Francesca really goes through it in season four. We didn’t really get an explanation in season four of Bridgerton about what will happen to Francesca’s title and money after her husband John Stirling dies. Is she even Lady Kilmartin still? If you’re curious, we have answers.

Francesca’s name will be different in season five

When Francesca Bridgerton got married, her name changed to Francesca Stirling. Her full title was the Countess of Kilmartin, but it would be normal to just refer to her as “Lady Kilmartin”. She wasn’t a countess in her own right, and isn’t part of the peerage – she was just called a “lady” because of her husband.

After John dies, the title of the Earl of Kilmartin will pass to somebody else. In the Bridgerton books, John’s cousin Michael becomes the new Earl. In the show, this character’s gender has been changed. Michaela may still inherit the title in the Netflix show, though. In England, most titles are passed down from a man to his oldest son (or next closest male relative). But many Scottish peerages can be inherited by a woman, if there aren’t any male relatives available. Based on what we’ve seen of John’s family in the show, it seems likely Michaela will have John’s title in season five.

Francesca would then be known as the Dowager Countess of Kilmartin – the same title as John’s mother.

The Dowager Lady Kilmartin and the Dowager Lady Kilmartin (Image via Netflix)

No, Francesca doesn’t get to keep the castle

In this era, most of the aristocracy’s estates were entailed. This means the whopping mansions in the countryside, and all the land and income they come with, are attached to the title. (A truly alarming amount of property in the UK still belongs to the aristocracy because it was entailed like this, by the way.) The land all passes to whoever inherits the title. So, Francesca’s house in London, castle in Scotland and estate in Oxfordshire all belong to Michaela now.

Francesca may not need to pack her bags, though. It wasn’t unusual for new heirs to let a dowager lady stick around in the house for a bit. For instance, Bridgerton House technically belongs to Anthony, but he’s only lived there for 16 out of 32 episodes. Everybody treats it as Violet’s home. In the Bridgerton books, the Stirling family are fine with Francesca staying in the castle in the Highlands after John’s death.

Michaela won’t leave Frannie high and dry
(Image via Netflix)

She won’t inherit loads of money

John’s property (and all the income that comes from it) will mostly go to Michaela. Depending on all the legal ins-and-outs of the Kilmartin estate, Francesca might still get something. It was the norm in the Regency era for widows to get a “dower” – a third of the income from their dead husband’s former estate – until they die. Although, if a woman married somebody else, they wouldn’t  be allowed to get that money anymore. I’m going to assume this is the real reason why Violet didn’t want to marry Marcus x

Franscesca absolutely isn’t skint, though. In the book series, both Anthony and the Stirling family are super kind to her, and give her “an infamous double dowry” so she can find a new husband. Francesca actually ends up with the most money out of all the Bridgerton girlies.