lady and Duke of Hastings, as his mother died in childbirth.
• At first, Simon refuses to have children with Daphne because of the difficult relationship he has with his own father. Eventually, Daphne gets him to see that he doesn't have to repeat the mistakes of his father.
• Daphne and Simon have five children together: Amelia, Belinda, Caroline, David, and Edward.
• Amelia marries Robert Joliffe, Viscount Lowestoft, and they have two children: Charles and Thomas.
• Belinda marries Kellan Butler, Earl of Wexford, and they have one child: May.
• Caroline marries Lord Geoffrey Findlay-Watt, and they have two children: Henry and Victoria.
Katharine “Kate” Sheffield
• Kate marries Anthony Bridgerton.
• Kate and Anthony have four children together: Edmund, Miles, Charlotte, and Mary.
• Kate also has a rather overweight Corgi named Newton, who is a very important part of the family tree.
Sophia “Sophie” Beckett
• Sophie marries Benedict Bridgerton.
• Sophie was a servant and a lady's maid before marrying Benedict.
• Sophie and Benedict have four children together: Charles, Alexander, William, and Violet
Penelope Featherington
• Penelope Featherington marries Colin Bridgerton.
• Penelope is the third of four Featherington sisters. Her parents are Archibald and Portia Featherington.
• The eldest sister in the Featherington family is Prudence; the second Featherington sibling is Philippa; the fourth Featherington sibling, Felicity, dies at a young age.
• It is revealed in Romancing Mister Bridgerton that Penelope is in fact Lady Whistledown, a mysterious writer who reports on gossip and influences societal opinions.
• Colin and Penelope have four children together: Agatha, Thomas, Jane, and George.
Sir Phillip Crane
• Sir Phillip Crane marries Eloise Bridgerton.
• Phillip was first married to Marina Thompson, with whom he had two children: Oliver and Amanda. (Note: In the novels, Marina is a distant cousin of the Bridgertons. However, the television series changes Marina's character so that she is a distant cousin of the Featheringtons.)
• Amanda, Phillip's daughter from his first marriage, later marries Charles Farraday.
• Eloise and Phillip have three children: Penelope, Georgiana, and Frederick.
John Stirling, 8th Earl of Kilmartin
• John is Francesca Bridgerton's first husband.
• His cousin Michael Stirling is both his and his wife Francesca's close friend.
Michael Stirling, 9th Earl of Kilmartin
• Michael Stirling marries Francesca Bridgerton four years after the death of John Stirling.
• Francesca and Michael have two children together: John and Janet.
Lucinda “Lucy” Abernathy
• Lucy marries Gregory Bridgerton.
• Gregory and Lucinda follow in Edmund and Violet Bridgerton's footsteps and have a big family, nine children: Katharine, Richard, Hermione, Daphne, Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Eloise, and Francesca.
Gareth St. Clair
• Gareth marries Hyacinth Bridgerton.
• Hyacinth and Gareth have two children together: George and Isabella.
If you want to find out more about what happens to the Bridgerton family after all of their romancing is over, listen to The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After, a novel that delivers eight funny, heartwarming, and, yes, sexy "Second Epilogues," as well as a story about the wise and witty woman who started it all: matriarch Violet Bridgerton.
Want to know even more about the Bridgerton extended family? Check out The Rokesbys, a Bridgerton prequel series, set in the Georgian era, that follows the stories of the Bridgertons and their neighbors, the Rokesbys. If you've ever wondered about Billie Bridgerton, Poppy Bridgerton, Georgiana Bridgerton, or any of the other Bridgertons briefly mentioned in the original series, they're all here, alongside new characters to fall in love with. All four Rokesby audiobooks are narrated by accomplished British actress Rosalyn Landor, while the talented James Langton takes over the mic for Happily Ever After.
