Princess Diana’s Family Home Inspired 1 ‘Bridgerton’ Set
Bridgerton is all about London high society. Based on romance novels by Julia Quinn, the Netflix series is set in the 19th century. Even though it’s a period drama about the fictional Bridgerton family, the TV show does take some inspiration from real life. Namely, the home Princess Diana grew up in.
The Bridgerton and Featherington homes were built just for the show
The two families at the center of Bridgerton are the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons. Prominent families, their homes reflect their status. But instead of scouting locations to use, the people behind Bridgerton opted to build sets from scratch.
According to Oprah Magazine, during a Bridgerton press event, production designer Will Hughes-Jones shared details on the set design. He explained each room started out as a miniature model. Paying close attention to the details, they incorporated details about each character into the decor.
“Each Bridgerton and Featherington room had an individuality to it,” he said.
For instance, Eloise Bridgerton’s (Claudia Jessie) room has a telescope and a portrait of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Meanwhile, her older and more traditional sister, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), has a room in the family’s signature shades of blue.
‘Bridgerton’ copied the staircase at Althorp House
Home to the Spencer family since 1508, Diana grew up living at Althorp House. A grand estate located in Northamptonshire, England, Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen turned to the home for inspiration.
Live-tweeting about the show on Dec. 26, 2020, just a day after it began streaming on Netflix, Van Dusen shared that the Bridgerton family home incorporates some elements of Althorp.
“The interior of Bridgerton House was inspired by my visit to Althorp when I was developing the show. Elegance. Opulence. And that staircase,” he wrote on Twitter.
Today, Diana’s younger brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, lives at Althorp. He inherited the estate in 1992 and runs it. It’s open for tours at various points throughout the year but people can also catch a glimpse inside Althorp on Charles’ Instagram. He often shares photos of the property.
Althorp is also where Diana was buried after her death in 1997. Her grave is private — it’s on an island in the center of a lake — but there is a memorial.
‘Bridgerton’ filmed close to 1 of Prince Charles’ homes
Bridgerton has another connection to the British royal family. The show filmed next to one of Charles’ properties. Hughes-Jones didn’t offer up a name but he did say it’s “regularly used by the royal family.”
When Bridgerton would head out to the location, they’d “get a very short period of time to get in there, get rid of the 20th century, take it back to our period,” he said.
Watch Bridgerton Season 1 on Netflix.
