Warning: Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton season 3. They’ve been arch nemeses since season one. As tensions came to a head in season three, Bridgerton‘s Queen Charlotte offered 5,000 pounds for whoever could identify Lady Whistledown—a sizeable amount of money in Regency England and by today’s standards.
By revealing the intimate secrets and scandals of the high society, Lady Whistledown disrupts the carefully maintained social order. Her columns expose truths that people in power, including Queen Charlotte, would prefer to keep hidden. Lady Whistledown threatens the social equilibrium that Queen Charlotte seeks to preserve and creates a compelling tension that drives much of the drama in Bridgerton and it’s why the reigning monarch wants her taken down, once and for all.
How much is 5,000 pounds in Bridgerton by today’s standards?
To figure that out, we went to the Bank of England‘s inflation calculator. While there’s no concrete year for the events that transpire in Bridgerton season three, we can guess it’s around 1815. £5,000 pounds in 1815 is £371,921.62 in 2024. Converted to USD, that’s $471,003.40 at the time of writing in June. That’s enough to buy you almost 500 tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, with the average ticket price at just over $1,000.
The plan to pull the veil from over Lady Whistledown’s face is hatched halfway through episode five during a conversation between Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury. “She’s undefended. Now is the time to strike,” the queen says, explaining that her messengers are already out spreading the word.
“Dearest members of my esteemed ton, I hereby declare that whoever brings legitimate evidence of Lady Whistledown’s identity to the Palace shall receive a 5,000-pound reward,” the notice reads.
The news that Queen Charlotte is offering a reward for Lady Whistledown’s identity coincides with Penelope and Colin’s lavish engagement party. As we know (but many other characters do not), Lady Whistledown’s identity is Penelope herself, and, after a falling out with Pen, Eloise Bridgerton threatens to expose her while interrupting Colin’s speech at said party.
“Here’s to knowing each other completely before the clock runs out—the clock of life, of course. It ticks for us all! To your good health!” she toasts spitefully. Tensions run so high that Penelope runs out of the room, lost for breath. She knows she has to tell Colin now or risk losing everything.
Lady Danbury tries to talk the Queen down from her witchhunt by saying that Lady Whistledown is probably “a vulnerable player” in the Ton, and she’s merely “trying to stay in the game.” Then, in a confrontation with Pen herself, Lady Danbury voices her suspicions: “I know the family well enough to know it was not one of them,” says. “There is only one person who loves the Bridgertons more than I.”
Colin discovers the truth in the final episode and while it takes him a little time to process the news, they still marry in a big church to a classical cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow.” The final episode closes with Julie Andrews’ voice turning into Nicola Coughlan’s reading Lady Whistledown’s farewell, signed by Penelope Bridgerton.
