Where Was Francesca Throughout Bridgerton Season 1?

Bridgerton season 1 regularly features all of the Bridgerton siblings except Francesca, who is noticeably absent – but why? The new Bridgerton series on Netflix is based on a set of romance novels by Julia Quinn. Each book tells the love story of a different Bridgerton sibling – of which there are eight, and they’re all alphabetically named. Francesca, therefore, is the sixth Bridgerton child and the younger sister of Daphne, who is the main focus, along with Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in Bridgerton’s first season.

Though Daphne is the fourth Bridgerton child, her story is told in the first book of the Bridgerton series, The Duke and I. Unsurprisingly, the Netflix show changed several details from The Duke and I, but it seems like a logical place to start off the show as it’s the first book in the series. If the show were to continue following the order of the books and give each book its own season, Francesca would star in season 6, which would be based on the book When He Was Wicked. That’s potentially a long time to wait before getting to know Francesca on-screen since she hardly appears in season 1 at all.

In the Bridgerton season 1 finale, “After the Rain,” it’s noted that Francesca has spent most of her time that year in Bath. Lady Bridgerton receives a letter from Aunt Winnie (an unknown character to this point) saying that Francesca will return home soon. Francesca was likely spending time with extended family, possibly for educational purposes, not unlike Marina Thompson, who has been sent into town by her own family to live with the Featheringtons (though for entirely different reasons). As such, Francesca appears only briefly in season 1, but the showrunners may have had other (more practical) reasons for keeping Francesca out of the spotlight.

Some Bridgerton fans have speculated that Francesca’s absence could be explained by the possibility that she will be recast in future seasons. Considering that the stories of the Bridgerton children as told in Julia Quinn’s novels occur when they are adults, it’s reasonable to expect that several of the younger Bridgertons would be recast. Ruby Stokes, the actress who plays Francesca, is not much younger than Phoebe Dynevor (the actress who plays Daphne Bridgerton), though, so it’s just as likely that there simply wasn’t enough time in season 1 to give her a story at the risk of weighing the season down with too many subplots.

Francesca has been described as a more mysterious and enigmatic Bridgerton than her other siblings, so it’s also fitting that Bridgerton would maintain some mystery around her character. Still, it’s surprising that Francesca wasn’t included whatsoever in season 1 and was strangely absent from many of the promotional images. With her back in London, however, more of Francesca’s story should be revealed in Bridgerton season 2. Fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels are eager to see Francesca’s story told and hope to see more of her in the future.

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