Is There Really an Aunt Petunia on ‘Bridgerton’?

The Featherington household had issues in previous seasons of Bridgerton, money being a big one. In season 3 though, we see those problems seemingly vanish for the Featherington family, but we don’t really know why they are not suddenly worried about it. In comes Aunt Petunia.

While Prudence Featherington (Bessie Carter) and Philippa Featherington (Harriet Cains) are too busy trying to start their families with their new husbands, those money issues that plagued the Featheringtons for an entire season are … not there? And just in time as Penelope is starting her relationship with Colin (Luke Newton). One line in the first episode of the season, titled “Out of the Shadows,” seems to have “fixed” those issues. For now.

Portia Featherington (Polly Walker) announces to the family in episode 1 that their money problems are solved by money “left to them by their Aunt Petunia.” There was apparently an actual Aunt Petunia, but she didn’t really give them money in this case. Portia is covering up for the money that Jack Featherington (Rupert Young) stole in season 2, but the lie isn’t going to be something that just … goes away.

Knowing that an Aunt Petunia existed, maybe this is to say that the money actually did come from an Aunt Petunia and Portia just paid off what Jack stole? But given how Bridgerton functions, I don’t think that this is the end of this situation.

Will we get to know more about the real Aunt Petunia?

As someone who has not read the books but knows how Bridgerton works with the drama, I do not think this is the end of Aunt Petunia. Could we get to meet an actual Aunt Petunia, who turns out not to be dead, and then Portia will be forced to explain what happened with Jack?

There are plenty of ways that this could resolve itself, but for the sake of wondering who Aunt Petunia is, she is an aunt that existed, but I don’t think the money that the Featherington family got from her is necessarily the truth.